Whale Sightings 7/11/22 to 7/18/22 Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 7/11/22 to 7/18/22from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
07-11-22
10:am and 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Today aboard the Sanctuary, the 10am whale watch made its way towards the southern end of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We started our trip at a very quick sighting of Fern before moving on to two other whales in the area. We got some brief looks at Kickoff before spending most of the time with Bandit. Bandit was kick feeding, blowing bubble clouds, and lunging up through the bubble clouds! We got some great looks at this whale before moving on to a group of three humpbacks consisting of Nile, her 2022 calf, and Eruption. The calf stole the show with breaching several times and even spy hopping! After some great looks at this trio we had to head back to Boston.
The 2:30pm whale watch headed towards the same area in hopes of continued great whale sightings. The luck did not run out from the first trip as we had about ten different whales in a small area. There were two major groups in this area, one consisting of Milkweed, her 2022 calf, Jabiru, and Cajun, the other consisting of Nile, her 2022 calf, Chunk, Eruption, and Bounce! There was a single that I am still working to identify as well. Both of these groups were popping up right next to the boat several times! The single even breached at one point! After some really awesome looks at both groups, and of course some beautiful fluking dives, we had to make our way back to Boston. It was a really great day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Colin and Maddie
7-11-22 11am
Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon whale enthusiasts!
This morning the 11am whale watch headed out towards the Middle of Stellwagen Bank in search of cetaceans. Before we even reached the bank, we found a pair of humpbacks! This pair consisted of Pitcher and another whale we are still working to ID. These whales went on a fluking dive, and then we continued on to see what else we might find. We saw several blows ahead of us and estimated 15-25 humpbacks in the area ahead of us! We got some looks at some lunge feeding from one of these whales, and then spent most of our trip with Nile, her calf, A-Plus, Eruption, and Chunk (GOM-1504)! These whales led us to Milkweed, her calf, Cajun, and Jabiru! We watched as these whales travelled around the area and treated us to multiple close approaches. We even got to see Milkweeds calf breach once off the port side!
We realized we had run out of time and began making our way home to Boston.
Overall, a great day on the bank!
Sydney and Rachel
07-11-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Today we boarded the Aurora for the 12pm whale watch and once again headed toward the middle of Stellwagen Bank. We were met with a scattered arrangement of humpback whales, and we started our trip with Rocker and Kickoff, who were cooperatively feeding. The pair blew exquisite bubble nets, emerging through them and dragging repeatedly at the surface. Our sights then turned to Etch-a-Sketch, who was kickfeeding and lunging at the surface. Things quieted down for a minute, so we made our way over to a group of four, including Milkweed and her calf, Cajun, and Jabiru. The adults fed beneath the surface, while the calf milled around our boat. Soon, this groups movements became more erratic and tougher to track in the building seas, but right on cue a group of five began surface feeding behind us! Among these whales were Bounce and Lavalier, as well as the three feeding whales from before. Etch-a-Sketch was kickfeeding on her own, but as she lunged, a second whale appeared to take advantage of her hard work and lunged beside her. A few more bubble nets were blown, and as the winds continued to pick up, we started to make our way back to Boston.
Flukes up!
Ashlyn and Addy
07-13-22
11am Whale Watch Sightings
Hello Fellow Whale Fans!
Today we headed out under clear skies and subtle breeze to the Southern edge of Stellwagen, hoping to continue the streak of great activity we’ve been seeing over the past couple of weeks.
Almost immediately upon arriving on the Bank we found ourselves surrounded by blows and a few Minke whale dorsals breaking the surface. There was a flurry of feeding all around the boat and we even got a few close passes by a couple of whales! It was hard to keep track of all of the whales and the joined and split apart in cooperative feeding groups. We got to see some impressive displays of bubble net feeding, kick feeding, and dragging! We were able to identify Bounce, Hippocampus, Aerospace, Bandit, Lariat, Chunk, and Glo, with a few more individuals who have yet to be identified!
On our way out of the area after an afternoon of spectacular whale watching, we got one last close-up view, this time of a Minke whale!
Overall a wonderful adventure on the water!
Until next time,
Linnea, Laura, and Caitlin
07-13-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch headed out towards the eastern edge of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales of other marine life. As we entered the area, we saw several scattered blows from humpback whales. There were also several minke whales darting through the area. We settled in to watch a trio of humpback whales consisting of Bounce, Hippocampus, and Doric. These whales were doing a lot of moving but were also consistently blowing bubble clouds and lunging up through them! They even did this right near the boat a few times! After several great looks, and yes some beautiful fluking dives from all three, we had to head back to Boston. It was a really fantastic day out on Stellwagen!
Sincerely,
Colin and Liza
7-13-22
10am and 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good Afternoon whale enthusiasts!
On Wednesday, the Sanctuary headed out towards Stellwagen eager to find cetaceans, and we were not disappointed! We started our trip with a group of minke whales who were busy feeding, and with glassy seas we were able to see their entire bodies as they lunged beneath the pulpits! We moved on to find Sundown, a humpback whale who surprised us by surfacing between the pulpits, before engaging in some aggressive kick feeding on all sides of the vessel, and repeated lunging through her bubble clouds! We also got some great looks at Rocker, who was also engaging in kick feeding, following each low lunge with an upside-down dive. We saw a larger group of feeding whales, and found Bounce, Glo, Doric, Hippocampus, and Milkweed feeding together while Milkweeds calf explored the surrounding area on its own, giving us some great looks as it surfaced off our bow! After some truly incredible looks at all of these whales, we reluctantly made our way back to Boston, eager to return in the afternoon.
The 2:30 pm trip returned to the bank, excited to see many blows in the area ahead of us. As we approached the cetaceans ahead of us, we were ecstatic to see a fin off the port side, which belonged to a Basking Shark! We got some brief but exciting looks at this shark before it sunk below the surface, and we continued on to the plentiful whales a head of us. We were surrounded by small groups of kick feeding and lunging humpbacks on all sides! We were able to ID Hippocampus, Bounce, Doric, Aerospace, Kickoff, and Lariat in these feeding groups. We got some fantastic looks at these whales, before deciding to check out a large group of at least 10 minke whales feeding within a giant bait ball! We got some great looks at these charging and lunging minkes before wrapping our trip up with a humpback named Habanero, who was busy kick feeding. We reluctantly made our way home after a fantastic afternoon on the water.
Overall, a spectacular day for whale watching!
Sydney and Olivia
7-14-22
11am Whale Watch Sightings
The Cetacea cruised out to the middle of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, spotting both a minke whale and fin whale en route to humpback whale Kickoff. Kickoff was traveling steadily to the north and taking nice high dives. The large number of great and sooty shearwaters added to the sightings, and a Wilson’s storm petrel flitted by the whale, allowing for an impressive size comparison. Just as we were starting to prepare to return to Boston, another fin whale surfaced and we watched as it glided through the smooth waters. Another fantastic day on Stellwagen Bank!
Laura L., Colin, and Olivia
7-14-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
On the 12pm whale watch we enjoyed some glass calm seas with a background of storm clouds. Amongst the glassy waters, we spotted two fin whales, one of them quite large that swam parallel with our boat, showing off its unique chevron pattern. The glassy seas and low winds also allowed us to hear the pattering of shearwaters running across the water before they took flight. We also spent time with Kickoff, named for the marking that looks like a small man kicking a ball (see if you can find the marking in the photo!). Surrounding by shearwaters, we then made our way home.
Cheers,
Laura H. & Caitlin
7-14-22
10am and 2:30am Whale Watch Sightings
Today the 10AM trip on the Sanctuary headed out into the middle of Stellwagen Bank. After a fair bit of searching we came upon Kickoff who was taking short dives and spending a fair bit of time at the surface. There was also a minke in the area! Satisfied we returned to Boston.
The 2:30 trip decided to try something different and instead headed to the Northwest corner where we were greeted by Mira’s favorite humpback: Nile and her calf! Nile was most likely sub-surface feeding as she was coming up with a full mouth. Both whales were going on nice, high fluking dives. We saw another humpback in the area and went over to check it out. This was Dross’s 2018 Calf. We started to make our way back to Boston when we got stuck in finback soup! There were six to eight finbacks in the area including one who circled the boat and gave us some great views of its body and baleen. Satisfied (but not sunburnt) we returned to Boston!
Smooth sailing!
Mira and Gracie
7-15-22
11am Whale Watch Sightings
Today we headed out to the middle of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and they were all there! We had fifteen minkes, three finback whales, and approximately nine humpbacks. We began with Kickoff who was lunging and had a bird riding on his rostrum (see attached photos). Also special shoutout to Matthew M. if you are still reading. We then had an individual breaching and tail lobbing further off. We are still working on that ID. Next we came upon Sundown, Hippocampus, Bounce, and Doric who were open mouth feeding at the surface. Bounce and Doric broke off from the group and Bounce breached! Then we had another pair of whales double breach! One of the whales in that pair was Rocker. While we were watching them, Hippocampus and Bounce had regrouped and they began tail lobbing and flipper flapping, respectively. Energy spent these two whales swam off with Doric. While the whales were very enjoyable we also picked up six balloons. This is your reminder that if you have a balloon, pop it.
Pip pip,
Mira and Caitlin
7-15-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
The Aurora headed out towards the middle of Stellwagen bank in search of whales, and found ourselves in the presence of many humpbacks, and minke whales! We started our trip with Aerospace and Rocker, 2 male humpbacks who were busy kick feeding! These 2 split up, and we spent some more time with Aerospace before moving on to find Kickoff, another male humpback who was also busy kick feeding. We also got a surprise look at a very small Harbor seal who surfaced repeatedly on our starboard side! We continued on to find Etch-A-Sketch, a naturalist favorite, as she quickly travelled at the surface. We then noticed a busy group of Minke whales, who appeared to be feeding as they circled and lunged within a large bait ball, that was also covered with shearwaters! We spent the end of our trip watching Kickoff doing his unique version of kick feeding that starts with a chin slap, and Bounce and Doric who were quickly traveling towards the south.
We got some last looks at Bounce and Doric before making our way home to Boston.
Overall, a great day on Stellwagen!
Sydney and Gracie
7-15-22
10am & 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
This morning aboard the Sanctuary, we headed out for Stellwagen Bank in search of whales. Shortly after leaving the harbor, we caught some quick but awesome looks at some Harbor Porpoises. They were travelling towards Boston, giving us a rare opportunity to see these very elusive little cetaceans. So, we pressed on, reaching the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. We were greeted by a trio of blows from some gorgeous Fin Whales. These three whales were swimming right next to the boat, with one even rolling on its side next to us! They were also pooping near the surface, contributing nutrients back into the marine environment. After some time with them, we searched for some other blows before spotting a Humpback Whale. This was a known whale with no name yet, who we call GOM-1901. This whale was spending a lot of time next to our boat, taking short dives, and rising slowly to the surface, which was very easy to see on a calm day like this. With a schedule to keep, we started to head back to Boston, but not before getting two bonus sightings of other Humpback Whales. It was an awesome morning, and so we were eager to see what the afternoon had in store for us.
In the afternoon, the Sanctuary switched it up and headed to Mid-Bank, where we found ourselves in the presence of four Humpback Whales and many Minke Whales! Our Humpback whales were none other than Cajun, Jabiru, Milkweed and Milkweed’s 2022 Calf. They were travelling together, taking nice and short dives, with Jabiru splitting from the group occasionally and joining back up again. It was remarkable to watch this group of four split to three and join back to four, showing the unpredictable nature of baleen whale associations. They finally all joined back up and did one more beautiful dive before we had to say goodbye and headed back to Boston.
It was a remarkable day on the water!
Until Next Time!
David & Liza
7-16-22
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Today aboard the Asteria, the 10am whale watch made its way out towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. After a little bit of searching, we stumbled upon what ended up being a trio of humpback whales. We first saw Music and Ravine at the surface, then we had A-Plus and Ravine at the surface, then all three popped up! They spent a lot of time at the surface allowing us to get some really fantastic looks at all three. They even popped up right near our boat a few times! After some really great looks at this trio of lovely ladies, we had to head back to Boston. It was a great day out on the water!
Flukes up,
Colin, Eman, and Liza
7-16-22
2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Today the 2:30PM whale watch headed South of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary aboard the Asteria. We found between twelve to fifteen blows south of the Bank, close enough to Provincetown to get excellent views of the Pilgrim monument and the Race Point Beach. Our first sighting was of a Humpback Whale named Reflection. Reflection was taking short, non-fluking dives in an area full of shearwaters. After spending some moments with Reflection, we headed toward some other blows in the area. We found a trio of Humpback whales: Wyoming, Pixar, and Level. All three whales were taking short dives and spending ample time at the surface. One of the whales surprised us with a tail breach, which was a fantastic sight! During our time with these whales, Wyoming pooped twice! This gave us a fantastic opportunity to talk about how Humpback whales impact the ecosystem and oxygen production by bringing nutrients to the surface of the water column. Time moves rapidly when we are with whales, and we slowly had to make our way back to Boston. Luckily, we had multiple bonus sightings as we made our way back! We spotted several humpback whales (one that tail breached twice) and a fin whale as we headed home.
It was a busy day on Stellwagen Bank today!
Kindly,
Eman, Colin, & Liza
7-16-22
11am and 3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
The 11AM did not even make it to Stellwagen Bank on the Aurora before we came upon three logging whales! These sleepy pals were A-Plus, Music, and Ravine! For those who do not know, logging is the whale form of sleeping. While logging, many whales stay very close to the surface and look like logs; hence: the name. Randomly, Ravine slapped her tail and left the other pair of whales. We stayed with our sleepy girls getting a whole lot of close looks. We returned to Boston to grab a quick ice cream before doing it again.
The 3:30 headed out to the middle of Stellwagen Bank where we came upon a speedy finback whale. This zoomy whale was hard to follow so we decided to head down towards Race Point where we came upon Pixar, Level, and Soot. These three whales were traveling until Pixar decided to leave. Then Level and Soot, who we stayed with, promptly began logging. All these sleeping whales today were great to observe but it did begin to feel that something about our team was inducing nap time. However, we did not take this personally and got many great looks at these leviathans. One of the funniest parts of this trip was a startled minke racing away just before Level surfaced.
Smooth sailing!
Mira, Caitlin, and Maddie
7-16-22
12pm and 5pm Whale Watch Sightings
This morning, the Sanctuary headed out to Stellwagen Bank in search of marine life. We hadn’t even made it to the bank when we saw some spouts out ahead. We were delighted to see three Humpback Whales, who turned out to be Ravine, A-Plus and Music. Ravine was resting motionless at the surface (a behavior we call “logging”), while Music and A-Plus were travelling together taking deep dives. Since we were not on Stellwagen Bank yet, the water was much deeper, and these whales were having to travel to further depths to find their fish, giving us a great insight as to how their behavior can change based on their location. We even saw a Minke Whale in the area as we travelled. After spending a great deal of time with these whales, we headed back to Boston, eager to see what the afternoon had in store for us.
The afternoon trip tried something a little different, and we headed down to the southern part of the sanctuary, close to the tip of Cape Cod. As we arrived, we spotted the spouts of two Humpback Whales, named Level and Soot. These two were taking short dives, giving us great looks at them throughout the trip. Level even pooped near the surface before going down on a dive, contributing to the nutrients in the marine ecosystem! With the sun setting and gorgeous pink and blue skies, we waved goodbye to our whales and headed back to Boston.
What a great day on the water!
Until Next Time!
David & Olivia
07-17-22
10am and 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening whale enthusiasts!
This morning the Asteria headed out in search of whales, and despite the hazy fog we encountered, we were able to locate several humpback whales on the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank! On our way, we also sighted a handful of minke whales, as well an enormous number of Shearwaters. We started our trip with GOM-1504, who we affectionately call Chunk! She surprised us with a close approach before we moved on to a pair of humpbacks, that included Music and Shuffleboard! These whales appeared to be napping, as they slowly cruised at the surface. We realized we had run out of time and had to head home, but before we could make it we got some drive by sightings of 2 fin whales and at least 2 humpbacks! We continued our journey home, eager to return in the afternoon.
The 2:30pm trip planned to head back to the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen bank, but before we made it we encountered a fin whale! While watching this fin whale as it charged at the surface heading south, our eagle-eyed intern Addy spotted some splashing a few miles from us. We began to head that way, as we saw a flurry of surface activity from multiple humpbacks in the distance! We slowly approached these whales and started our trip with a pair of flipper slapping humpbacks. As we inched closer this pair went down on a dive, and we patiently waited for them to return to the surface. These whales surprised us by surfacing close to us on either side of the boat! Wyoming gave a couple last flipper slaps, and Glo departed with a final fluking as this pair then began to split up. We moved on to some more blows ahead and found ourselves with Spoon and her 2022 calf! This whale who is well known for her size and sleeping habits surprised with a couple slow flipper slaps before this behavior was mimicked by her calf (see photos). Spoon and her calf were then joined by Conflux, and they continued traveling together. While Spoon and conflux were on a dive, Spoons calf greeted passengers with a Stellwagen Mugging, closely approaching and investigating the boat! We continued to follow this group, and we were getting ready to head home, when we realized a 4th humpback had joined the group, and this turned out to be Jabiru! We got some final looks at this group of 4 before we reluctantly had to head home to Boston.
Overall, a fantastic day on Stellwagen!
Sydney and Addy
7-17-22
11am & 3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
The Aurora cruised out to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, where we first found two fin whales swimming independent of each other. We had some great looks with these brief-diving whales before continuing a bit further to watch humpbacks Shuffleboard and Music logging at the surface. Sleepy whales allow for great photo opportunities and we enjoyed their company with some respectful recreational boaters, always a welcome relief to see! After turning back to the west, three more humpbacks were spotted, the lost visible being Wyoming as she leapt high into the air, followed by a series of tail breaches, lob tails, and flipper slapping. Once she dove, we took that as our cue to head back to Boston thrilled with the experience.
We made a course line for the beaches of Provincetown this afternoon after reports of some feeding humpbacks. We passed by the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary’s R/V Auk (hi SBNMS team!) as they returned to port after day one of their annual humpback tagging mission. These tags are applied to the whale’s body with suction cups, dropped on their flanks using a long pole or a drone, and help to study whales’ behavior underwater. The focus of this study is to not only understand what we cannot see while they’re out of sight, but also learn how they’re behavior plays into risk of ship strikes and/or entanglement in fishing gear. We found two of the individuals who were tagged today (see photo), so it was great to see the research in action. Hippocampus, Ember, Aerospace, Freckles, Kickoff, Level, Pixar, Sundown, Eruption, and Soot were in groups of up to 5-6 whales, kick feeding, blowing bubble nets, and open mouth feeding all afternoon. We also had a great look at a fin whale, a minke whale, and had a surprise visit from a pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins. Truly a perfect afternoon!
Laura L. and Rachel
7-17-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
The Sanctuary headed to Stellwagen Bank today in search of whales. We found ourselves on the Southern edge of Stellwagen with a duo of humpback whales we identified as Music and Shuffleboard. Both of these whales were logging, giving us marvelous views as they slept at the surface. After spending several moments with these whales, we moved on to some blows in the distance. These whales turned out to be fin whales! We watched three fin whales, all spread around the area. One fin whale spent several minutes traveling at the surface which made for an incredible view of its long body. We also spotted two minke whales, bringing our trip to a three-species experience! Our final sighting was of a humpback whale named Glo who was taking slightly longer dives but spending a good amount of time at the surface between dives.
It was a wonderful day on the bank.
Eman & Gracie
7-18-22
11am Whale Watch Sightings
Today the Asteria headed to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales. We were excited to find the tall blow of a Fin Whale ahead of us. This animal was travelling quicky through the water, living up to its nickname “The Greyhounds of the Sea.” So, we pressed on to find a Humpback Whale travelling nearby too. It was a female named Etch-A-Sketch, who was taking nice quick dives and lifting her tail up high out of the water for deep dives. We were starting to make our way closer to the cape when we saw large splashing near the surface! Etch-A-Sketch had begun lobtailing and eventually rolled over to flipper slap! We got great looks at this famous whale as her 15-foot flipper came up high and crashed back down on the water in an explosion of spray! After watching this for several minutes, she settled back into her normal routine, and we said goodbye and headed back to Boston. It was a great day on the water!
Until Next Time!
David & Addy
07-18-22
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
This afternoon the Aurora headed out to Stellwagen Bank in search of whales, and we were excited to see some splashing in the distance. We headed over to find a naturalist favorite humpback, Etch-A-Sketch, who was busy flipper slapping! We got some incredible looks at Etch-A-Sketch before she stopped engaging in this behavior and seemed to switch gears and started logging. We saw some more splashing in the distance and decided to leave Etch-A-Sketch to nap in peace, and headed over to find a pair of male humpback whales made up of Lariat and Aerospace, who were displaying a flurry of surface activity! These 2 were busy breaching and flipper slapping, particularly Aerospace, who is aptly named! It was a truly incredible trip, and we reluctantly had to head home to Boston while we continued to watch these 2 whales breach behind us.
Overall a fantastic day out on Stellwagen!
Sydney and Rachel
07-18-22
10am and 230pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Sanctuary, the 10am whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. As we approached the corner, we spotted a blow. It turned out to be Dross the humpback whale! She was taking very short dives and spending a lot of time at the surface, so we were able to get some really great looks at her. She was even blowing bubbles and lunged up a few times! She even did this right next to the boat a few times! After some really great looks at Dross, and of course some beautiful fluking dives we had to head back to Boston.
The 230pm whale watch made its way towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. Before we reached the corner, we spotted a pair of blows in the distance. It turned out to be Freckles and Ember the humpback whales! This dynamic duo was taking longer dives, but they were spending a lot of time at the surface so we were able to get some fantastic looks at them. As Ember was going down on a dive, he did this very bizarre, but very cool tail jiggle! The series of three pictures for this trip show how much Ember jiggled his fluke. After some more great looks, and a pair of beautiful fluking dives we had to head back to Boston. It was a really great day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Cheers,
Colin and Maddie
More Images from This Week
Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 5/13/22 to 5/15/22