Whale Songs in Hawaii

During the winter breeding season in Hawaii, the male humpbacks “sing.” Their songs are comprised of a complex series of sounds which form a clearly identifiable pattern. A song typically lasts 8-15 minutes and is then repeated over and over in song sessions that may last several hours.

The songs change somewhat each season but all the whales in a specific population sing the same song. The singers are usually alone and stationary but have been known to sing while traveling with a female and calf. Because our buoys are also stationary, and because these songs can carry for miles underwater, you will notice our recordings usually feature many whales singing simultaneously . This is known as "chorusing."

The recordings in the library were made during the winter mating seasons between 2004 and 2008 off the island of Hawaii.We intend to augment this collection with more recent recordings as well.

The humpback whales are extremely quiet in Alaska in contrast to their exuberant singing during the winter months in Hawaii.

Long periods of silence are broken by the occasional long feeding calls of a solo whale voice. The calls are often quite dramatic, and do not contain the same identifiable patterns as those found in the “songs.”

The recordings in the present library were made in Angoon, Alaska during the summers of 2004 and 2005.