Why this website exists
On notebooks, 52-hertz whales, and thinking publicly.
Practically, I created this website because I need a place to put my writing, art, music, analyses, and thoughts and I've run out of notebooks.
More romantically, I'm trying to "make myself known" to other people doing similar work or interested in similar things.
Somewhere deep in the Pacific is a baleen whale who calls at 52-hertz (G#1, the lowest G-sharp on a piano). A sped-up recording of this whale's call, as well as my artistic remix, can be heard below.
- —
- —
Whale scientists have never observed calls at that frequency beforeSome whales briefly hit that frequency in specific situations, e.g., while eating.. I explore whale call ranges in the visualization below and show how the candidate species usually call at much lower frequencies. There are various explanations, but to hear the internet tell it (several times, over the decades), the 52-hertz whale must be the loneliest animal on Earth.
Just imagine it out there, calling for kin that can't hear or respondBaleen whales can almost certainly hear a 52-Hz call — it sits close to the upper edge of their primary ranges, and some species produce calls that high in specific situations. But what's the better story?. Devastating. But it does keep calling. I think it would be even lonelier if it didn't call.
Like the strange whale, I call out. That means doing my thinking and projects in public. If you heard the strange signal then come speak with me. I want to know what you think about the things on these pages.
calling out at just a few octaves above 52 hertzThe 52 Hz call falls in no primary range — and matches neither candidate species
Vocalization frequency ranges for baleen species in and near the North Pacific observation space. Blue and fin whales are the only candidates based on migration, ecology, and call structure — but 52 Hz sits well above both species' primary song.
| Species | Primary (Hz) | Extended (Hz) | Candidate | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue whale | 10–39 | to 100 (D-calls) | Yes | Migration overlap, hybrid hypothesis supported |
| Fin whale | 13–40 | to 100 (feeding calls) | Yes | Seasonal timing match, hybrid hypothesis supported |
| 52-Hz whale | 49–52 | — | — | — |
| Gray whale | 20–200 | — | No | Coastal migrator; percussive call structure, not tonal |
| Bowhead whale | 50–500 | — | No | Arctic range; no central North Pacific presence |
| Right whale | 50–500 | — | No | Near-extinct in North Pacific (<100 individuals); coastal habitat |
| Humpback whale | 80–4,000 | to 40 (pulse trains) | No | Primary range far above 52 Hz; complex song structure unlike 52-Hz tonal calls |
| Sei whale | 100–5,000 | — | No | Mid-frequency singer; entirely different frequency band |
| Minke whale | 800–2,000 | — | No | Frequency range nowhere close to 52 Hz |
Candidacy based on geographic range, migratory overlap, and call structure similarity. Dashed outlines in the chart show situational vocalizations that extend each species' acoustic envelope beyond their primary song. Frequency overlap alone is insufficient without structural and ecological match.
Watkins et al. 2004 · Širović et al. 2007 · Wiggins 2020 · Darling 2015 · DOSITS · Wanichkul & Širović 2022 · Jefferson et al. 2021