Blue Whales in Mid-November
How about a lunch break to go watch a blue whale? When you live in Les Escoumins, why not! After being informed of the presence of this giant, a woman who had recently moved to the area quickly threw some clothes on and headed down to the docks. “I saw the long back emerge from the water… and the small dorsal fin at the end! I was so happy, because it had been a really long time since I last saw a large rorqual, especially in the middle of November!” Talk about a warm welcome!
For one wildlife photographer, discovering the same individual swimming offshore brightened up his morning. “Too far to identify,” he writes in a post on his social networks, “but notwithstanding the distance, it was still awesome… I can observe sequence after sequence with my binoculars and it gives me a rush every time.” How long will this behemoth remain in the St. Lawrence? The seasonal movements of the blue whale are still poorly known. The species might head to lower, more temperate latitudes in winter to reproduce, but some individuals seem to be extending their stays in our waters. In other words, some of them might remain all winter, as suggested by recent observations in the estuary and the gulf. During an aerial survey, MICS was even able to photograph and identify a blue whale off the coast of Port-Cartier amongst the seal-inhabited ice sheets. Perhaps sightings of this species in the St. Lawrence still aren’t quite finished for this year!
Spouts in the Gaspé
“Right now, it’s ‘wow!’: 5 spouts, backs, tails, minke whales and humpbacks,” rattles off a hiker in Forillon National Park. The rest of the week was characterized by scattered blows offshore and harbour seals resting on their usual rocks. In Gaspé Bay, the presence of about twenty harbour porpoises has been reported.
Minke whales, belugas and dolphins
“Nearly two dozen belugas swimming out of the fjord: some grey, some white,” comments one naturalist. These white whales were seen at the mouth of the Saguenay throughout the week, as was a feeding minke whale. During her visit to Les Bergeronnes, the same woman was able to admire about twenty harp seals: “It was so beautiful to see them swimming on their backs, their noses pointing in the air. It was like a ballet! Then they all dove in unison.” Harbour seals, a handful of grey seals and harbour porpoises were also reported between Tadoussac and Les Escoumins.
Almost simultaneously, two North Shore residents saw fin whales, one in Les Bergeronnes and the other off the Tadoussac dunes. It is therefore likely that there were two fin whales swimming in the estuary. White-sided dolphins were also reported, including a group of about sixty individuals. “Despite the distance, it was completely magical…” describes one wildlife photographer.
Seals where rivers meet
Seals were also present in the Côte-Nord region last week. On November 17, during low tide in the Manicouagan region, a seal enthusiast was intrigued by a rock that looked much larger than the others. She lifted her binoculars and observed a harbour seal lying in its infamous “banana pose.” “It rested there for a long time until the tide ousted it… On November 18, same rock, same scenario!” A few harbour porpoises were also spotted near Baie-Comeau.
A resident in Gallix saw four harbour seals near the mouth of the Sainte-Marguerite River. They seemed to show some peculiar colour patterns. “The one that was farther away seemed to have a rounder and shorter snout and small eyes… Oddly enough, they were all mismatched in terms of head colour; one was jet black, another grey, another one more on the tan side.” Indeed, the colour of the species’ coat is highly variable. Brown, black, yellowish white… Many variations are possible!
While hiking the Petit-Havre de Matamec trail during a field trip, a gym teacher and his class were able to admire a number of marine mammals. “We saw several harbour seals, a minke whale feeding very close to the beach and a large rorqual offshore that showed its tail (it looked like a humpback but it’s hard to say for sure given the distance).”
Thanks to all our collaborators!
Special thanks go out to all our observers who share their love for marine mammals with us! Your encounters with cetaceans and pinnipeds are always a pleasure to read and discover.
On the water or from shore, it is your eyes that give life to this column.
Odélie Brouillette
Patrice Corbeil
Marie-André Charlebois
Thalia Cohen Bacry
Laetitia Desbordes
Jade-Audrey Lavergne
Diane Ostiguy
Stéphane Pagès
Renaud Pintiaux
Élizabeth Melis
Andréanne Sylvain
Marielle Vanasse
And to all the others!
Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the following teams that also share their sightings:
Sept-Îles Research and Education Centre (CERSI)
Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM)
Marine Mammal Observation Network (MMON)
Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network (QMMERN)
Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS)
Would you also like to share your observations?
Have you seen any marine mammals in the St. Lawrence? Whether it’s a spout offshore or just a couple of seals, drop us a line and send your photos to [email protected]!
Andréanne Forest
Andréanne Forest is the editor-in-chief of Whales Online since may 2022. After studying in environment and biology, she turned to science communication with the goal of making science both accessible and fun. Andréanne wishes to highlight the process of acquiring knowledge while transmitting the desire to learn.
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