Whales, Glitter and Local Fare

It was with her two feet on dry land that one marine mammal enthusiast was able to observe minke whales in a mesmerizing setting. She enthusiastically recounts her experience in Tadoussac: “I had the chance to attend a nearly 2-hour-long performance at Pointe de L’Islet: two minke whales feeding and occasionally breaching!” With the reflections of the magical sunset related to the forest fires, it was an awesome sight to behold!”

Other observations sometimes occur at this location… in the middle of the night! It was on a mission to observe bioluminescence that Tadoussac locals ventured down to Pointe de L’Islet: “[…] we were stirring the icy water with our hands; it was amazing! Wherever we looked, it was like glitter. All of a sudden we heard one or two breaths, then more and more and very close together. A huge group of belugas was approaching. Their breathing was getting louder and louder, it felt like they were 20 metres away from us, but in the dark of the night and with the fog, it was impossible to see anything.” Their other senses were on alert, however, so they were able to hear the whales. “What’s incredible is that they stuck around. They were making big splashes and started vocalizing; it was crazy. Just us and the belugas for about an hour, then we went home spellbound, with “glitter” on our hands and stars in our eyes!”

Whales don’t stop at night! For scientists, it’s much more difficult to study them when they can’t observe them. Despite everything, by tracking their movements  with tags or thermal sensors (whale breath being warmer than water) studies have been carried out on rorquals and right whales.

The observer concludes that all the senses are good for sharing moments with whales: “I think that whale ‘watching’ at night is under-rated, so long as you’re careful not to fall into the water! You don’t necessarily have to see them to be satisfied!”

These humpbacks seemed to be heading toward the ferry terminal, so the resident hurriedly followed them, but the whales ultimately turned around and headed back to their starting point near the rocks, much to the delight of those who had decided to stay there. Two of the humpbacks even breached! It’s not always easy to guess how they’re going to behave. In any case, it was still a more-than-productive evening. Poutine and whales… One might call that a true Côte-Nord experience!

In the Matane region, a regular observer and MICS partner had the chance to cross paths with nine blue whales. This encounter was a real surprise in his case, as he had not seen this species in the area for four years, though it used to come to feed here more frequently. “To my great surprise, yesterday I was surrounded by nine blue whales in a very small area and in less than 200 feet of water,” he comments on social media. “That’s where their food was, judging by the large clouds on the screen of my echo sounder. Also near my boat was the humpback whale Chalk, a regular visitor to the area who also felt very alone and squeezed out by this multitude of gentle giants that now appeared to be staking claim to its food.”

Right whales and sharks

The Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) team spotted basking sharks and about ten North Atlantic right whales near Anticosti Island and off the coast of Rivière-au-Tonnerre. Did you know that there is an interactive map for detecting North Atlantic right whales? The Whale Insight map allows you to visualize right whale detections in Canadian waters. For the curious, an advanced map even features data filtering options.

Fall is right around the corner!

Foggy days in the Franquelin area made observations there more difficult. For one enthusiast, harbour porpoises were nevertheless present, making their tiny rhythmic blows heard in the calm weather. According to a local, minke whales and seals are still active amongst the gannets and terns. Last Tuesday in Godbout, a humpback whale was heard blowing in the fog.

Where are the whales this week? Observation map

These data were reported by our network of observers. They give an idea of the presence of whales and in no way represent the actual distribution of whales in the St. Lawrence. Just for fun!

Click on the whale or seal icons to discover the species, the number of individuals, additional information or photos of the sighting. To enlarge the map, click on the icon in the top right-hand corner. The map works well on Chrome and Firefox, but not so well on Safari.

To display the list of sightings, click on the icon in the top left-hand corner.

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.

Florentine
Odélie Brouillette
Marie-Andrée Charleboix
Thalia Cohen Bacry
Laetitia Desbordes
Antoine Lala-Beaufils
Jade-Audrey Lavergne
Yael Medav
Élizabeth Melis
Camille Némond
Diane Ostiguy
Chloé Pazart
Renaud Pintiaux
Pascal Pitre
René Roy
Guillaume Savard
Christine Stadelmann
Andréanne Sylvain
Marielle Vanasse

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]!