As the kettle switch clicks and I can pour myself yet another cup of coffee in the safety of our cosy house, the foghorn is still blaring, the waves crashing on the nearby shore; weather in Paternoster, west coast of South Africa, can be rough. But the northward winds that make the window panes rattle have a much more profound effect on the ocean I hear roaring: nutrient rich deep waters of the Benguela Current upwells to the surface, thus making the small town a must visit destination for hundreds of humpback whales migrating from their breeding grounds in Gabon to their feeding ones in Antarctica. A team of marine biologist has taken notice of the gathering of these cetaceans in such an unusual large number and it's been there to shed a light of the interactions within these 'supergroups'.
The lighthouse at Cape Columbine offers a few accommodation for visitors and one for its keeper
A trio of humpback whales traveling off the coast of Paternoster
Tide pools see a varied array of life
Sandstone boulders litter the coastline of the Cape Columbine Reserve
Nights in the field are made for analyzing the data recorded during the day, in this case by a hydrophone.
Photo-identification by fluke matching is a widely implemented for estimating populations of humpback whales
The SouthAfrican population doesn't exhibit a fluke diving behavior quite so often, so photo-ID by pectoral fin matching is preferred
A Kestrel pair has nested in the foghorn of the lighthouse
The Sea Search Africa team unwinds on the beach of Paternoster
The strong winds offer good conditions for surfing
Breaching behavior is not fully understood, but it is believed to be one of the ways in which whales communicate
For these pictures, in particular those taken at sea, I am greatly indebted to the Sea Search Africa team, especially Simon, Bridget, Darren, Shreia, James and, at a later stage, Jack with whom I spent three weeks in Paternoster, SA.
