Whale Sightings 10/03/23 to 10/11/23. Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 10/03/23 to 10/11/23 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
10-03-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
After a long week of poor seas, we were happy to get out aboard the Asteria to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. We found two humpbacks out on the SW corner, along with a minke whale and seabirds including Northern Gannets, Cory’s shearwaters, and White-winged scoters (more fall birds appearing!).
We first found humpback Hammock, who was keeping us on our toes taking irregular dives, but still at the surface quite a bit. We think this whale was recovering from long dives/feeding bouts, because halfway through the trip, Hammock defecated quite nicely, showing it was a well fell whale. Speaking of the importance of whale poo- we had the pleasure of a special guest on board, Dr. Asha de Vos, Founder and Director of Oceanswell, Nat Geo Explorer, and Ted Fellow – if there’s anyone that can explain why you need to know about whale poop- I encourage you to check out her Ted talk on the subject. You can also support and learn more about her work at https://oceanswell.org/
We wrapped up our trip with male humpback Infinity taking some deep dives, and then made our way home in the lovely fall weather.
Cheers,
Laura, Eman, Kiley, and Siân
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
After a long stretch of bad weather and no whale-watching, the Aurora headed on the 12pm whale watch in excitement towards Stellwagen Bank. After a little bit of southernly searching, we found a pair of two humpbacks: Buckshot and Putter. Our trip started up with a large splash, when Putter almost immediately erupted into a series of lobtails and tail breaches! We watched in awe as Putter repeatedly showed off some spectacular surface activity. We could often predict with our whale would tail breach, as he would extend his flippers out to his side like airplane wings – before launching his massive tail out of the water. Eventually, Putter tired himself out and slowly traveled through the area with Buckshot. We got some incredible close looks at our whales – with Provincetown framed in the background. With beautiful blue skies, we ultimately turned back to Boston.
Kate and Christina
10-04-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
The 10am whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the southern section of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. After a bit of searching, we found the humpback pair of Wonderland and Ventisca. Ventisca means blizzard, or a blinding storm of white and snow, and the slow-moving pair gave us a fantastic look at this whale’s very unique gray fluke and white dorsal. This is our first time spotting this individual this year- and it’s great to see a new humpback this late into the season.
Unfortunately, another recreational vessel in the area started to act irresponsibly around the humpbacks and charged head-on towards the whales, cutting off their line of travel and forcing them to dive. Afterwords, the whales seemed distressed and moved very quickly away from the recreational vessel. In contrast, our boat which was not moving and clutched out, watched as the whales repeatedly approached our boat and even swam slowly under the vessel. Safe, responsible whale watching often leads to better experiences not only for the whales, but for passengers as well! If you ever go out to watch marine wildlife by yourself – please make sure to follow all local Whale Watching guidelines and recommendations in the area – including programs like See A Spout.
On our way back we spotted at least four more humpback whales, including a pair that was flipper-slapping! With our last looks, we watched the majestic 15-foot-long flipper come out of the water and slap the surface – just like it was waving us goodbye!
Kate, Christina, and Siân
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
On the 12pm aboard the Aurora yesterday, we made our way out to Peaked Hill to find two deep feeding humpbacks, Ventisca and Wonderland. Ventisca gets her name from the Spanish word blizzard (check out her fluke!). Her skin condition is a bit unusual (she has this skin scratching on her dorsal, fluke, and peduncle) – but despite that she is still a healthy whale who’s had several calves (though none observed seem to have the same issue). It was great to see her out on the water! Unfortunately at one point during the trip she and Wonderland had an interaction with monofilament fishing get. She began to trumpet and thrash (perhaps she touched the gear), but luckily appeared not to get entangled. A great resource to share and spread for recreational boater training for safe boating around whales can be found here: https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/science/see-a-spout-for-recreational-boaters/
Cheers,
Laura & Jane
10-05-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
The seas were foggy as the Asteria made its way out toward Stellwagen Bank for the 10am whale watch. Luckily for us, around the time that our search for whales began, the fog lifted! With increased visibility, we discovered the blows of two humpback whales in the distance. These whales were identified as Evolution and Bolide. Both individuals dove within a few minutes of our arrival. As we waited for them to resurface, two other blows caught our eye! These other humpback whales were much closer to us, so we cruised over to get a look. Both whales – identified as Wonderland and Ventisca – were taking frequent dives and appeared to be subsurface feeding. Wonderland even pooped at the surface (an exciting opportunity for our data collection)! After some feeding from both sets of whales in their respective areas, all four whales suddenly surfaced together in the same area! It appeared that these whales joined into one big group of four. It was a fantastic example of the social behavior of humpback whales and how they constantly change the dynamics of their temporary associative groups. We watched these whales as they continued to feed before we realized time had run out. Just as we turned our boat back to Boston, one of the whales erupted in a massive full-body breach!! With that final display, we made our way back to Boston.
Until next time,
Eman, Jane, and Christina
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch made its way out towards peaked hill in search of whales and other marine life. After a bit of searching, we spotted a couple of blows in the distance. This turned out to be a pair of humpback whales consisting of Ventisca and Wonderland! These two were taking short dives, and they were spending a lot of time at the surface, so we were able to get some great looks at them! At a few points they even popped up very close to the boat! After several series of some beautiful fluking dives, we had to make our way back towards Boston. It was a fantastic fall day offshore!
Until next time,
Colin, Kiley, and Sian
10-06-23
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm Whale Watch made its way out towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. After a bit of searching, we stumbled across a pair of humpback whales not far from Provincetown. This pair consisted of Wonderland and Ventisca! This pair was taking short dives and popping up right next to the boat! This did this several times, and they even gave us some absolutely beautiful fluking dives! After several amazing looks at the pair, we started making our way back towards Boston. As we were venturing home, we noticed some activity not far from us, so we decided to go check it out. To our delight we found five feeding humpback whales! This group of five included Pleats, Music, Putter, Chunk, and Hammock. All five were blowing bubble nets and lunging right through them! Putter even did a few bouts of kick feeding to boot! After several absolutely incredible bouts of feeding we unfortunately had to head back to Boston. It was a really fantastic day out on the water!
Until next time,
Colin and Sian
10-10-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
Despite some bouts of rain, we stilled enjoyed an adventure of a whale watch today aboard the Asteria! At the SW corner of Stellwagen Bank, we found 9-12 humpbacks, 10-12 minkes, and many terns and laughing gulls scattered about! We also spotted white-winged scoters and some warblers, another sign of fall whale watching. We first happened upon a trio of humpback Milkweed, Nile, and Apex. After a weekend of not getting out/sparse sightings – I always get a breathe of relief when I see Nile – she’s always been a reliable whale no matter what time of the year.
We then found ourselves surrounded by at least 10-12 scattered minkes, a few occasionally lunging and popping up next to our boat. A few passengers told me it was the favorite part of their trip, so it was nice to enjoy a special time with a more elusive species.
We then found Pleats who was kick feeding and making a few bubble nets, while A-Plus’s calf meandered near by. Shortly after, we found the calf joined up with mom, Spell, and 3.14. As the rain cleared and we began to dry off and head home, we spotted even more whales in the distance! Excited to see what sticks around this week.
Cheers,
Laura & Christina
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
The 12:00 whale watch headed out on the Aurora towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. After a few trips of having to travel long distances to find whales, we were delighted to approach the corner of the bank and see the blows from around 13 humpback whales! When we first approached the area, we saw a group of around 6 humpback whales bubble net feeding – Pleats, 3.14, Spell, A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, and SALT! Salt is perhaps the most famous whale in the Gulf of Maine – as she is the first humpback whale ever named in the region back in the 70s! Her distinct white dorsal makes her stand out in a feeding crowd – and it was so special to see the grande dame of Stellwagen Bank herself. In my 4 years out on the water, this is only my second time seeing her. We also identified Nile, Apex, Four, and Milkweed. After the bubble feeding subsided, we saw our whales split off in smaller associations to feed. Pleats certainly stole the show with two massive breaches off our bow and even some kickfeeding! We got some great close approaches by A-Plus’s calf and even saw a small pod of harbor porpoises. This was truly an awesome trip!
Kate and Kiley
10-11-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon!
The Asteria headed out on the 10am whale watch towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. With beautiful weather, we were ecstatic to approach the area and see the blows of 15-20 humpbacks! Surrounded on all sides, we were able to see whales feeding in all directions – kickfeeding, bubble-nets, and bubble clouds! We started off our whale watch with the group of Abrasion, Nile, Wizard, and Salt cooperatively bubble-net feeding. Salt’s famous and distinct white dorsal stood out in the feeding frenzy, and we got to see our whales blow bubbles in a perfect circle- before lunging through with open mouths (zoom into the feeding photos and look for the small fish escaping out of the whale’s mouths). This was a truly remarkable whale watch, as whales seem to be feeding and lunging on all sides! To add to the whale soup, we saw around 15 minke whales in the area – also taking advantage of all the bait in the water. Other humpbacks we have identified so far include Apex, Thumper, Milkweed, and Putter! Just as we were leaving, we got to witness a massive breach from Thumper right off our bow – a perfect way to end our day!
Kate and Jane
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 were delighted when we spotted many blows as we arrived in the area. We started on a trio of humpback whales consisting of A-Plus, Milkweed, and Spell. These three seemed to be resting at the surface so we were able to get some incredible looks at them. We then got a brief look at Nile the humpback before she went on a dive. While we were out of gear waiting for our whales to come back up, Thumper the humpback decided to kick feed right of our bow! Thumper kicked a few times then lunged not far from the bow! Not long after, Chunk decided to give us a beautiful close approach! After Chunk dove, the whales started to come alive with a large group coming together. Some other whales that joined ours included 3.14, Abrasion, Wizard, Pleats, A-Plus 23 Calf and Putter. These whales did a combination of kick feeding and bubble net feeding! They did this very close to the boat a few times! After a little bit the whales began to break up, and we had to head back to Boston. It was a really incredible day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Until next time,
Colin and Siân
Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 10/03/23 to 10/11/23