Frozen Moments in the Mist

In Cacouna and Rivière-du-Loup, belugas have also been present in good numbers every day, approaching the shoreline and coming to feed near the docks. Every day… or almost! “This week, there were three days when the fog was so thick that visibility was reduced to just a few hundred metres. We could hear the whales blowing, but we couldn’t see a thing!” points out one observer from the Marine Mammal Observation Network (MMON). “And on Sunday, there were so many waves, it was impossible to differentiate their white backs from the foam!”

But if you don’t go see the belugas, the belugas will come to you! On Sunday, June 27, about three hours after the tide had begun to rise, a group of 70 to 80 belugas enter Tadoussac Bay and frolic there for about 10 minutes, swimming in every direction. Some approach to within 20 metres of the docks and 100 metres from the beach, much to the surprise of local residents, who claim to never have seen them so daring. The most observant amongst them note that the cormorants are returning from their dives with small capelin in their bills. That probably explains it!

Out near the Mingan Islands, many minke whales are reported, as is an unidentified juvenile humpback. An observer posted at Pointe-des-Monts sums up his week: two humpbacks on Saturday, multiple minke whales and a handful of grey seals. On June 25, in Baie-des-Sables, a minke whale comes to feed about 300 metres from the end of the wharf. “It spent a good 15 minutes in front of me, wriggling from left to right. It’s always nice to watch them glide across the water, disappear for a few seconds and then reappear,” tells one observer.

Every morning at dawn, Gaspé-based captain Jean Roy sets out in pursuit of whales from Cap Bon-Ami. Once again this week, he is impressed by the number of large rorquals present. “There are hordes of sand lance along the coast. And in these schools of fish, I counted one morning up to 25 humpbacks and fin whales mixed together!” On Friday, an observer posted at the same location spots thousands of birds in the middle of a feeding frenzy. She patiently waits for whales to join the feast and is rewarded with two exquisite breaches.

Amongst these dorsal and caudal fins swarming around the tip of the Gaspé, rumours have it that some observers might have recognized the humpback whale BBR, also known as Gaspar, accompanied by a calf! This would be the second offspring of this faithful visitor to the Estuary, who has been known to researchers ever since she was born in 2005.

The Percé region is also brimming with activity. On June 23, three humpbacks are spotted 200 metres from Percé Rock. “They circled around us for over an hour,” confirms a tour boat captain. “There were also two fin whales near the buoy at the entrance to Percé, as well as five minke whales and a good number of seals.”