Whale Sightings 09/06/23 to 09/12/23. Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 09/06/23 to 09/12/23 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
09-07-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
The Asteria cruised to the southeast, still riding some surprisingly high swells, and spotted a group of harbor porpoise as we began to approach the area of larger whale activity. We began with an “unknown”, a whale that was documented last year but does not have a name yet. It was a fun change of pace to flip through the catalog looking for a new whale to identify after a summer full of whales that naturalists who were out often could recognize by their dorsal markings, associations, or even behaviors! We then watched as Bounce and her calf snoozed along under the hot sun before spending a bit of time with A-Plus and her calf, who were joined by Wifi, a newly named unknown. Chunk was also in the area with another humpback and two minke whales nearby. Eventually we said goodbye to the numerous marine mammals and birds and sailed back to Boston.
Laura L. and Kate
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. After a bit of searching, we stumbled across a large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphin! This pod was darting at the surface, most likely chasing small fish. This was a nursery pod so we saw lots of adorable mom and calf pairs! A few of the dolphin swam right next to the boat! After some great looks at them, we ventured on to a trio of humpbacks that consisted of A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, and Wifi. These three we cruising at the surface so we were able to get some great looks at them. The calf even came up very close to the boat! Two years ago to the day was the last time I saw Wifi so it was really awesome to see that whale again! We also got to see a very large blue shark not far from the boat! After a series of beautiful fluking dives from our trio, we made our way back to Boston. It was a really great day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Until next time,
Colin and Jane
09-08-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 10am whale watch made its way out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We started on a humpback mother-calf pair consisting of Lollipop and Lollipop 23 Calf. The pair was cruising at the surface so we were able to get some fantastic looks at them. We eventually went on to a group of six humpbacks consisting of Bounce, Bounce 23 Calf, A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, Chunk and Spell! We were greeted by several tail breaches from Bounce 23 Calf! Once the little one settled down in joined up with mom and the other adults who popped up right next to our boat! Not longer after, Lollipop and her calf joined the group. This large group came up close to the boat several times! The calves were very curious of our vessel, popping up multiple times next to us to check us out. After a series of beautiful fluking dives from the adults, the group appeared to split up. We got some phenomenal last looks at Bounce, her calf, and Chunk before pointing in the direction of home. Right before we picked up speed, we spotted a very large blue shark cruising at the surface! We got our final looks at this shark before it dove into the abyss, and we had to venture back to Boston. It was a really great day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Until next time,
Colin and Jane
09-09-23
10am and 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening,
The Asteria headed out to beautiful clear skies to find whales on Stellwagen Bank on the 10am trip. Our first encounter was with a humpback whale named Arroyo. Arroyo appeared to be sleeping at the surface as we approached. We got incredible looks at this whale before she woke up and disappeared on a dive. After a few more encounters with Arroyo, we slowly started making our way towards some blows in the distance. Along the way, we noticed Arroyo swimming parallel to our boat as we moved towards the more populated area. We eventually found ourselves in the presence of six other humpback whales! These included Bounce and her calf, A-Plus and her calf, Spell, and Wonderland. The four adults were surfacing constantly and going down on dives just as a quickly, and it appeared they were feeding below the surface. The calves stayed up at the surface with us, lazily swimming around and coming closer to check us out. After time with these six whales, we slowly made our way back to Boston.
On the 2:30pm trip, the Asteria skillfully evaded the dark clouds that were slowly settling over Boston. Our first encounter was with two humpback whales known as Bounce and her 2023 calf. The pair were up at the surface sleeping! Sleepy whales are my favorite kind of whales, and it appeared everyone on board enjoyed the calm atmosphere as these whales napped. After some time with the two, we slowly packed up and headed further South where we came across four more humpback whales. We identified these as Hammock, Chunk, and A-Plus and her calf. Within minutes of our arrival, Hammock and Chunk split from the group and began trucking it in a different direction. A-Plus and her calf, on the other hand, promptly went to sleep! We ended our trip the same way we started: with perfectly sleepy whales. We got incredible looks of A-Plus and her calf at the surface before we slowly made our way into the storm covering Boston.
It was a wonderful day on the water!
Eman
11am and 3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening,
The 11am whale watch headed out on the Aurora towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank! As we approached the area, we were excited to find a group of 5 humpbacks: A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, Bounce, Bounce 23 Calf, and Spell! These five whales were traveling in a tight-knit association as the adults forcefully dove to feed and the calves were left to occupy themselves at the surface. We also observed a pair that included Wonderland in the area. We slowed down to observe a mola mola before our attention was turned back towards our larger association – our group of five had begun to bubblenet feed in force! We watched in awe as the adults worked together to blow bubbles in a perfect circle, before lunging through! Clutched out, the whales repeatedly swam next to us to blow these bubble nets – one theory is that the humpbacks sometimes use the sides of the boat as an extra method to corral fish! We even watched the whales poop right next to us! Eventually the adults stopped bubble net feeding, but we still couldn’t leave! The calves began to mug our boat – expressing curiosity towards our vessel and popping up on all sides. We were truly “trapped” by these baby whales and all passengers got incredibly close looks at the calves and faces full of whale breathe!
Our 3:30 whale watch departed Boston with stormy skies and was ecstatic to find the southwest corner glassy and calm! With flat seas, we started our trip off with the sleeping Bounce and her 2023 calf. These animals rested right next to our vessel, and we got to watch Bounce lazily lift her flipper repeatedly out of the water – almost like she was stretching after a long nap. We moved on to A-Plus and her 2023 calf, who were also napping! We then turned our sights to the solitary humpbacks Hammock and Chunk – and saw some distance blows as well! Slowly moving through the area, our attention was turned back to a splashy calf. A-Plus’s calf had begun to flipper slap! It was very cute to see the comparison of Bounce’s 15-foot-long adult flipper and the “small” flipper of our 8–9-month-old calf! Towards the end of our trip, were also joined by a disheveled and seemingly annoyed gull – who stayed on our vessel for the rest of the trip.
With a beautiful sunset, we returned to Boston!
Kate
09-10-23
11am Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
The Asteria made its way out of foggy Boston Harbor on the 11AM whale watch eager to spot some whales. Our search led us just offshore of the beaches of Cape Cod, surrounded by up to 55 humpback whales!! Upon first entering this area, we spotted one minke whale as well as a pod of 15-20 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Passengers on the bow got exceptionally great views of these toothed whales! As we ventured even more south, we enjoyed some very up-close encounters with humpback whales including Tectonic, Springboard, Tear, and Ember (to name just a few). Then, we cruised to an area close by with three different groups of humpbacks, all bubble feeding. Passengers were in awe as we were surrounded by wide open humpback whale mouths in all directions! Christina and I were left speechless on the upper deck. Some familiar flukes in this feeding frenzy included Samovar, Startrail, and Pleats.
Fall whale watching is back and better than ever!
Best fishes,
Meg and Christina
09-11-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon all!
We boarded the Asteria for the 10 a.m. whale watch and set our course southeast. With patches of thick fog giving way to bright sunny skies, our confusion mounted as we creeped across the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank which seemed deserted, before seeing the spectacular sunny beaches of Provincetown and at least 20 minke whales! What few swells guided us there also disappeared, and we had amazing looks as these minkes lunged at the surface, and even as the swam just below the surface! We noticed a large dorsal fin poking up out of the water ahead of us, and investigated a basking shark! Too close for comfort to the minke whales, this shark disappeared as one lunged beside it. After hearing some intel, we continued east in search of humpback whales, but the fog suddenly settled in to a point where it would be unwise to continue. Circling back toward where we came proved that we were against waning visibility, but when we were just about to cross the western edge of Stellwagen Bank, a humpback whale breached in our path! We investigated further, finding Bounce’s 23 calf bouncing around, joined at the surface by A-Plus 23 calf, moms respectively emerging one after the other. Spell could be seen kickfeeding/blowing bubbles, lunging, even emerging upside down through a bubble cloud off our starboard pulpit! Hammock and Chunk were around as well, and squeezing in some last looks, we began to make our way home, having kept our dutiful passengers asea long enough.
Special shoutout to Captain Deb for navigating in some tough visibility today, and for never wavering on her commitment to find those whales!
Flukes up!
Ashlyn and Christina
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm Whale Watch made its way out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We spotted a few blows once we arrived in the area. This turned out to be a group of 6 humpback whales consisting of Spell, Chunk, A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, Bounce, and Bounce 23 Calf! The adults were zooming around the area, often popping up right next to the boat! The calves were the stars of the trip today. They were blowing bubbles, and then lunging up though them! It was really cool to see all the months of mom’s teaching paying off, seeing these two little ones feeding together! Eventually, Spell split from the group, and another individual named Hammock joined the larger group. After some great final looks, we had to make our way back to Boston. It was a really awesome day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Until next time,
Colin
09-12-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
Despite a foggy and misty start, we had a wonderful day out in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary aboard the Asteria. We traveled to the SW corner of Stellwagen, spotting a total of 7-10 humpbacks, and seabirds including northern gannets, great shearwaters, and herring gulls. In the initial dense fog, some helpful passengers spotted Labyrinth traveling solo, which then luckily led us to a group of adult humpbacks feeding, with a few calves in the mix as well!
A curious calf approached our boat today, A-Plus’s 23 calf, who exhibited curious behavior such as blowing bubbles (even a bubble ring!), rolling, and fluke slapping. Often the calf would blow bubbles on one side of our boat, and then pop up on the other side of us (to both confuse and enlighten us!). Our captain carefully kept the boat in neutral as this growing young whale approached us throughout the trip.
Nearby, A-Plus, Chunk, Spell, and Bounce and calf joined up together, most likely bottom feeding in coordination. Occasionally, Spell would split and join the group. When Spell was solo, she would begin bubble cloud feeding on her own before joining back with the other adults. She also approached our boat closely once, where she surprised us with a full breach! Near the end of the trip, A-Plus’s calf joined back up with mom, and all the adults swam underneath our boat with yet another spectacular close approach! Sometimes patience pays off, and you get a beautiful trip like today. To top it off, A-Plus’s calf did a reverse headstand! We also waved goodbye to our friends aboard the R/V Auk, conducting research in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
Cheers,
Laura & Christina
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
We cruised into the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary amid surprisingly beautiful weather and found several humpback whales milling about. A-Plus, Bounce, and their calves were joined by Chunk and we were treated to a number of surprisingly close surfacings as they came up from under the Aurora multiple times! The calves were pretty mellow today, both keeping a bit of distance between the group but conserving their energy.
Two minke whales and two additional humpbacks were visible, so we had the opportunity to watch Spell as she bubble fed and lunged among them. It was obvious that she was feeding on a different species of fish than we’ve been seeing for most of the season (menhaden was on the menu today rather than sand eels) due to the single bubble cloud and rapid paced lunges. A blue shark was also spotted by passengers along with several shearwaters and a number of herring gulls.
Laura L. and Kate
Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 09/06/23 to 09/12/23