Humpback Whale Song November 2020

November 16, 2020 Posted by: Chris Gabriele
Spectrogram of humpback whale song November 2020
In Glacier Bay, fall is the time of year when male humpback whales are prone to suddenly stop feeding and burst into song. On a recent Friday evening, this singing whale kept me late at work listening to his song. But it was worth it - this was by far our best recording this fall.  Males typically sing in their tropical breeding grounds (think Hawaii! Mexico!) but we often hear a few singers in the fall in Alaska. 

To learn more about whale sounds and hear a 60-sec clip, or the whole 25-minute song, visit Glacier Bay's underwater sound library at https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/nature/soundclips.htm

You can use this spectrogram 'sound picture' to follow along, from left to right. Thanks to Sean Tevebaugh (NPS) for the animated video, featuring male #1299 (although we really don't know which whale was singing).

whale,song,humpback,Glacier Bay, humpbackwhales, sounds, song



Last updated: November 16, 2020

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