Category: animal communications

November 2019 #4 The Pinnacles of Whalesong

Nov 6th dawns another frigid morning. While our tea kettle attempts a few tunes of its own Terry downloads video from the camera. Jude is programming her mixer/recorder while listening for whales on the hydrophone. “Terry – I hear something –  it definitely sounds like singing – not close. Let’s head out. I’ll keep the hydrophone down and keep listening. We may be able to locate them”

We head the Parrot ship SW in the direction of Vancouver Island – to The Pinnacles. That’s where, yesterday, the golden light of the setting sun backlit heart-shaped blows of 6 – 10 humpback whales. Their dark backs appeared as tiny black crescents breaking the surface 2km SW of Blue Parrot.

The Pinnacles is a rock formation which rises sharply from the ocean floor at 600ft up to 70 ft below the water’s surface. Fish like to congregate here and so do all the critters who eat them including humans.  As we motor closer Jude is listening for increasing volume of whalesong. “Sounds like we’re going in the right direction. Do you see anybody” “Nobody yet” Terry answers “Let me know when you want to stop”

During mid-day there is a break in service on the Comox-Powell River and Texada-Powell River ferries as their crews change shifts. Happily it’s break time now. The silence is heavenly. These are the clearest songs Jude has been able to record. Subtle nuances and inflections which had been obscured by boat noise on the previous recordings are now clearly audible. “You’ve got to hear this Terry! I think there are 2 whales – 1 farther away” An enraptured Jude holds out the headphones “I’m going to get the speaker so we can both listen.”  Jude plugs in the speaker and whalesong pours into the air.

We listen: The sounds are so awesome – so expressive. It’s not possible to listen without being moved – enthralled by the ranges and timbres of their voices.

They grunt, groan, whoop and whistle. There is even a knocking percussive sound. How are they making that sound?

What are they singing about? What emotions are they expressing?  Do groups of males get together to sing in unison? Are these whales singing together?  The 2 whales don’t seem to be singing the same part of the song. Are they friends? Do whales sing over each other like birds do when they are proclaiming their territory? – So many questions but mostly exhilaration and awe.

Aerial whalesong might be what attracts a curious young seal to Blue Parrot. Seal circles our ship, peering into the cockpit at us. S/he dives underwater and we hear whiskers snuffling against the hydrophone “Hey! Get off of there!” Jude yells into the water. Up comes seal but s/he doesn’t leave. S/he stays with us checking out our dinghy – looking and looking. “Maybe s/he’s a seal scientist or engineer and s/he’s calculating the logistics of how we could be hiding a humpback whale in the cockpit of our little boat!” Terry laughs. Jude holds the speaker out where seal can see it and turns it off and on to demonstrate to seal where the whalesong is coming from. Seal disappears underwater and then surfaces again.  The whalesong must be very loud underwater. And the same song is coming from our boat – probably delayed by a few seconds. It must be a profound puzzle for a curious seal.

 

Could this curious seal be the one under our boat listening to the whalesong?

Humpback Whales singing at the Pinnacles in the Salish Sea

Eventually seal departs. But the blessed reprieve from boat noise is soon blasted apart by the engines of several tugs towing heavily loaded barges northward up the Strait. The bass throbbing of those engines chugs on and on for hours.

After 2 1/2 hours the whales seem to have stopped singing. We scan the sea looking for blows or surfacing whales. “A BREACH” Terry yells as one whale launches himself out of the water 500m away. Another whale is with him but we aren’t close enough for ID. “Of course I don’t have my camera!” Terry mutters. And of course the whales swim off to the west – away from us. On these shorter days we have to head back to the anchorage before the light fades. So we do.

Tomorrow is another day.

 

November 2019 #1 Whalesong!

“I’ll pump it up some more. Did you find the methylhydrate?” Terry is rummaging around in the starboard lazerette looking for a bicycle pump to pressurize the kerosene tank. The tank feeds an old Force 10 heater in Blue P’s cabin. It could take the chill off a 0°C morning. A little warmth, however stinky, would be appreciated. But the old heater won’t stay lit. The upside is that we are generating considerable body heat in efforts to get it started. Pumping up the tank and a couple of cups of hot tea get us out in the cold and under way.

Another frigid Autumn morning of no wind. At least old Lazarus (our ceaselessly ressucitated WWII Atomic 4 engine) starts easily. We’re off. Terry is scanning the horizon for whales “A blow! Inside Grant Reefs, south end.” Wow! Whales in the morning! That’ll wake you up fast! “Why don’t you drop the hydrophone to listen and I’ll shut down the motor?”

“I think I hear them Yes! There’s some low burbles – and higher squeaking – Woah! that was LOUD! A long high note – a growl” Jude does a bad imitation of a whale growl and hands Terry the headphones. He pulls them over his ears. The thrilling, haunting sound of whalesong floats through the hydrophone line from deep underwater.

“YES!” A huge grin spreads along his face.  Jude is leaning over the toe rail holding the hydrophone cable off Blue Parrot’s hull “I’m trying to keep the cable from knocking against the hull. It’s vibrating and making that low throbbing bass rumble” Blue P is still moving. Sailboats have a great deal of momentum once they’re in motion. A 5 knot NW breeze is pushing us SE. Movement of water over the cable causes the cable to vibrate. Finally the breeze calms and Blue Parrot slows enough for a clearer sound.

“Of course now I can hear the Comox ferry” Jude sighs “I hear 2 whales – there’s a singer close to us and 1  farther away – at least one. I don’t know where” We watch for the whales to surface to breathe but no blows are visible anywhere “Where are they? We saw that blow at 2:15 and now it’s 3:30. Can they stay down that long when they’re singing?”

The whales sing. We can hear repeated phrases and the range of vocalizations soar from deep grunts to mid-range groans to whoops, screeches and whistles. There are also percussive knocks or clicks. And those are only the sounds in the range that humans are capable of hearing! There could be subsonic and supersonic vocalizations that we humans would never pick up. Researchers can use spectral analysis software to get a visual representation of these sounds.

“Let’s send the recordings to Jim Darling. I can ask him if the whales are singing the same song in Hawaii” Jude enthuses “I want to know if some of our whales are wintering there.” Jim is a bioacoustician who co-founded Whale Trust. He’s based in Hawaii and Tofino, migrating between the 2 locations much like a migrating whale.  “It would be great to know which individual whales winter in Hawaii and feed here in the summer.” “And we should go to Hawaii to meet them there.” Terry adds. It is our dream to freedive in warm, clear water when the whales are singing, feeling all our bones resonating with their music.

After about 1 1/2 hours the singing becomes sparser and the sun is setting. “We’d better head over to Blubber Bay tonight. We can drop the hydrophone there and hear if they’re singing closer to Rebecca Rocks or even Texada.” So we head off under motor and jib. As we round Harwood Pt. we see several humpbacks splashing around Revecca Rocks. Are these our singers?

Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow.

A little information from  https://dosits.org/animals/sound-production/how-do-marine-mammals-produce-sounds/

HOW DO WHALES SING? Unlike humans, whales don’t have to exhale to produce sound.  Whales don’t have vocal cords either. Like humans,  humpback whales have a larynx. Instead of vocal cords they have a thick, u-shaped, ridge of tissue. This ‘u-fold’ serves the same purpose as our vocal cords. Adjacent to their larynx is a large inflatable pouch called the laryngeal sac. When Humpback whales contract muscles in their throat and chest, air flows between the lungs and the laryngeal sac. Alternating expansion and contraction of the lungs and sac drives air across the u-fold, causing it to vibrate and produce sound. The  vibrations vibrate through the whale’s body into the surrounding water. Changes in the laryngeal sac shape may alter the frequency and/or loudness of sounds produced.

Schematic diagram displaying a potential mechanism for sound production in baleen whales. Baleen whales contract muscles in the throat and chest, causing air to flow between the lungs and the laryngeal sac (pink tissue in the diagram). Alternating expansion and contraction of the lungs and sac drives air across a u-shaped ridge of tissue, the u-fold (yellow), causing it to vibrate and produce sound. Vibrations from the laryngeal sac (green lines) may propagate through the ventral throat pleats into the surrounding water as sound waves. Note: the respiratory tract of the whale is shown red, digestive tract in blue, and associate cartilage in white. Image credit: Dr. Joy Reidenberg. Adapted from Joy S. Reidenberg and Jeffrey T. Laitman. 2007. Discovery of a low frequency sound source in Mysticeti (baleen whales): Anatomical establishment of a vocal fold homolog. The Anatomical Record. Volume 290, Issue 6, pages 745–759.

 

 

2018 Sea of Whales

2018 SEA of WHALES – INTRO

This year was finally the year we’d been working towards. After years of setbacks, injuries etc. we finally got to meet and hang out with Grey whales in Baja, Mexico and Humpback whales in the Salish Sea. They were very different experiences but the following are a couple of stories with observations about human interactions with our large aquatic relations.

Eye to I

Terry (the Amphibiographer) and I were off of Powell River in our 27ft sailboat. There was no wind so we were motoring back towards the harbour at about 4 knots. Suddenly we saw what looked to be the butt end of a large deadhead floating in the water about 100m ahead. Hitting one of these can spell disaster for a boat and I was on the tiller.

“Do you think it moved?” I asked Terry who was at the

bow peering through binoculars to get a better look.

“It’s an elephant seal!” he exclaimed, “See the nose?”

“An elephant seal?” As the head turned I saw that unmistakable trunk-like shnozz come into view. I slowed down instantly and angled sharply to port (left). But our friend didn’t seem to be too fussed. After surveying the view he slowly submerged and disappeared.

We were past him by this time so we looked back just in time to see a humpback whale breach about 300m behind us. I executed a 180 degree turn hoping we would get to witness some playful exuberant humpback acrobatics. Whale breached a few more times but stopped when we were within 150 metres. I slipped the motor into neutral so Whale would know exactly where our boat was and Terry swung below to retrieve the video camera. Then we waited. And waited.

About 10 minutes later “PCHOOOOO!” A blow about 50m from our boat! An arc of dark whaleback surfaced and began to circle around us. I killed the motor since obviously Whale knew we were there. Was Whale curious? I decided to try to communicate with Whale. The closest I can get to mimicking whale language is to play my didjeridoo. My partner can synthesize a mean didjeridoo with his resonant baritone voice. So the two of us began a duet, a whale serenade.

Whale didn’t talk back to us – or maybe Whale did but we couldn’t hear it above the water. But Whale did move closer to the boat – still circling slowly. We drifted together like this for a while – no pyrotechnics, just meditative mellow breathing, didjeridooing and hanging out together. It was magical!

Then Whale took a breath and submerged into a sleek shallow dive from 25m behind our boat, under the length of it to emerge about 7m off the bow! Since Whale was one and a half times the length of our boat this took a few seconds. We were so surprised we jumped, clattered and banged our recording gear as we rushed to video our friend, who then leisurely swam off leaving us breathless.

I have since learned that whales avoid banging and thumping coming from the hull of a boat so that might have chased our friend away. I have also learned, from time spent among the grey whales in Baja, Mexico, that if whales want to interact with you, they will come to you. There is never any need to chase them. A boat that is floating in the water with enthusiastic people onboard can be a source of entertainment for our large friends. It can be a toy to play with, an ecstatic audience for athletic performances, willing volunteers for their teasing tricks like surprise blow hole showers, and even useful for a good back scratch.

The whales who came to visit us in our little boats had complete control of the interactions. From as young as 6 weeks their physical skill and coordination in the water was amazing. They teased us, made us squeal with delight and only stayed with us as long as they wanted. See ‘Baja Grey Whales’ Blog

When a whale rolls on her/his side to make eye contact with you – conscious being to conscious being – you know you have met a relation.

2018-August – Humpback Whales Visit Us

My Mom was fascinated by the stories Terry and I told her about whales. She loved to hear about their curiousity and intellegence; how the grey whales enjoyed teasing the tourists in Baja and how the humpbacks here seemed be attracted to the sounds of the didjeridoo. Mom, Chayashi, died in May of this year from dementia. But even in advanced stages of dementia there were lucid moments during which hearing about whales would put a smile on her face. With all of the Mom care this year and the ongoing tasks that need to be done after a loved one dies we didn’t get out on the water until August.

We made the most of our abbreviated time out in SV Blue Parrot. Our complicated methodology was to sail or motor to the general area where we’d seen humpbacks feeding or traveling and hang around waiting for whales. Whenever we shut off the engine I would drop my hydrophone (underwater microphone) over the side of Blue Parrot to listen to the sounds underwater through headphones. Sound travels 5 times faster in water than in air so I could hear the bugle-like inbreath of distant humpbacks through my hydrophone before the sound traveled to me above the water. Very cool.

This video shows what happened when 2 curious Humpbacks whales decided to visit us twice in the same afternoon. We were drifting with our engine off at least 200 metres away from them while they were feeding. It was their clear choice to visit us.


The Amphibiographer’s Secrets to Enjoying Awesome Whale Encounters: It’s vital to respect these wondrous beings, not to chase, annoy, or disturb them while they are feeding or sleeping at the surface. Slow down in known whale feeding areas and be aware so you don’t run over one. If you see a blow slow down, there may be more around. If they approach you, stop moving, shut off your engine and enjoy the encounter until they leave you.

Whales have an enormous hearing capacity which is very useful over their huge migration range to stay in contact with each other. In their northern or southern feeding grounds they travel through water that is full of plankton and very murky. They depend on sound to communicate and to find their way underwater.

Humans hear sound frequencies from 20Herz to 20,000Herz. But long distance whale communications can be lower than 10Herz and travel thousands of kilometers. When orca, dolphins or porpoises are echolocating they produce a barrage of very loud staccato blips or clicks at frequencies higher than 100,000herz . Some research suggests that baleen whales like humpbacks may echolocate using low frequency sonar but they do not have the very high frequency capability of porpoises or dolphins or even the toothed whales. There doesn’t seem to be definitive research that nails down the range of frequencies humpback whales can hear. Happily we humans can thrill to their intricate songs because Humpbacks sing predominantly in the hearing range of humans.

Here is a fascinating and playful introduction to hearing ranges in familiar animals.

https://www.myihp.co.uk/animal-hearing-ranges/

I would love to know whether the humpbacks that Terry and I were serenading in this video sang back to us underwater. I will need a spectrograph that maps audio frequencies to interface with my hydrophone in order to discover whether they are vocalizing outside our human audible range. Stay tuned to find out!

2018-August – Whales Listen to Didgeridoo

Playing music for whales isn’t a new concept. It probably goes back as far as the first humans and whales. Musicians and interspecies communicators like Jim Nollman were playing music for whales and recording it in the 1970s. The songs of the humpback whales are legend all over the world. Research has shown that humpbacks are especially attracted to sounds in the 400hz – 700hz range. This is medium – high range for a human soprano voice. “That’s doable” we surmised. So we decided to try playing a little whale music ourselves. Jude brought her didgeridoo onboard(actually it’s a PVC pipe with a beeswax mouthpiece), and Terry planned to experiment with chanting/singing .

Flashing white pectoral fins and splashing tails in the distance attracted our attention so we swung off our course towards the two humpbacks making a fuss. They dove while we were a couple of hundred metres away then popped up near us and a couple of other boats. It was an opportunity too good to miss. We started making some sounds to see what the whales would do. It was all ‘play the moment’, experimental, on the fly, while videoing and controlling the sailboat at the same time, so please forgive any weird sounds and unprofessional performance. Terry makes no pretence to being a musician; he was just trying to keep the whales interested enough to stay with us a while. And they did stay for almost 5 minutes. It seems our music put them to sleep! Or at least they appeared to be resting and listening. What do you think?

(Sorry for the wobbly video, using telephoto on a rolling boat in even little waves makes for unsteady footage).

Near Harwood Island, Tla’amin Territory, Powell River, British Columbia, Canada. August, 2018

2018 Feb – More Lovin’ Baby Whales

Today is a special day. The sky is blue, the water calm, and we are out with 7 guests in a panga captained by Julian my favourite lanchero. Bonus: Shari has come along this trip to guide so Terry and I can concentrate on video and sound recording.

A mama and baby are approaching the panga “Over here” “Come over here” cry the excited guests. “Come in, yes Come right in” croons Terry in his best baby cooing baritone. Baby has been resting on Mom’s snout. He seems a little hesitant at first but then he slowly swims closer to the boat and sticks his snout into Terry’s palm. “Hello! Hello!” croons Terry, juggling the underwater video camera in one hand and an affectionate baby whale in the other. Shari is ecstatic. After 30 years her voice still carries the wild excitement and adoration she feels around her Grey whale friends. Shari and Terry overload the small POV camera microphone with their joyous exclamations. But who can fault them for that. “Ouzer, ouzer, ouzer!” What a Lovin’ Baby Whale!

2018 February – Cuddly Baja Baby Whales

In spite of logistical problems at Whale Camp all is forgotten out on the water when a whale swims over to your panga to shower your group with whale breath, make eye contact or just loll around the boat. When a Mom and baby show up the humans get a little giddy with excitement. We oooo and aahhh and coo and sing/talk to this adorable 4metre (12ft) infant. And if Mom allows and Baby wants to be petted, nuzzling a rubbery velvet snout into your hand a human feels blissed and blessed by all that is good in the universe.

Today was one of those blessed days. Curious whales, playful adolescents, benign Moms and cuddly babies visited our panga. They amused themselves (and us) by pushing the panga around with their snouts, finessing agile manouvers underneath it, showering fountains of water and allowing us to touch and pet them.

This baby loved to be petted and kept returning for more, enchanting the smitten humans with her cuddly nature and winning gaze.