Snowbirds leave northern winters for warmer climes. In Alaska if they never winter over, they are chechakos. When they winter over, they become sourdoughs. As they get older many sourdoughs decide to go south for the winter and become snowbirds. There are a lot of Sourdough Snowbirds in Hawaii. There are signs of Alaska all over if you look.
At every port we got messages from friends welcoming us. We were even invited to an Alaska picnic. We are cruise ship snowbirds. Traveling on a long winter cruise is less expensive than maintaining a snowbird condo or cabin in Hawaii or Palm Springs, another favorite Alaska snowbird perch. On a cruise there is no extra house to maintain, no need for a local car, no local taxes, food and entertainment included. That’s our choice. (Yes, I know, we don’t build equity.)
But there are other Alaskan Snowbirds, humpback whales. Hawaiians may claim them because they are bred and born in Hawaii in the winter, but they spend spring, summer and fall in Alaska feeding. And there is increasing evidence that there are some sourdough humpbacks who winter over in Alaska. We are not sure why, it may be they feel they have not put on enough bulk to make the round trip because they do not eat while in Hawaii or perhaps it is a form of birth control. The water is clearer and warmer in Hawaii but provides fewer nutrients. But I suppose Hawaii is better for romance. Humpbacks attract mates in Hawaii, mate, and then, after a trip north to feed, they come back to Hawaiian waters to give birth. They have a gestation period of 11 months.
I have taken lots of pictures of whale flukes in Alaska and sent them to happywhale.org, a citizen science project. Each whale has a fluke pattern as distinct as a human fingerprint. Happy Whale matches them to animals in their database. That allows them to track where the whales migrate, where they feed and, if they are lucky, how long it takes them to travel the 2,500 miles (4,000 KM) between Southeast Alaska and Hawaii. The shortest time between identifying pictures taken in Alaska and Hawaii is 28 days. Moms get pregnant in Hawaii, swim to Alaska to feed, back to Hawaii to give birth and then back to Alaska with their calves to teach them the ropes. The parent and child go back to Hawaii together before the calf is weaned.
In Hawaii I wanted to see a whale that I have seen in Alaska, so we went on whale watches out of Honolulu and Maui. Whales show different behavior in Alaskan and Hawaiian waters. In Alaska they are feeding and I can predict where to aim my camera. If there is a big flock of birds, I watch that area. Whales often surface feed and lunge feed. I can have my camera ready when I see the start of that behavior. In Hawaii the behavior is different, there are competition pods where males show off to a female by doing fin flaps, fluke slaps and breaches. Moms also swim with newborn calves. We see this in Alaska, but the calves are bigger and the moms, who lose weight nursing their kids, look thinner. We saw a lot of Hawaiian whale behavior, including two breaches, but I didn’t get many pictures. The Hawaiian photographers knew just where to point. It was amazing just to watch that behavior. I was able to predict dives and get fluke shots and that was what was important.
Happy Whale identified at least two whales that I have seen in Southeast Alaska. It is astounding to me that I can see the same animal just a little way from my house in Alaska and then see it in Hawaii, where I had to get on a plane and then a ship and the whale traveled 2,500 miles under its own power. We live in a world of wonder.
