Sunday, July 31, 2011

of Sparrows and Whales

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Last week I took a trip up to Hervey Bay and went whale watching. I went with a delightful couple who were visiting from New Zealand. (Just as an aside - Isn't it nice when visitors like the same things you do and are so appreciative of whatever you show them! Thanks John and Jackie!)
It is a little less than two hours - if the traffic is good! - from where I live at the southern end of the Great Sandy Strait. I left earlier than we needed to so we had time to sit at a cafe right on the boardwalk around the harbor and enjoy a drink before we left. There were small trees in tubs around the outside eating area and a bird flew in and starting singing. When I looked I saw it was a Sparrow. Early colonists took sparrows with them wherever they went around the world and they were introduced to Australia also. However, they seem to stay in larger population areas and I have not seen any close to where I live. This was the first one I had seen since I began photographing birds some years ago. (All photos enlarge when clicked on.)
There are a number of boats to choose for a whale watching tour. We decided on the Freedom 111 - a 58 foot catamaran which takes a maximum of 45 passengers. We found the crew very helpful and friendly and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. It was a 3/4 day tour and we were served morning and afternoon tea as well as lunch. The food was excellent - we started with a morning tea of hot scones with jam and cream, profiteroles, and soft drinks or tea or coffee. What could be nicer!
Humpback whales were almost hunted to extinction but now their numbers are increasing and each year many of them come into the shallower waters of Hervey Bay and rest and play for a while. We traveled north along the west coast of Fraser Island. It was a beautiful day - sunshine, almost flat sea and hardly any wind.
The first glimpse we had of a whale was a distant splash.
We saw several whales quite early in the trip and had good views of them 'breaching' - jumping right out of the water - and splashing the water with their flukes and tails.
These first whales we saw left after a few minutes and we could not see where they had gone to. The boat skipper then took us to the northern end of Fraser Island but although there had been several pods of whales up there earlier they were not there by the time we got there. We started south again and were lucky enough to see another 3 whales moving south ahead of us. We kept pace with them without getting too close but suddenly they turned back towards us and came right up close to look at us. Whales are curious and apparently it is quite common for them to do this. It was an awesome experience to have these huge creatures swim alongside the boat, dive under it to come up on the other side, and repeat this a number of times. The water was beautifully clear and you could see the whale through the water as it dived down. The best of all was when a whale lifted its great head right beside the boat and appeared to be looking at us. There were barnacles clinging to the skin of the whale. White marks showed where they had fallen off.
Later in the season there are more whales in the area and tours expect to see many more in one trip than we did. However, we had a great trip this time - and the experience is certainly one that I would like to repeat sometime.

24 comments:

  1. It sure was! I'd do it again!!

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  2. Hard to imagine that there's a place on this Globe without (or with only a few) sparrows :)
    Love your whale photos, that's awe inspiring!

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  3. Hi Nicole, I'm very glad the sparrows haven't spread any further because all the other things that got brought into Australia have just displaced native birds or animals. Very distressing. Glad you liked the whales.

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  4. What a great day out. An experience to remember for ages.

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  5. HI John, it's taken me years to get around to going on this trip - but certainly one to remember!

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  6. I just moved from House Sparrow Central (suburban Chicago) to a neighborhood in Florida where I haven't seen a HOSP for over a month. So far, I don't miss them. Your boat excursion looks like a great adventure, something I hope to do some day. :)

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  7. HI Amy, they are persistent little birds and I am glad there are still places where they haven't managed to overwhelm everything else.

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  8. what a treat to see the whales so close. That is an experience you never will forget. :)

    The sparrow seem to differ a little from ours.

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  9. Hi NatureFootstep, I don't see enough sparrows to compare them but my birding book showed them with more black down the front so I wondered if this one might be a young one.

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  10. Great shot of the ubiquitous male House Sparrow Mick but my attention is definitely drawn to the Humpback Whales! Thank God we put a ban on whaling these beautiful creatures back in 1966.

    It looks like you had a great experience with them and got some great photos too! Whales are very intelligent mammals and I'm sure they were coming up to look at you on the boat.

    I always love hearing their songs. You can hear an example here.

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  11. Hi Larry, thanks for your comments and thanks for the link to the whale song. I just wish all whaling was stopped but there is still 'scientific whaling' carried on by the Japanese in the southern oceans which threaten whales again. So far nothing has been able to stop this and the numbers caught seem hardly to be necessary for any science that might be done. Whale meat is still being eaten in that country.

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  12. You're absolutely right, Tony. Plus we were lucky with the boat we went on. I don't think I would have enjoyed it so much with a bigger boat and more than a hundred people :-(

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  13. Hi Mick
    Lovely to see the whales come in so close to you.
    I did that trip many years ago, but only had a distant view (like your firs image).
    But the Dolphins made up for it, accompanying the boat as we travelled up the Bay.
    Fond memories.
    You were very lucky with them poking their heads up. Apparently the young males tend to do that.
    Thanks for sharing, and bringing back memories for me.
    Denis

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  14. Yup & people still bring in non-native plants and animals :/

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  15. Hi Denis, from what I read and hear the whales are increasing in numbers every year so that gives a better chance of seeing more whales in this area. I've been thinking about this trip ever since I came up here and it was great to finally make it. There were numbers of dolphins around all day just like you said you saw.

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  16. Hi Nicole, Australia now has VERY strict quarantine laws. afaik - the pests were brought in years ago before the risks were known. Of course it is still possible for things to slip past the controls.

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  17. That is absolutely amazing! Your whale pictures are fabulous. And what a great illustration of "all creatures great and small"! I'm in awe. And it is nice when company enjoys what you do -- I'm so glad they did and glad that you shared with your virtual company! We enjoyed it too.

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  18. Thanks for your comment Sallie. I wish I could whisk all my blogging readers over here on a magic carpet to see it all in real time!

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  19. Great post it is all right for people who don't get sea sick.But for those who do the photos are amazing.

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  20. Hi Neil, the sea was so flat that day I think you would have loved it.

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  21. Mick

    WRT to House Sparrows, their numbers seem to be declining world wide. This was first talked about in the UK, in the context of the removal of hedgerows etc. However they are also declining in Canberra as shown in the COG Garden Bird Survey.

    Out where I live (30kms from Canberra) the only places we see sparrows are around horse places where they feed on the spilled feed. If you'd like to see some spiffy graphs about this let me know by responding to this.

    Martin

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  22. Hi Martin, I have been told about the lessening numbers of sparrows by other birds as well. However, I wonder if the bush environment around here has ever suited them. I can't really imagine so. The birds we see have a clearly defined niche in the local environment. I am also told there are small numbers of sparrows at Rainbow Beach - another tourist destination.

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