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Whales in the Flesh!

Friday morning, September 22, 2023. Warning: Not for the faint of heart! I wake up shortly after dawn. The golden…

|Field Notes 3/11/2023

In Search of Large Rorquals

It's 5:45 a.m., and I'm already awake and excitedly waiting for news from the research team of the Group for…

|Field Notes 25/10/2023

Humpback Whales: Between River and Sky

September 14, 2023 will remain a date forever engraved in my memory. It was a strange and surreal day, Which…

|Field Notes 11/10/2023

Mysteries of the Depths: Discover the Surprises Unearthed from the Seabed during Sediment Sampling in the Estuary

By Eliza-Jane Morin, Resource Management Officer, Parks Canada During the summer months, the Parks Canada conservation team in the Saguenay-St.…

|Field Notes 11/10/2023

Predator-Prey Monitoring: Incursion into the Food Chain of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park

Once a week during the summer season, we carry out predator-prey monitoring in the lower estuary. The objective of this…

|Field Notes 10/10/2023

A Week on Gros-Cacouna Mountain

By Cristiane Albuquerque, ecologist and acting team lead at the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park I had the opportunity to spend…

|Field Notes 9/8/2023

A Day Aboard the Ciktek in Pursuit of the Harbour Seal

Today, June 21, 2023, is National Indigenous Peoples Day. I want to emphasize this, since I will be sailing on…

|Field Notes 19/7/2023

The Little Seal in Ragueneau

It’s late morning on Friday, June 2, when the phone rings. It’s the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network (QMMERN)…

|Field Notes 29/6/2023

Two Breathtaking Scenes

The slow start to the 2023 season in the Lower Estuary continues, with still very few observations of large whales.…

|Field Notes 22/6/2023

A Strange Start to the 2023 Season…

I like it when these field notes are representative of our daily observations on the water. It goes without saying…

|Field Notes 8/6/2023

Return of Tic Tac Toe

To begin these field notes, we first need to travel back in time to September 1999. It was one of…

|Field Notes 18/5/2023

Exciting Spring Arrivals

Another season is underway, and here I am once again with field notes that you will find posted on this…

|Field Notes 1/5/2023

Tale of a Migration to Mexico

Since 2019, I ‘ve been making an annual migration to Mexico for a few months each year, more precisely to…

|Field Notes 30/3/2023

A Brief Guide to Partial Necropsy

As part of a training course, my colleague and UMM technician Méduline Chailloux and I met on a Saturday morning…

|Field Notes 22/3/2023

A “GREMMlin” at IMPAC5

From February 3 to 9, the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress, IMPAC5, was held in Vancouver. The event was…

|Field Notes 8/3/2023

A day at the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network

Saturday, September 17: The weather is beautiful and the participants of the Béluga Ultra Trail (web page in French) race…

|Field Notes 2/2/2023

Teamwork for Whale Protection

Protecting the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park requires teamwork. Research makes it possible to better understand various issues related to the…

|Field Notes 25/10/2022

Recovery of a white-sided dolphin carcass in Rimouski

In the early afternoon of Monday, September 5, the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network call centre receives a report…

|Field Notes 11/10/2022

Eyes on the water

Every summer since 2003, the Parks Canada team has been scrutinizing the waters in and around Baie Sainte-Marguerite to tally…

|Field Notes 6/10/2022

The Belugas of Cacouna

“Hey look! Over there! A beluga!” Posted on our observation platform on the sacred mountain of Gros-Cacouna, Sami and I…

|Field Notes 20/9/2022

Invasive Aquatic Species Project

The week of July 11 to 15 marked the second year of sampling for our project in collaboration with Fisheries…

|Field Notes 18/8/2022

Marine Observation Activities

Since 1994, sampling has been conducted on nearly 3,000 excursionsin the heart of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park by the…

|Field Notes 11/8/2022

A Day in the Field with the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network

On the evening of June 20, 2022, the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network (QMMERN) gets wind that a harbour…

|Field Notes 21/7/2022

Tracking harbour seals in the fjord – a memorable first day in the field! June 6, 2022

The arrival of spring is synonymous with change. The days are getting longer, multiple species of whales are returning to…

|Field Notes 28/6/2022

What does GREMM do in winter? (2/2)

[Continuation of article “What does GREMM do in winter? (2/2)”] Every winter, when the whales leave the Estuary, many of…

|Field Notes 25/4/2022

Spring Arrivals

Every year, when the month of April kicks off in the Haute-Côte-Nord region, an indescribable emotion begins to flow through…

|Field Notes 18/4/2022

What does GREMM do in winter? (1/2 )

When fall arrives and the whales leave the St. Lawrence Estuary for the winter, GREMM takes its boats out of…

|Field Notes 13/4/2022

Humpback Whale ‘Rumba’ in Mexico

For the past few years, I’ve been making the occasional winter trip to Mexico, just for the sake of warming…

|Field Notes 21/3/2022

Destination Azores with Expedition Glacialis (Part 2 of 2: The Science)

By Mathieu Marzelière with the collaboration of Laurence Tremblay [Continuation of article “Destination Azores with Expedition Glacialis (Part 1 of…

|Field Notes 7/2/2022

Destination Azores with Expedition Glacialis (Part 1 of 2: Marine Fauna)

By Mathieu Marzelière with the collaboration of Laurence Tremblay Laurence and I work for GREMM as research assistants. For several…

|Field Notes 3/2/2022

Twelve Years of Encounters with Humpback Whale H626 (a.k.a. BBR/Gaspar)

For many years now, I have regularly gone out on the water every summer as well as a good part…

|Field Notes 19/1/2022

2021 Season Raises Questions

By René Roy For several years now, I’ve been plying the waters of the St. Lawrence in order to observe…

|Field Notes 13/12/2021

One Final Outing…

By Renaud Pintiaux, naturalist and wildlife photographer   The whale-watching season in the waters between Tadoussac and Les Escoumins ended…

|Field Notes 3/12/2021

With the Belugas… Collecting Biopsies

By Laura Zeppetelli This fall, I had the opportunity to leave my office in downtown Montréal to board the Bleuvet…

|Field Notes 9/11/2021

With the Belugas… An overview of our 2021 projects

By Alexandre Bernier-Graveline How do you imagine the day-to-day life of a member of GREMM’s research team? Hair blowing in…

|Field Notes 22/9/2021

With the mobile team… and a beluga carcass

By Marie-Maude Rondeau This summer, I’m working as a responder for the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network (QMMERN). I’m…

|Field Notes 15/9/2021

WITH THE BELUGAS… OUR FIRST FIELD SEASON ON GRANDE-ÎLE

By Jaclyn Aubin This summer, I was lucky enough to pass two weeks on the Grande-Île de Kamouraska, accompanied by…

|Field Notes 8/9/2021

With the Large – and Awe Inspiring! – Rorquals

By Mathieu Roy As a research assistant, I have the chance to spend part of my days aboard whale-watching cruises…

|Field Notes 24/8/2021

With visitors (and belugas!)… at the Pointe-Noire Interpretation and Observation Centre

Whether on water or on land, the research activities carried out by the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM)…

|Field Notes 19/8/2021

Writing a Popular Science Article in 10 Easy Steps

In my after-work hours, I write poetry. Drafting texts on whales is quite new to me. When I joined the…

|Field Notes 9/8/2021

With large rorquals… in the rain!

My name is Stéphanie, and I’m one of GREMM’s (Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals) research assistants for…

|Field Notes 3/8/2021

A Beautiful Story of Collaboration, from the Caribbean to the St. Lawrence

Many of the humpback whales observed in summer in the St. Lawrence spend part of the winter in their breeding…

|Field Notes 28/7/2021

Migration in Full Swing

Migration is truly underway in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is in full swing at the tip of the…

|Field Notes 23/6/2021

Field Season Debut and the Return of Two Stars: Tic Tac Toe and Ti-Croche!

Back on the water for the 2021 season. It should be a great summer offshore, between Tadoussac and Les Escoumins.…

|Field Notes 14/6/2021

Exciting Observation that Sparks Bad Memories

On February 19, a senior officer of a cargo ship passing through the St. Lawrence Estuary photographed blue whales off…

|Field Notes 17/3/2021

With the Belugas… Seen and Measured from the Sky!

By Alexandre Bernier-Graveline and Mathieu Marzelière For GREMM’s research team, winter is usually synonymous with compiling, processing and analyzing images…

|Field Notes 25/2/2021

With the Belugas… Season Ends with First Snow

Field notes written in collaboration with Laurence Tremblay A field season full of surprises is coming to an end for…

|Field Notes 5/11/2020

With visitors… at the Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

Whether on water or on land, the research activities carried out by the Group for Research and Education on Marine…

|Field Notes 9/9/2020

With the belugas… photographed from shore

Since 8 o’clock in the morning, GREMM (Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals) research assistant Mathieu Marzelière has…

|Field Notes 3/9/2020

With the Large Rorquals… New Mothers and a Whale Swimming Backward!

What a pleasure it is to cross paths with large rorquals! This week, we encountered two blue whales, nearly a…

|Field Notes 28/7/2020
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the Belugas… And Start of the 2020 Season

This year, GREMM’s (Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals) season of field research kicked off on June 15.…

|Field Notes 9/7/2020

Skeletons Moved to Tadoussac’s Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre

Friday, May 15, 9:30 a.m. Fully dressed and knapsack ready to go, I can hardly wait to kick off this special…

|Field Notes 28/6/2020

Dawn of a Promising Season

A few days ago, I set sail out of Matane with a friend of mine. In the protected waters between…

|Field Notes 27/5/2020

Quiet Oceans: Has The Covid-19 Crisis Reduced Noise In Whale Habitats?

By Valeria Vergara, researcher with Ocean Wise’s Marine Mammal Conservation Research Program, specialist of acoustic communication in beluga whales and collaborator…

|Field Notes 16/4/2020

Catch Me If You Can: A Week at the Saddle Island Haulout

6:30 a.m.: The alarm goes off, sounding the start of a new day in the field. I’m not in Tadoussac,…

|Field Notes 13/2/2020

Skeleton Preparations Move Forward

At the time of his most recent interview with a Whales Online intern in the fall of 2018, Michel Martin,…

|Field Notes 3/2/2020

Is ice a significant natural threat to blue whales in the Gulf?

Revisiting the photos I took this past summer, I pondered some of the specific markings I had observed on blue…

|Field Notes 2/12/2019

A Speckled Humpback… by Anik Boileau

By Anik Boileau, Veterinary Science Researcher and Director of CERSI With the arrival of fall in the Sept-Îles region, it’s…

|Field Notes 31/10/2019
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the Belugas… Their Newborns and the Narwhal

October 9: an Indian summer day, a calm St. Lawrence, spectacular fall foliage… the BpJAM sets sail for one of its…

|Field Notes 24/10/2019

With the belugas… and their blubber

By Valerie Jolicoeur, master student at UQAM This fall, I embarked on a major Master’s project that focuses on the…

|Field Notes 24/10/2019

End-of-season field notes 2017 (part II)

The last trip offshore for the year took place on November 4. Here is the second part of these Field…

|Field Notes 17/9/2019
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the belugas… And their amusing behaviours

September 6: While part of the team is returning from Alaska to lend a hand to researchers studying the beluga…

|Field Notes 13/9/2019

With Large Rorquals… and Their Gaping Mouths

By Maude-Émilie Bourque August 28, 2019: it’s my last day as a volunteer research assistant for the GREMM this season.…

|Field Notes 9/9/2019

With the large rorquals… The biggest!

By Maude-Émilie Bourque Sunday, August 25, 2019. I leave for Grandes-Bergeronnes at the crack of dawn with my equipment: camera…

|Field Notes 3/9/2019
Pose d'une balise sur le dos d'un béluga.

With the belugas… under water

On the morning of July 26, the Bleuvet sets sail from the port of Tadoussac to study belugas. With 6 people on…

|Field Notes 13/8/2019
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the Belugas… Out Fishing!

July 3, 2019: The BpJAM is back at sea for the 2019 field season, with the same crew as last…

|Field Notes 15/7/2019

With the Belugas… And Listening In!

By Mathieu Marzelière At last! GREMM’s 2019 field season is officially underway. This first week was devoted to Fisheries and…

|Field Notes 18/6/2019

A Blue Whale At Last!

I finally encountered my first large rorqual of the season! And it was about time: I had already travelled 240…

|Field Notes 27/5/2019

Travelling “down south”… by Albert Michaud

By Albert Michaud This winter, I had the chance to leave Quebec and go “down South”. Not to the Caribbean…

|Field Notes 29/4/2019

With the belugas: the fascinating work behind beluga pairing (part 2!)

In last week’s Field Notes, we presented the preparatory steps for beluga matching. This week, discover how the team adds…

|Field Notes 23/4/2019
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the Belugas: The Fascinating Work Behind Beluga Pairing

One of the pillars of the research conducted at the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals(GREMM) is photo-identification.…

|Field Notes 16/4/2019

My week at the whale warehouse

It all started with Marie-Ève, my Editor-in-Chief, asking me, “Would you like to spend a week with skeletons, Jass?” Next…

|Field Notes 7/1/2019

The last one from sea

It is the end of the 2018 season on the water but there is still life at sea. It is…

|Field Notes 7/11/2018

A sperm whale in front of the dunes of Tadoussac

Gloomy weather, but the river is calm on this October 29th as I embark on the Grand Fleuve for a whale-watching excursion.…

|Field Notes 30/10/2018
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the belugas… at full throttle!

Clear blue sky, low winds, calm sea… The perfect conditions for a productive day of photo-identification and photogrammetry. All we…

|Field Notes 3/10/2018
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the belugas… Hot to trot!

By Mathieu Marzelière and Albert Michaud Monday, August 27, 2018. Aboard the BpJAM, we set out of the Tadoussac port…

|Field Notes 11/9/2018

With the belugas… including one without a tail!

Monday, August 13, 2018: At the crack of dawn, the BpJAMM crew heads out toward the mid-channel buoy in perfect…

|Field Notes 16/8/2018

With the belugas… and the unexpected on board the Bleuvet!

On Wednesday, August 8, the Bleuvet team was on the water searching for a herd of belugas to carry out…

|Field Notes 10/8/2018

“Mom, can you hear me?” season #2

By Valeria Vergara and Marie-Ana Mikus (guest researchers from Ocean Wise Conservation Association) Time flies on the beluga research tower…

|Field Notes 2/8/2018

With the belugas… and their waist measurements!

Although this technique is already used in other cetacean species – including killer whales and right whales – it is…

|Field Notes 27/7/2018

With the Belugas… And a Narwhal!

By Mathieu Marzelière and Albert Michaud A new season is getting underway aboard GREMM's Zodiac, the BpJAM. New season, new…

|Field Notes 19/7/2018

Back at the tower: a second season in Baie-Sainte-Marguerite

By Jaclyn Aubin Last Saturday, as I hauled myself up onto the platform of the tower, I felt a flutter…

|Field Notes 10/7/2018
Béluga du Saint-Laurent balise

With the belugas – GREMM kicks off new season

With new projects being launched this year and continuing regular beluga monitoring, the 2018 field season promises to be rich…

|Field Notes 5/7/2018

A history of fidelity

Friday, June 8: after being notified of 3 blue whales purportedly present in the Gaspé region, I decide to head…

|Field Notes 18/6/2018

Ti-Croche, artiste and a minke whale in the air

A look back at the observations of the last two weeks off Tadoussac. At the end of May, it was…

|Field Notes 5/6/2018

Start of 2018 season on the St. Lawrence: a beautiful transition!

Whale-watching cruises in the Tadoussac region resumed on April 27. After six months on land, what a joy it is…

|Field Notes 3/5/2018

The humpbacks of Mazatlan

Thursday, January 4, 2018: while a weather bomb is pummelling Quebec, I have an appointment at 7:30 in the morning…

|Field Notes 8/1/2018

End-of-season field notes 2017 (part I)

The field season ended on November 4. But there are still quite noteworthy observations (marine mammals, birds, landscapes) and two…

|Field Notes 7/11/2017

With the belugas: week of october 16, 2017

The 2017 season is over! Autumn is already well upon us in Tadoussac, the sailboats have been taken out of…

|Field Notes 19/10/2017
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the belugas: week of october 2, 2017

A difficult autumn… For the past two weeks, the weather has not been on our side. A significant number of…

|Field Notes 11/10/2017
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the belugas: week of september 25, 2017

Hunters on the Prowl! A few weeks ago, we observed a beluga whale spitting on the water surface to hunt herring.…

|Field Notes 4/10/2017

With the belugas: week of september 18, 2017

This week, we are giving the floor to Alexandre Bernier-Graveline, UQAM Master’s candidate in bioaccumulation and the effects of environmental…

|Field Notes 29/9/2017

With the belugas… in Alaska: week of september 1, 2017

Belugas in the Mud From September 1 to 9, we were back in Anchorage, Alaska, for a second year in…

|Field Notes 21/9/2017

With the Belugas: Week of August 28, 2017

From May to October, five days a week, the Bleuvet criss-crosses the St. Lawrence River in search of herds of…

|Field Notes 6/9/2017

With the Belugas: Week of August 21, 2017

August 21: The Bleuvet is stationed off of L'Anse-à-la-Boule. The weather is particularly calm. Amidst the last patches of fog…

|Field Notes 28/8/2017

Whale soup

Monday morning, August 7. My vacation kicks off and pushes me to the opposite coastline, in the direction of the…

|Field Notes 10/8/2017

Harbour Porpoise: Investigation in the Marine Park!

It all begins on the morning of July 10, 2017, a rather ordinary day. The weather is fairly mild, visibility…

|Field Notes 30/7/2017

With the belugas: weeks of July 10 and 17, 2017

Our team began to see the first calves of the year several weeks ago already, but in the past two…

|Field Notes 28/7/2017

A great show in Gaspesie

When you take a whale-watching trip, you need to be lucky to observe a breaching session. To watch two such…

|Field Notes 24/7/2017

In Pursuit of the Fin Whale

Last July 13, 2017, I spent my day on the water in search of large rorquals to photograph. The weather…

|Field Notes 18/7/2017

My most faithful humpback

According to data provided by the Mingan Island Cetacean Study, the humpback whale H626 (MICS catalogue number) – known as…

|Field Notes 17/7/2017

With the Belugas: Week of July 3, 2017

Identifying  Individual Belugas Belugas are not one of the most easily recognizable whale species. They do not systematically show their…

|Field Notes 14/7/2017

Who am I?

Teeming with marine life, the St. Lawrence Estuary is a wonderful place. As a research assistant at the Group for…

|Field Notes 13/7/2017

With the belugas: week of June 26, 2017

Belugas of Baie Sainte-Marguerite Baie Sainte-Marguerite is probably one of the most enigmatic places within the St. Lawrence beluga population’s…

|Field Notes 10/7/2017

Are there any beluga nurseries in the St. Lawrence?

Topic of my Master’s project: Investigation of Allomothering in St. Lawrence Belugas For a long time, studies of cetaceans were…

|Field Notes 5/7/2017

With the belugas: week of June 19, 2017

Rolling the Dice After a first week spent in the upstream sector on the north shore side, the week of…

|Field Notes 28/6/2017
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the belugas: the research season 2017 is on!

No sooner do we exit Tadoussac Bay when we spot a herd of belugas between Ilet-aux-Morts and Pointe-Noire. It was…

|Field Notes 19/6/2017

Minke whale with calf and two fin whales

June 2, 2017. Foray off Tadoussac and an exceptional morning observation! According to my information, this is the first one…

|Field Notes 5/6/2017

The Godbout’s humpback whale: another milestone reached!

On May 3, the carcass of a young humpback whale was found beached in Godbout. Following sampling for research purposes,…

|Field Notes 2/6/2017

The Beauty of New Life

The month of May is a bit chilly out on the water and windows of favourable weather are somewhat narrower…

|Field Notes 1/6/2017

Focus: Harbor Seals of the Saguenay Fjord

In the past few days, spotting and locating minke whales and fin whales off the coast of Tadoussac has proven…

|Field Notes 18/5/2017

My First Encounter with Pilot Whales

On Saturday, May 13, together with Katy Gavrilchuk and David Gaspard, members of the Mingan Islands Cetacean Study (MICS) team,…

|Field Notes 16/5/2017

A New Face

Dear readers, The most observant amongst you may have noticed a new name beneath some of our articles in the…

|Field Notes 11/5/2017

Exciting First Outing of the Spring

On Friday, May 5, I made my first trip out to sea of the 2017 season. Usually I make this…

|Field Notes 10/5/2017

Offshore Season Kicks Off in Tadoussac!

Since May 1, I finally have the pleasure once again to sail the waters of the St. Lawrence Estuary… to…

|Field Notes 9/5/2017
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

DL220 off Cap de Bon-Désir!

April 10, 2017. Back on the rocks of Cap de Bon-Désir. Rather quickly, I spot with my binoculars a herd…

|Field Notes 12/4/2017

First Days of Spring in Haute-Côte-Nord

March 21, 2017. Afternoon of dream at the Cape of Bon-Désir, near Les Bergeronnes. A river ever so serene. As…

|Field Notes 22/3/2017

Doing research in winter: here is what happens at the GREMM

In summer, the Bleuvet and BpJAM ply the waters of the St. Lawrence and the Saguenay Fjord to study the…

|Field Notes 17/3/2017

Still plenty of belugas on the upper north shore

By Renaud Pintiaux January 17 and 18: I’m back on the rocks of Cape de Bon-Desir. Once again, it’s the…

|Field Notes 26/1/2017

Start of 2017 in Haute-Côte-Nord: A Fin Whale and a Group of Belugas

By Renaud Pintiaux The year’s off to a great start! January 2: I’ve no sooner arrived at Cap de Bon-Desir,…

|Field Notes 10/1/2017

End of November: Two Humpbacks and a Survivor!… by Renaud Pintiaux

November 25, 2016, Cap de Bon-Désir: moderate winds from the northeast and a few flurries begin to fall this morning.…

|Field Notes 1/12/2016
marsouin commun

Birds and Marine Mammals, Focus on Gray Seals and… a Jellyfish!

Rain and wind have pummelled the Haute-Côte-Nord region in recent days, but no matter! I've been spending a lot of…

|Field Notes 23/11/2016

Who are these minke whales?

By Mériscope October 23, 2016: last trip out to sea. The 6th season of photo-identifying St. Lawrence minke whales is…

|Field Notes 17/11/2016

On the Rocks of Cap de Bon-Désir

The season on the water is over, but marine mammals have yet to leave the area! From November 5 to…

|Field Notes 15/11/2016

Final Trip Offshore for the 2016 Season and an Exceptional Observation!

November 5: we're back on the waters of the Estuary for the last whale-watching cruise of 2016. Shortly after leaving…

|Field Notes 10/11/2016

Early November and Continuing Action off Tadoussac!

The field season is drawing to a close, and for real this time! Nevertheless, whales are still numerous off Tadoussac…

|Field Notes 7/11/2016

Revelation of the Year: Mingan Humpbacks in my Backyard!… by René Roy

I didn't suspect that I would close out the 2016 season with so many humpback sightings in the Estuary. This…

|Field Notes 3/11/2016

With the Belugas: Week of October 10, 2016

Final Week with the Belugas Autumn has now been in full swing in Tadoussac for a few weeks and, as…

|Field Notes 3/11/2016

And the Season Continues!

The offshore season has been extended one week... Awesome! On October 30, ours was the only boat out at sea.…

|Field Notes 2/11/2016

Focus on Fin Whales

December 9, 2015: from the rocks of Cap de Bon-Desir, I spotted five fin whales with my binoculars and took…

|Field Notes 31/10/2016

With the Belugas: Week of October 3rd, 2016

This week we speak with Anthony Simond, who spent two weeks aboard the Bleuvet in September 2016 to collect bacteria…

|Field Notes 25/10/2016

A Special Visitor off Tadoussac

October 17: offshore foray out of Tadoussac. Near Prince Shoal, we first cross paths with several minke whales feeding near…

|Field Notes 22/10/2016

Zipper, Trou, Gray Seals and Minke Whales

October 13, 2016: With the beautiful autumn light and breathtaking landscapes, it was another splendid trip out to sea from…

|Field Notes 20/10/2016

With the Belugas: Week of September 26, 2016

Curious Belugas... and a Humpback This week we are resuming regular photo-ID work of our St. Lawrence belugas. We're treated…

|Field Notes 10/10/2016

Great Diversity off the Coasts of our Villages

The past several days have been quite spectacular off the coasts of our villages. What diversity! There is a strong…

|Field Notes 4/10/2016

Autumn: an awesome season if you don’t mind the cold and want to see blue whales…

In the Lower Estuary, it seems that fall is the best time to observe blue whales. Compared to other species,…

|Field Notes 3/10/2016

With the Belugas: Weeks of September 5, 12, and 19, 2016

Beluga Pregnancy Tests: Data Collection Complete! The fourth and final collection of biopsies to determine the proportion of pregnant female…

|Field Notes 30/9/2016

Analysis of a Trip Out to See the Giants…

When searching for large rorquals, just because you have a good boat and you head to a known offshore feeding…

|Field Notes 20/9/2016

With the Belugas: Week of August 29, 2016

Chatty males! This week, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather to visit the downstream sector, where we regularly encounter…

|Field Notes 12/9/2016

Renowned Blue Whales… by Jaclyn Aubin

Today I would like to share a particularly phenomenal cruise that I had the chance to take. Arriving at our…

|Field Notes 9/9/2016

The Almost Mythical Blue Whale… by Audrey Tawel-Thibert

More than ten years ago, I first laid eyes on the largest animal that Earth has ever seen: the blue…

|Field Notes 6/9/2016

With the Belugas: Week of August 22, 2016

The Astonishing Miss Frontenac This week, fog forced us to work once again in the Saguenay, but luck is on…

|Field Notes 3/9/2016

Return of Blanco

August 30, 2016: a long 10-hour day out on the water. Eighty-five nautical miles cruising along the south and north…

|Field Notes 2/9/2016

Tail of a Fin Whale

Another beautiful morning on the water off of Tadoussac. Variable cloudiness and calm waters. A pair of fin whales near…

|Field Notes 1/9/2016

Breaching Minke Whale and Surface Feeding Humpback

More great moments were enjoyed off Tadoussac on the morning of August 25, 2016. Moderate winds from the southwest and…

|Field Notes 1/9/2016

With the Belugas: Week of August 15, 2016

Belugas of Cook Inlet (cont'd.) Second week with belugas in Alaska. Even if the scenery and water colour are a…

|Field Notes 29/8/2016

Meeting Up with Giants… by Jaclyn Aubin

"The blue whale is the biggest whale, right?" That's a question I hear often. Well yes! The blue whale, which can…

|Field Notes 24/8/2016

When the Humpback Comes to the Table… by Audrey Tawel-Thibert

On the afternoon of August 16, 2016, a young humpback whale, probably Fleuret's calf, was surface feeding. Together with other…

|Field Notes 23/8/2016

The Pictures Speak for Themselves

Following a fantastic day off Tadoussac on August 17, 2016, here is an album exceptionally full of photos, all taken…

|Field Notes 22/8/2016

With the Belugas: Week of August 8, 2016

With the Belugas… of Cook Inlet From August 10 to 23, the Bleuvet team defected to go lend a hand…

|Field Notes 19/8/2016

Objective Blue Whale: Guided by the Colour of their Excrement

Despite pleasant summertime temperatures, sustained winds of 20 to 35 knots force me to stay downwind of Cap Gaspé. I…

|Field Notes 18/8/2016

A Forest of Spouts…

On the morning of August 13, as the tide was rising, we identify a group of fin whales in the…

|Field Notes 18/8/2016

Cetacean Beauty and Acrobatics

Lots of action off shore in recent days. Of course, there are those rarities that have been observed on several…

|Field Notes 17/8/2016

Encounter with a Gray Seal… by Jaclyn Aubin

In recent weeks, it seems impossible to go out on the water without seeing at least a hundred or so…

|Field Notes 15/8/2016

With the Belugas: Week of August 1st, 2016

Calves, calves, and more calves. The beluga calving season is in full swing. Despite the newborn mortalities recorded in recent…

|Field Notes 11/8/2016

The Famous Breach of the Humpback… by Audrey Tawel-Thibert

The morning of August 5 is a difficult one out on the water. Shooting photos from a small Zodiac is…

|Field Notes 7/8/2016

With the Belugas: Week of July 25, 2016

This week we give the floor to our collaborator Valeria Vergara, a research scientist at the Vancouver Aquarium, who has…

|Field Notes 4/8/2016

Rising Sun over the St. Lawrence… by Jaclyn Aubin

In the past few months, I've learned that photo-identification work has nothing to do with artistic photography. Indeed, it is…

|Field Notes 2/8/2016

Gray Seals, Minke Whales, Fin Whales and Spectacular Scenery

In recent days, we've been observing gatherings of hundreds of gray seals off of Tadoussac. Above them, flocks of herring…

|Field Notes 1/8/2016
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the Belugas: Week of July 18, 2016

Mom, Can You Hear Me? — Continuation In the summer of 2015, we carried out a pilot project to assess…

|Field Notes 27/7/2016

With the Belugas: Week of July 11, 2016

Start of the Calving Season For belugas, the calving period runs from June to September. So it's no wonder that…

|Field Notes 22/7/2016

Spectacular Diversity… by Jaclyn Aubin

It is often said that the St. Lawrence is a smorgasbord for whales. Indeed, the river has several characteristics that…

|Field Notes 21/7/2016

Powerful Spouts, Beaming Sun, Shear Awe… by Renaud Pintiaux

Four to six fin whales have set up camp in recent days in the area between Tadoussac and Les Escoumins.…

|Field Notes 21/7/2016

With the Belugas: Week of July 4, 2016

A late start but some big reunions... After a series of mechanical problems, the Bleuvet is finally back on the water this…

|Field Notes 14/7/2016

Amazing Fin Whales… by Jaclyn Aubin

Despite several days of adverse conditions, last week proved to be very conducive for observing fin whales in the Marine…

|Field Notes 14/7/2016

Rediscovering Whales by Ear… by Audrey Tawel-Thibert

When we boarded the boat at 11:30 a.m. on June 28, I had noticed the layer of fog that was shrouding…

|Field Notes 11/7/2016

Humpbacks off of Cap Gaspé

Thursday, June 30: two friends and I set out for L'Anse-au-Griffon for a "hit-and-run" birding mission. Our goal is to…

|Field Notes 7/7/2016

A Gam of Fin Whales in the Gaspé

After several days of waiting in early June, a window of favourable weather finally arrived on June 18. And so…

|Field Notes 30/6/2016

Under the Summer Sun: Yogi, a Few Rorquals and a Curious Seal

June 24, 2016: a fantastic trip off of Tadoussac to celebrate Saint-Jean Baptiste Day! Bright sun, light winds. Breathtaking landscapes. Our…

|Field Notes 27/6/2016

Following Researchers at Sea

Several research teams made their inaugural trips of the season in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence in recent…

|Field Notes 22/6/2016

The Power of Fin Whales and the Energy of Minke Whales

On the morning of June 3, as our boat sat motionless for several minutes off the Prince Shoal Lighthouse, two…

|Field Notes 9/6/2016

At Least Six Fin Whales off Tadoussac

On the morning of May 31, it was a thrill to locate no fewer than six fin whales between Prince…

|Field Notes 4/6/2016

Five Fin Whales, a Minke Whale in Action and a Festival of Jaegers

On the morning of May 29, we observe five fin whales offshore between Tadoussac and Les Bergeronnes. Their huge blasts…

|Field Notes 1/6/2016

First Trip of the Season in Gaspé

The first trip of the season is definitely one of the most exhilarating. The excitement of being on the water…

|Field Notes 30/5/2016

First trip out to sea

How great it feels to be on the water again! A new season begins... Back to the majestic St. Lawrence,…

|Field Notes 12/5/2016

Belugas on the Move
Update, January 19, 2016: Theories as to Why the Project was not as Successful as Expected

At the dawn of the beluga seasonal migration, one question remains: where will they winter? This question is at the…

|Field Notes 19/1/2016

Beyond Cap de Bon-Désir, fin whale Bp929…

[caption id="attachment_16956" align="alignright" width="150"] Rorqual commun non reconnu[/caption] On December 5, through my binoculars, I spot five fin whales, two…

|Field Notes 9/12/2015

Minke Whale Santafin at Cap de Bon-Désir…

Luck and patience. These are the two key words if ones hopes to enjoy interesting sightings of marine mammals from…

|Field Notes 7/12/2015

Harbour Seal Gathering in Tadoussac

November 30, 2015: Tadoussac: I'm walking on the beach, from Tadoussac Bay to the dunes. At this time of year…

|Field Notes 2/12/2015

Close of 2015 Season Off the Shores of Tadoussac

It's one of the last trips offshore for the 2015 season. There's a tinge of sadness, for sure, but it's…

|Field Notes 28/10/2015

Fall Temperatures and Breaching Minke Whale

A strong wind is blowing from the west-southwest today, Monday, October 19. Nevertheless, I have the pleasure of observing a…

|Field Notes 20/10/2015

With the Belugas: Week of September 21, 2015

Mission accomplished! It's the third and last week of the intensive biopsy program for St. Lawrence belugas. Our goal is…

|Field Notes 19/10/2015

A Gorgeous October Morning

The wind is blowing from the northwest. It's a sunny but chilly day. The beauty of the landscape is breathtaking:…

|Field Notes 9/10/2015

With the Belugas: Week of September 14, 2015

Biopsies Made Challenging by the Wind In this second week of the intensive beluga biopsy program, we have spent 16…

|Field Notes 9/10/2015
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

With the Belugas: Week of September 7, 2015

THE MYSTERY OF BAIE SAINTE-MARGUERITE This week, we take a closer look at the intensive beluga biopsy program spearheaded by…

|Field Notes 2/10/2015

With the Belugas: Week of August 31, 2015

One, two, three...four newborns are surrounding us! In 18 hours with belugas this week, we conducted four censuses and encountered…

|Field Notes 28/9/2015

Finding Symphonie in the Middle of the Estuary

I had a great outing in the Estuary on September 22 together with Katy and David, two members of the…

|Field Notes 25/9/2015

With the Belugas: Week of August 24, 2015

MOM, CAN YOU HEAR ME? This week, the team had 11 encounters in 22 hours with belugas. Two boats were…

|Field Notes 25/9/2015

With the Belugas: Week of August 17, 2015

Good news for calves! In 14 hours with belugas, we conducted four censuses and a total of 10 calves were…

|Field Notes 18/9/2015

Surface Feeding Behaviour in Blue Whales

Sunday, September 13: as usual, I had to deal with the tide when putting my boat into the water and…

|Field Notes 18/9/2015

In the St. Lawrence: a Scene that Changes by the Hour

My expectations are low as I leave the Tadoussac wharf on the morning of September 9, a heavy blanket of…

|Field Notes 17/9/2015

With the Belugas: Week of August 10, 2015

YOGI SWIMS UP THE SAGUENAY ALONE This week, fog is prevalent. Our observations had to be cut short. Nevertheless, we…

|Field Notes 15/9/2015

A Ballet of Minke Whales, Gray Seals and Black-legged Kittiwakes

September 10: this morning, calm conditions seem to be reigning off the coast of Tadoussac. This is but an illusion.…

|Field Notes 14/9/2015

With the Belugas: Week of August 3

A BELUGA THAT SHOWS ITS TEETH Several hours at sea for Week 6 in the field! In total: 20 hours…

|Field Notes 11/9/2015

Porpoises: Shy Whales? Not in the Least… by Marie-Pier Poulin

Not this week at least! On several cruises, observers old and young smiled as they discovered harbour porpoises, those small,…

|Field Notes 4/9/2015

Minke Whales Draw my Attention… by Catherine Chassé

After a morning working in the lab, I finally head offshore in the afternoon to join the whales. Earlier that…

|Field Notes 3/9/2015

First Encounter with the Largest Animal on the Planet… Marie-Pier Poulin

I had heard that the St. Lawrence is one of the few places where one can observe blue whales, even…

|Field Notes 29/8/2015

Undeterred by the Weather… by Catherine Chassé

Waves, fog and wind await me off of Tadoussac. Even before boarding the zodiac, I know that today will not…

|Field Notes 29/8/2015

The Great Feast off Tadoussac

The river is calm. The Sun is shining brightly above our heads. A storm looms in the distance, coming from…

|Field Notes 28/8/2015

Straight Out of a Dream

Photos: © René Roy I just woke up from a dream ... A dream in which I was at a…

|Field Notes 21/8/2015

From Tadoussac to Les Escoumins, Another Magical Day…

How can we forget that we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world when, on this…

|Field Notes 20/8/2015

Northern gannets steal the show from whales in Tadoussac

In recent days, gannet observations almost overshadow those of whales, at least as far as I'm concerned! They number in…

|Field Notes 18/8/2015

With the Belugas: Week of July 27

BELUGAS AND WAVES! It's been a tough week for working out at sea. However, we have completed three surveys and…

|Field Notes 3/8/2015

With the Belugas: Week of July 20, 2015

We are in the 4th week of field work for the St. Lawrence beluga behavioural study. We have gone out…

|Field Notes 26/7/2015

With the Belugas: Week of July 13

RESEARCHERS' TIPS TO RECOGNIZE THEM In the course of three days at sea, as part of our behavioural study project…

|Field Notes 19/7/2015

With the Belugas: Week of July 6

Our second week in the field for the beluga behavioural study was spread over three non-consecutive days (July 6, 9…

|Field Notes 12/7/2015

Gaspé Mission: Happy Encounters and a Sad Discovery

Almost five days on the water and some 250 nautical miles covered in the Gaspé-Percé sector from June 30 to…

|Field Notes 10/7/2015

With the Belugas: Week of June 29

The field season for the St. Lawrence beluga behavioural study is under way. The first week consisted of three days…

|Field Notes 6/7/2015
Béluga du Saint-Laurent

Leaving the Belugas for the Winter

Le Bleuvet has been taken out of the water for the winter. For the past two weeks, the team was…

|Field Notes 5/10/2014