Whale Sightings 8/29/22 to 9/6/22 Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 8/29/22 to 9/6/22 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
08-29-22
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Happy Monday Whale Watchers,
Today the Asteria headed toward the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of wildlife. As we left the harbor, we got a very quick glimpse of a Minke Whale before venturing further. As we approached our destination, we spotted an enormous Mola Mola at the surface! We got phenomenal looks at this animal, as it slowly swam at the surface. As we started to leave this Mola, we spotted a tall blow out ahead! It was a Fin Whale, the second largest animal on the planet! This whale was taking very short dives, which allowed us to get some great looks at it. This whale even pooped at the surface, raining nutrients back down into the water column. After saying goodbye to our Fin Whale, we did a proper “Tour de Stellwagen,” making our way down the bank before happily finding another spout on the southwest corner, near Provincetown! This was a Humpback Whale named Clamp, who was likely doing some subsurface feeding. We got a few fantastic looks at the unique pattern on her tail flukes before we waved goodbye and headed back to Boston. It was a lovely day on the water!
B-e-a-utiful Fluking Dives,
David & Maddie
08-29-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch made its way towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. After some searching, the spotted a blow in the distance. It ended up being a blow from a very large fin whale! This fin whale looked like it was snoozing at the surface so we were able to get some really amazing looks at the second biggest animal on the planet! While the fin whale was on a dive, a juvenile humpback popped up right near the boat. This little whale was at the surface for a bit before doing a beautiful fluking dive right near the boat! We got some final great looks at our sleepy fin whale before heading back to Boston. It ended up being a really great day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Flukes up,
Colin and Ashlyn
08-30-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Dear Baleen Buddies,
Today the Noon Whale Watch trekked across so much of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales. We headed to the Northwest corner, then Tillies Bank, and back towards the middle of the bank where at long last we spotted a blow! This belonged to Milkweed and her calf. They stayed very close to the boat. Additionally, several blue sharks came through the area and a Mola mola made an appearance as well! After a long trip, we headed back to Boston!
Be you!
Mira and Maddie
08-31-22
Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
The Asteria headed north out on gorgeous seas in search of wildlife. After traveling a bit of distance, we saw a bunch of activity off the Isles of Shoales! We spotted blows from two humpback pairs and alternated our time between Nile and Nile 22 Calf, and Shuffleboard and Highlighter. We got to see some cute fluking dives from Nile’s little calf and spent most of our time with the sluggish Shuffleboard/Highlighter duo. While this pair wasn’t sleeping, they spent a lot of time at the surface – “stretching” and snaking. While with these humpback whales we also saw at least 4 different minke whales! These whales circled the boat our whole trip, giving passengers great views. As we headed back to Boston, we got a bonus look at another mom and calf pair – Owl and Owl 22 Calf. We wrapped up the trip with a quick look at Owl’s cute calf before setting back to Boston.
Kate and Colin
09-02-22
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Happy Friday Whale Watchers,
We had a gorgeous day on the water today! We made our way further north than we usually do, near the Isle of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire, in search of whales. We found quite a few scattered around us, and they all looked to be Humpback Whales! We started our trip with a female named Clamp, who was taking very short dives and surfacing nearby. This allowed us to get some spectacular looks at her. On one of her dives, we also noticed a small fin sticking up out of the water. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Blue Shark, who swam right next to our boat! As this shark sank beneath the surface, another Humpback Whale surfaced near us. It was none other than fan favorite, Dross, swimming past us. She surfaced near us a few times and lifted her tail flukes high into the air with each short dive. With time winding down, we said goodbye to our whales and headed home to Boston. What a great time!
Until Next Time,
David & Gracie
09-02-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
We had a beautiful ride today aboard the Aurora, as we headed along the Cape Ann coast towards the Isle of Shoals area off Jeffrey’s. When we arrived, we spotted a pair of humpbacks, a few blue sharks, gannets, and several hundred white-sided dolphins!
Our pair of humpbacks were Pinball and Highlighter, who were traveling slowly at the surface. Suddenly we began seeing a few dorsals of dolphins, and quickly were surrounded bu several hundred milling white-sided dolphins (lots of calves in the mix!). These dolphins began swimming and surfacing around Pinball and Highlighter, and with the glassy seas we could easily see them under the surface. Pinball however seemed a bit perturbed with the dolphins swimming near her- she made lots of trumpets and stutter blows, and at one point even flicked her flipper at a dolphin! (See photo).
We wrapped up our trip on a third humpback, with hundreds of dolphins and gannets visible on the horizon as we headed home. Captain Jeff also gave us a nice bonus look of the backside of Thacher Island – its twin lighthouses align in a North direction, so no matter which way you round the cape, you can always see at least one of the lighthouses. It is always fun to watch the two towers align together when you are directly south/north of them (see photo).
Cheers,
Laura
09-03-22
10am and 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening!
The 10am whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. After a few days of minimal sightings, we were ecstatic to see multiple species throughout our trip! Before reaching the bank, we saw a small group of harbor porpoises. After a few looks at these small cetaceans, we continued on and found a group of four humpbacks which included Dyad, Nine, and Wyoming. We got some great looks at these animals as they traveled through the area – and some awesome views at a mola mola! On our way back, we finished our sightings with a massive pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
Our 2:30pm whale watch headed towards the same area of Stellwagen Bank, and found that the number of humpbacks had multiplied! We saw at least nine humpbacks – consisting of multiple singles, two pairs, and one trio. We were able to identify Nine, Wyoming, Dyad, and Hippocampus – with many more IDs to come! The wind had picked up, and therefore we saw surface activity area. We saw multiple flipper slapping whales and tail breaches! As I was dutifully taking photos of a seal (see photo) we had a massive full body breach right off our stern! With gorgeous conditions (we could see the Boston skyline through the entirety of our trip) we turned back to Boston under a setting Sun.
Kate and Olivia
09-03-22
11am Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 11am whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. After a little bit of searching, we came across a group of four humpback whales. This group of four were taking close to 10 minute dives, but they were spending a lot of time at the surface so we were able to get some really great looks at them. We were able to identify Nine, Wyoming, and Dyad. This group gave us some absolutely beautiful fluking dives! Towards the end of the trip, the group of four swam right next to our boat! After some phenomenal looks at our quartet, we had to head back to Boston. On our way back, we had a very curious juvenile gannet flying overhead which was a very neat site to see! It was a fantastic day out on the water!
Flukes up,
Colin and David
09-03-22
3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good Evening, Whale Watchers,
This afternoon, the Aurora headed to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of wildlife. As we arrived, we saw several blows around us, all belonging to Humpback Whales. We started with a single Humpback named Shards, who was taking short fluking dives nearby. We then found a pair of whales and a trio of whales, both in a similar area. The duo consisted of Dyad and Wyoming, who surfaced right next to our boat, and even flipper slapped briefly! The trio ended up being Pitcher, Cantilever and Hippocampus, with a quick bout of flipper slapping there as well. We got to watch both groups of whales regularly throughout the trip, showing us the interesting dynamics of whale associations. As we headed back home to Boston, we saw a whale splashing up a storm a good distance away. Naturally, we went to investigate. Upon closer inspection, it was a Humpback named Nine, who tail breached several times before starting to lobtail! It was amazing! Reluctantly, we had to wave goodbye to Nine and continued home to Boston.
It was a great day on the water!
Until Next Time!
David & Colin
09-04-22
10am and 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening!
We boarded the Asteria for the 10 am whale watch and headed to the southern end of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Here we noticed a smattering of blows, and our first sighting was of a female humpback whale named Nine. We watched as she engaged in some bubble cloud feeding, taking short dives and regular surfacings. She surprised us by suddenly approaching within mere feet of us, and slowly swimming under each of our pulpits. A few boats moved into the area, so we moved on to another solo humpback, Dyad. She was also blowing deep bubble clouds taking short dives, allowing us for some more beautiful looks. As she took one more dive, we turned westward and headed back to Boston.
We headed back to the southwest corner for the 3:30 pm whale watch to similar conditions as the morning. We joined the tuna fleet and about 7 scattered humpback whales on a breezy afternoon. We spent some time with Nine, who was doing some more feeding. A majority of our trip was spent with Apostrophe and Wyoming, who were logging at the surface. As we started to make our way home, we were greeted by some splashing! This turned out to be Doric who found herself in the company of Nine! The pair engaged in some tail lobbing and tail breaching, before quieting down and seemingly disappearing. As if to prove us wrong, as we slowly started to move, the pair appeared on our starboard side from underneath the boat! We soaked in this beautiful last look, and then headed back to Boston, enjoying a lovely ride home.
Flukes up!
Ashlyn and Gracie
09-04-22
11am and 3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening!
This morning the Aurora headed out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen bank, where we spent most of our trip with a humpback whale named Dyad as she quickly charged at the surface. While watching Dyad we also got some looks at Nine, and a Mola Mola! On our way home, we got some bonus looks at a fin whale. We continued home to Boston, excited for the afternoon!
The 3:30 pm trip returned to the same area to find lots of surface activity. Doric and Nine were busy lobtailing and tail breaching! These ladies switched over to traveling, so we headed over to Pitcher and Hippocampus who greeted us with a tail breach! We also were surprised to find a 3rd whale in this area who turned out to be a fin whale who was hanging out at the surface! While watching these whales we got some great looks at a Mola Mola, and on the way home got some bonus looks at Mostaza.
Overall, a great day on the bank!
Sydney and Maddie
09-05-22
10am & 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Happy Labor Day Whale Watchers,
This morning the Asteria headed to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of wildlife. We found ourselves with spouts all around, seemingly all from Humpback Whales. We spent time with two of our favorites this season, Freckles and Wyoming! They were surfacing near the boat and taking very short dives. This allowed us to get some great looks at them! We spent our time watching Freckles emerge through a bubble cloud several times, while Wyoming was randomly surfacing nearby. With time winding down, we made our way back to Boston, excited to return in the afternoon.
We made our way back out to the same spot in the afternoon to find our Humpback Whales spread all around once again. This time we concentrated our efforts on two well-known females, Nine and Dyad. They were travelling near the surface without diving, which allowed us to sit right alongside them as they slowly made their way to the east. After some time, we made a quick stop over to a Humpback named Shards, who took a quick dive. As we debated heading for home, we noticed several huge splashes a few miles ahead of us. Naturally, we decided to go check it out. What we found was amazing! We had two adult Humpback Whales breaching, flipper slapping and lobtailing ahead of us! As we watched them splash, we had a younger Humpback Whale emerge in a full breach next to us! This energetic youngster breached over…and over…AND OVER again, making for a once in a lifetime experience! As the sun set, this whale continued to breach with Provincetown in the background. It made for a perfect photo ending to the trip! With full memory cards and plenty of enthusiasm, we headed back to Boston!
It was a fantastic day on the water!
Until Next Time!
David, Gracie & Maddie
09-05-22
11am & 3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Happy Labor Day everyone!
Today aboard the Aurora, the 11am whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. After some searching, we came across a humpback whale who turned out to be Nine. She was being very consistent, going on very short dives and spending a lot of time at the surface. She was blowing bubbles and circling, so she was probably feeding just beneath the surface. Nine did end up popping up right next to the boat a few times! After some beautiful fluking dives, we decided to take a bit of a ride. We came across another humpback whale who turned out to be Sprinkles. Sprinkles slowly started turning towards the boat when we got closer to the whale. Sprinkles was very curious of our boat popping up on either side very close to the boat! After Sprinkles gave us some incredible close looks he began to swim off. We then had to head back to Boston,
The 330pm whale watch made its way towards the same area in hopes of similar success as the first trip. As we came in to the area we noticed a pair of blows in the distance. This turned out to be Nine and Dyad the humpbacks. At first, these two were slowly cruising at the surface, potentially logging. When suddenly, both Nine and Dyad took a very quick dive. This resulted in Nine erupting out of the water for a chin breach right next to the boat! Then both Dyad and Nine started breaching! These two then flipper slapped several times next to the boat! Dyad decided to do a few more breaches and some more flipper slapping before both whales calmed down. These lovely ladies began to do a little more movement, but they gave us some beautiful fluking dives. We then went on to get some quick looks at a juvenile humpback who was continuously breaching! After some final surface activity we had to head back to Boston. It was an extraordinary day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Flukes up,
Colin, Ashlyn, and Gracie
09-06-22
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good Afternoon Whale Watchers,
On this rainy day, the Asteria headed out with a hearty group of passengers to Stellwagen Bank. We made our way to the southwest corner and saw several spouts in the area. There were 6-9 Humpback Whales in the area, all taking some short dives. We started our trip with Dross, who surfaced right next to our boat several times! She was coming up in a cloud of bubbles, a good indication that she was feeding. As we watched her, Dyad and Nine made their way into the area too. They stayed nearby as yet another Humpback did a quick tail breach nearby! It was Pleats and her calf approaching. We also had Freckles come into the area. We found ourselves surrounded, with Dross, Nine, Dyad, Freckles, Pleats and her calf on all sides. We sat there motionless, and it made for some great views! With time fading, we had to say goodbye to our whales, and we headed back to Boston. It was a terrific day on the water!
Until Next Time!
David, Laura, Chelsea & Emily
More Images from This Week
Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 8/29/22 to 9/06/22