Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes

Whale Sightings 08/23/23 to 08/29/23. Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 08/23/23 to 08/29/23 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.

08-24-23 230pm Baby Whale Tries To Go To Space by

08-23-23

सुबह 9 बजे और दोपहर 2:30 बजे व्हेल वॉच देखी गई

नमस्कार

The 9AM whale watch aboard the Sanctuary eagerly departed Boston in search for large whales. After some searching along the middle of Stellwagen Bank, we found ourselves on the extreme southern portion, along the beaches of Provincetown, with our first sighting. We estimated around 20 humpback whales in the area, while we spent most of our time with a group of four: Draco, Pipette, Snare, and Crossbeam. After some fabulous looks at this group, we turned back towards the city. On our travels home, we got some quick looks at a fin whale in passing! A great morning on sunny Stellwagen!

Our 2:30 trip was filled with much excitement! As we approached the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, we saw more blows than we could count—estimating at least 20 humpback whales in the area! The first pair we were able to get close looks at included Eruption and Pele. After that sighting, we spent time with a group of 4 whales traveling together: Ravine and her 2023 calf, Spell, and 3.14. Suddenly, Ravine’s calf breached out of nowhere! Some lucky passengers were able to catch a look at this aerial whale, as it was a one-and-done kind of breach. To our surprise, several smaller groups of humpback whales joined up into a large group of around 10 whales. This group surfaced all at once, coordinating their breathing and diving behaviors. In this super-group, we caught a glimpse of Bounce’s 2023 calf who displayed an extra high fluke for us to admire. Sadly, we had to leave this large pile of humpback whales behind and head back to Boston.

Best fishes,

Meg and Reilly

सुबह 10 बजे व्हेल वॉच दृश्य

सभी को नमस्कार,

Aboard the Asteria, the 10am whale watch set off toward Stellwagen Bank. The whales often move around quite a bit on the Bank, and sometimes it takes time to spot exactly where they are. We traveled through the sanctuary for quite a while before we found the whales! Our patient search was greatly rewarded. What we thought was just one or two whales in the distance turned out to be nearly twenty! All of these humpback whales were moving rapidly around the area as they fed below the surface. When we first arrived, the whales were split into several distinct groups. Throughout our time with these whales, we watched the dynamics of their associations shift as new groups formed into massive groups of up to seven whales at a time! Because of the constant movement of these whales, we had multiple very close encounters with the whales as they approached and swam around our idling boat! Among the many whales in the area, we identified Bolide, 3.14, Milkweed, Chunk, Spell, Pele, Nile, Bristle, Sprinkles, and Mend. We also had three mothers with their 2023 calves: A-Plus and her calf, Bounce and her calf, and Ravine and her calf. The calves of Ravine and Bounce appeared to be busy feeding below the surface alongside their mothers! A-Plus’ calf was up at the surface most of the time taking a well-deserved nap (briefly interrupted by a tail breach before the calf resumed sleeping). We watched the whales until their groups slowly began to split and the whales dispersed in every direction. We returned to Boston grateful for an incredible time with the whales!

I also want to take a moment to recognize our intern, Anjali, for her incredible work this summer! She is going to have a remarkable presence in the scientific community!

इमान और अंजलि

दोपहर 12 बजे व्हेल वॉच दृश्य

नमस्कार

The 12pm whale watch headed out on the Aurora towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank and were ecstatic to find the blows of over 20 humpbacks in the area! So far, I’ve been able to identify: 3.14, A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, Bolide, Bristle, Chunk, Conflux, Mend, Milkweed, Nile, Ravine, Ravine 23 Calf, Spell, Sprinkles, and Woodwind! These whales were clearly subsurface feeding, merging and melding into various associations after explosively surfacing. The epitome of whale soup, no matter where we looked there was some configuration of whales at the surface! Sitting and responsibly watching, we got fantastic looks at multiple whales as they swam right towards our boat, even swimming under the pulpits! The highlight of the trip was Ravine’s Calf – who erupted into a series of spinning breaches towards the end of trip.

क्या एक महान दिन!

Kate

08-23-23 230PM Bounce Calf big kid fluke

08-24-23

सुबह 9 बजे और दोपहर 2:30 बजे व्हेल वॉच देखी गई

सभी को नमस्कार,

Today aboard the Sanctuary, the 9am whale watch made its way out towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. After a little bit of searching, we spotted several blows in the distance. We came across a trio of humpbacks consisting of Bolide, Sprinkles, and Woodwind. This trio was moving steadily to the east, but they were spending a lot of time up at the surface so we were able to get some incredible looks at them. One point they popped up right next to the boat! After some beautiful fluking dives, we had to head back to Boston.

The 230pm whale watch made its way to the same area in hopes of similar success to the first trip. We stumbled upon a group of 6 humpbacks consisting of Bounce, Bounce 23 Calf, Ravine, Ravine 23 Calf, Milkweed, and Chunk! The calves were the stars of the show by both continuously breaching, lob tailing, tail breaching, and flipper slapping! The calves did this right next to the boat too! The adults were busy feeding beneath the surface, but at one point they popped up right next to the boat! As the calves continued to be surface active, the adults started joining in! Eventually, Bounce and her calf split off from the main group, and the calves started to calm down. After some beautiful fluking dives from the adults, we had to make our way back to Boston. It was a really awesome day out on Stellwagen Bank!

अगली बार तक

कॉलिन और जोशिया

सुबह 10 बजे व्हेल वॉच दृश्य

नमस्कार!

The 10am whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. With glassy seas and beautiful skies, we found the group of 5 humpbacks: Milkweed, Bounce, Bounce 2023 Calf, Ravine, and Ravine 20233 Calf. The three adults in our group seemed to be busy feeding while the calves were left on their own – almost like a little whale play date! The calves were constantly popping up at the surface together and diving in synchronicity! At one point we watched Ravine’s calf blow some bubble clouds – potentially practicing how to feed by itself. Clutched out and waiting, we watched in awe as the entire group approached us numerous times! The calves in particular took interest of our vessel, and continuously popped up near us ( Emphasizing the importance of responsible whale-watching, I mentioned it was almost like playing whack-a-mole, you never knew where the whales would surface). The highlight of our trip was when Ravine’s calf rolled on its side and began to lazily flipper slap! We watched the calf swim upside down, extend its flipper out of the water, and even peek its eye out. The group seemed almost as interested in us as we were of them – and we got to see multiple close approaches – as the adults regally swam by while Ravine’s calf goofily rolled around. With scattered minke whales and tail breaches, we eventually headed back to Boston!

What a fantastic trip!

Kate

दोपहर 12 बजे व्हेल वॉच दृश्य

गुड आफ्टरनून व्हेल के शौकीन!

The Aurora made its way South in search of cetaceans where we found a group of 5 humpback whales. We found Bounce and her calf, Ravine and her calf, and Milkweed hanging out together! We got great looks as Bounces calf flipper slapped on our right when the trio of adults approached us closely on the left and dove under our boat while we sat out of gear and watched as they then surfaced on the right side! The next time this group surfaced we realized they had been joined by Nile! Niles joining seemed to shake up the social groups as she and Milkweed surfaced together trumpeting loudly as the 2 mom and calf pairs travelled away from Nile and Milkweed in opposite directions. The 2 mom and calf pairs then joined back up with Milkweed, but Nile was nowhere in sight. Shortly after Milkweed also left the association, leading us to wonder why all the social shifting had occurred. We got our final looks at Ravine and Bounce and their Calves, and got some great looks at Ravines lazy flipper slapping before making our way back to Boston.

कुल मिलाकर व्हेल देखने के लिए एक महान दिन!

Sydney and Lily

08-24-23 9am Bolide Beautiful Fluking Dive

08-26-23

9am Whale Watch Sightings

सभी को नमस्कार,

Today aboard the Sanctuary, the 9am whale watch made its offshore in search of whales and other marine life. As we were cruising along, we noticed some activity up ahead of us. This turned out to be three humpbacks lunge feeding! I was able to identify two of the three which were Tripod and Tripod 23 Calf. The trio was continuously lunge feeding right near our boat! Watching the calf lunge with its mother was a really adorable sight to see! Eventually our trio split, so we continued to watch Tripod and her wee one lunge feed. We got some awesome look at the dynamic duo, and even a beautiful fluking dive from the calf! After one last epic lunge, we had to head back to Boston. It was a fantastic day offshore!

अगली बार तक

Colin and Meg

सुबह 10 बजे और दोपहर 2:30 बजे व्हेल वॉच साइटिंग्स

नमस्ते

Today on the 10am whale watch we headed out aboard the Asteria with Captain Deb in search of whales. As we approached the area where the we had reports of whales, we spotted Tripod and her calf. Tripod and her calf were doing some serious feeding. Tripod was coming up open-mouth feeding almost every time, she surfaced. After a little bit the calf even started to come up with its mouth open. It was so amazing to see mom and calf both open mouths feeding together. While we waiting for Tripod and calf to come up from a dive, a minke whale popped up next to us. To end our trip, we checked out another whale that had been in the distance feeding. That whale turned out to be Mostaza, and was a fabulous way to end the trip.

The 2:30pm whale watch headed back out to the spot where Tripod and her calf had been in the morning. Upon reaching the area we found two individuals and Tripod and her calf. We started our trip on Tripod and calf, since they were still feeding. As we watched Tripod and her calf doing more feeding, we could see the other two humpbacks in the distance also feeding. Before we moved off of Tripod and her calf, they came up right next to us, with the calf in a lunge/ on its side feeding. We got amazing views of the two. We headed towards one of the individuals and after several dives with it showing its fluke away from us, we got to see that it was Nuke!

We had a wonderful day on the water, with amazing whales for both intern Josiah and deck engineer Alex’s last day of the season. Best of luck with their final semesters of college.

भवदीय

Melissa and Josiah

सुबह 11 बजे और दोपहर 3:30 बजे व्हेल वॉच साइटिंग्स

सुसंध्या

Aboard the Aurora, the 11am whale watch set out to Stellwagen Bank to find whales. Our efforts were rewarded quickly as we found ourselves in the presence of four humpback whales: Mostaza, Tripod and her 2023 calf, and one unidentified whale. These four whales were lunge feeding! Every few minutes, the whales would erupt from the water with mouths wide open and snap their jaws shut before sinking back down to swallow their catch. As we first made our way into the area, Tripod and her 2023 calf were lunging together while the other two whales had formed their own duo. For the last few months, we have been watching this calf mimic and practice different feeding techniques used by adults around the area. It was incredible to witness the calf putting these techniques to use today as it lunged alongside Tripod! After a few minutes, Mostaza slowly left the area and her buddy partnered up with the mother-calf pair. The trio of whales fed and traveled together for the remainder of our time with them! We returned to Boston grateful for an absolutely wonderful day with the whales! This trip was an especially fantastic one for me since it was my 100^th whale watch as a Naturalist with BHCC!!

On the 3:30 trip, the Aurora returned to the middle of Stellwagen Bank. We were thrilled to find Tripod and her 2023 calf logging at the surface! The moved lazily at the surface for several minutes before Tripod, without warning, erupted in a massive open-mouth lunge! The calf surfaced only moments later in a smaller lunge of its own! The pair fed several more times around our boat, taking short pauses between to swallow all their catch and rest. After some time with the wonderful duo, we slowly moved on to see if we could re-spot a single whale we had eyes on in the distance. It took a few minutes before we found the elusive humpback whale. This whale, unidentified thus far, was taking short dives and staying up at the surface which meant ample time for us to watch it! We even got to see the whale lunge several times between bouts of resting! After this whale slipped below the surface on a dive, we decided to make one more visit to Tripod and her calf before heading back to Boston. Just as we cruised over to them, Tripod broke the surface of the water right in front of the bow with her mouth wide open! She came up with her mouth open and baleen on display several more times with her calf trailing behind copying her every move! In addition to their lunging, the pair also rolled over several times which gave us great looks at their ventral pleats and pectoral flippers. Just as we were preparing to leave, the calf started lobtailing right next to the boat! Our last looks with these whales were also joined by a small minke whale that was cruising around the area. We finally said goodbye to these whales as we sailed into the sun setting over Boston.

यह पानी पर एक शानदार दिन था!

Eman and Lily

1:30 pm व्हेल देखो sightings

नमस्कार

Our 1:30pm trip aboard the Sanctuary was nothing short of spectacular! On our journey towards Stellwagen Bank, we found a blue shark. The calm sea state allowed us to get some great views of this shark before it ultimately swam deep into the water column. As we cruised along, we spotted Tripod and her 2023 calf who were busy lunge feeding. We got some super great looks at mom teaching her calf important feeding behaviors. (After taking a closer look at photos in the office, we think they were feeding on krill—krillin’ it!) Then, we made our way towards a report close by where we spotted a humpback named Nuke. This whale was just traveling through the area, instead of feeding like our first sighting. As we headed back to Boston, we spotted two more blue sharks! Wow, what a day!

Best fishes,

Meg and Colin

08-26-23 130pm side lunge and torpedo calf

08-27-23

9am Whale Watch Sightings

नमस्कार

The 9am whale watch headed out on the Sanctuary towards the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in search of wildlife. A few miles before the Sanctuary, we spotted a blow from the humpback Nuke. This is my first time ever seeing this humpback whale, so it was great to a new individual! Nuke was busy feeding – evidenced by large amounts of poop and lunging activity! During our trip, we were very happy to watch Nuke only average 1- to 2-minute dives. We truly got to spend most of our time with Nuke at the surface – as this whale forcefully lunged in all directions! Sitting patiently, we even had our humpback approach the vessel a few times, at one point swimming straight towards our bow. With some more scattered lunges and a tail breach – we eventually returned back to Boston!

Kate and Laura

सुबह 10 बजे और दोपहर 2:30 बजे व्हेल वॉच साइटिंग्स

सुसंध्या!

We boarded the Asteria under ominous skies but eager to see what awaited us on Stellwagen Bank. Upon arriving at the southwest corner, we were met with a busy breaching baby whale! A-Plus’ 23 calf wowed us with full spinning breaches, just off our bow in incredibly close proximity! It was an awesome sight to see, and the young whale continued its antics by rolling, flipper slapping, and a personal favorite of mine, spyhopping! Not to be outdone, Sprinkles, Bolide and Woodwind ventured over to check out the vessel, spending some time just under the boat! Ravine and calf circled the area, and in what you may consider a family reunion, Nile made an appearance as well! With one final look at the group of humpbacks, we slowly started to make our way back to Boston, eager to return in the afternoon.

The 2:30 pm whale watch set sail under sunnier skies and headed back toward the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. We once again met up with A-Plus’ calf, still tail breaching but eventually quieting down. A-Plus joined up with her calf, and the two began traveling slowly toward another group of whales. They met up with Bounce and calf, and Ravine and calf, for a humpback play date! The three calves rolled around at the surface while mom’s fed below, seemingly enjoying the company of some other younger whales. When mom’s resurfaced, calves took the lead, eagerly swimming together while the adults swam behind. It seemed as though things couldn’t be better, when Chunk, Milkweed, and Nile surfaced right next to the boat! Whales of all sizes and ages could be seen, and it was another blubbery day on Stellwagen Bank!

Additionally, this was my last day working with two of our fabulous summer interns- Reilly and Antonia! The two have proven to be superstars on the Bank, and it has been a joy working with them. Join me in wishing them best of luck this upcoming semester!

ऊपर flukes!

Ashlyn, Antonia, and Reilly

सुबह 11 बजे और दोपहर 3:30 बजे व्हेल वॉच साइटिंग्स

Good evening Whale Enthusiasts!

Today we boarded the Aurora under gray skies for our 11am trip, excited to search for some cetaceans. We pointed our bow toward the Southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, but stopped short west of Midbank when we spotted some unexpected blows on the horizon! To our surprise we found ourselves in the company of three humpback whales: Tripod, her 2023 calf, and an unknown juvenile! The trio were very surface active, diving frequently, and soon erupting from below with big open mouths full of fish! We were treated to several incredible behaviors including a few tail breaches from Tripod’s calf and even a singular breach! The whales fed for several minutes before resuming their travels, showing off some beautiful fluking dives before departing the area. We were delighted by our sightings, and grateful the whales were in close proximity to Boston so we could spend a little more time with them.

Unfortunately, our mysterious juvenile whale bore some scars from negative interactions with a vessel or some fishing gear. It was a poignant reminder of our shared environment and how we can impact these beautiful animals.

We had a surprise guest aboard in the form of a little warbler! This small passenger sought refuge from the wind and rode home with us to Boston. We wish our little traveler the best of luck on their upcoming migration!

Eager to make our way back to Stellwagen Bank, we boarded our next group of passengers for the 3:30pm trip and made our way to the Southwest corner. Upon arrival we thought we had found two groups of 3 whales about 1 mile apart. Joining the first group, we soon discovered 6 individuals in 2 separate groups milling about and making several shallow dives. We presumed they were feeding just below the surface, an idea compounded by the presence of poop in the water! Always an exciting opportunity to talk about the importance of the humpback whales to our ocean ecosystem.

The six whales from our initial 2 groups soon joined a melee of other humpbacks about ¼ mile away. This supergroup of humpbacks included several splashy whales, who we soon discovered were calves! In this affectionately and not-at-all-scientifically termed “whale pile” we were able to identify Milkweed, Chunk, Nile, Mend, Bristle, Eruption, 3.14, A-Plus and her 2023 calf, and Ravine and her 2023 calf! We sat back and watched as the whales emerged from the depths, shrouding themselves in the particular magic of rain-blows and were treated to many close looks at A-Plus’s curious calf! This baby seemed to take a particular interest in our port hull and stuck close by until A-Plus came to lead her away. In the distance, Ravine’s calf tossed their tail out of the water over and over again, creating huge splashes that delighted all aboard.

We counted no fewer than 15 individuals and were overjoyed with the memories from Stellwagen Bank.

Until next time, periscope down.

Linnea and Lily

1:30 pm व्हेल देखो sightings

सुसंध्या

We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, where we found about 15 humpback whales scattered throughout the area in groups of 3-4 individuals. The adults, including Bristle, Mend, Chairlift, Chunk, Eruption, Milkweed, Nile, 3.14 as well as mothers A-Plus, Bounce, and Ravine seemed to be doing some deep water feeding, as evidenced by their frequent dives and a few peeks at some closed mouths reaching the surface. The calves bobbed about, with my favorite moment being Bounce’s calf swimming behind Ravine’s in a moment that looked like a game of follow-the-leader. A-Plus’ calf could be seen splashing about and we even caught a few tail breached from a few of the adults as well. On our ride home, Captain Dave took us through the uniquely deep Hypocrite Channel in the gorgeous afternoon light, and I left the Sanctuary with an extra appreciation for the opportunities that come along with whale watching and the friends made along the way.

लौरा एल और केट

08-27-23 230pm Look I'm under here! — 08-27-23 230pm Look I’m under here!

08-28-23

सुबह 9 बजे और दोपहर 2:30 बजे व्हेल वॉच देखी गई

शुभ संध्या व्हेल उत्साही!

The Asteria headed out for the 9am whale watch and found several blows from humpback whales! We spent most of our trip with 5 humpbacks that could not decide whether or not they wanted to stay in an association. This inconsistent group included Bounce and her Calf, GOM-2232, Sprinkles, and Bolide. They treated us to several close approaches, and Bounces calf even did some practice kick feeding, before doing a “whale handstand” as its fluke slowly arose from the waves. We also got some extended whiffs of the worst whale breath I have ever smelled, proving whale watching to be a “4D” experience. We got some quick looks at Chunk, and Milkweed and Eruption in the distance. We decided to take the long route home, and we are so grateful to our captain Deb for doing so because we had some pretty crazy bonus looks! As someone who has so far had a sadly shark-less summer, I was very excited to find 2 Blue sharks! These sharks spent quite a bit of time of time cruising just at or below the surface allowing us to get incredible looks at their beautiful blue color. They both sunk below the waves, so we reluctantly had to continue on but just when we thought the shark fun was over, we found 2 more sharks! 1 of these appeared to be another blue shark, but the other seemed much larger. While I didn’t get any photos, a passenger on board was able to snag some shots that allowed us to confirm that this was a GREAT WHITE SHARK! I can’t imagine a better way to break my shark curse of the summer, and it was a great way to wrap up the trip…. BUT WAIT there’s more! We then spotted some breaching and flipper slapping humpbacks, who turned out to be Mostaza and Nuke, and then Tripod and her calf also appeared and began open mouth feeding! We got some quick looks as we continued home towards Boston, more then satisfied with our incredibly journey through the bank.

The Sanctuary made its way towards Stellwagen bank for the 2:30 pm trip, but before we could make our way out of the harbor, we found 10-15 harbor seals! Some hauled out on the islands in banana poses, while others swam in the surrounding waters, making for some very cute looks. We continued on to find 2 feeding humpbacks that turned out to be Mostaza and Nuke! These whales consistently were aggressively lunging at the surface, offering incredible looks at this unique behavior. We decided to go see what else might be around, and found Tripod and her calf quickly traveling at the surface. They were spending several minutes at the surface with each time they came up allowing for great looks! we got our final looks at this pair before making our way back home.

Overall, a FIN-tastic day for whale watching!
Sydney and Antonia

सुबह 10 बजे व्हेल वॉच दृश्य

नमस्कार

The 10am whale watch headed out on the Sanctuary towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank! Approaching the area, we found the scattered blows of around 15 humpbacks and a few scattered minke whales! Our humpbacks were busy feeding in associations, traveling quickly and surfacing in all directions! So far, we’ve been able to ID: A-Plus, A-Plus 2023 Calf, Bolide, Bounce, Bounce 2023 Calf, Chunk, Eruption, GOM-2232, Milkweed, Nile, Sprinkles, Spell, and Woodwind. With Provincetown framed in the background, we got fantastic looks with glassy sea conditions! During our trip, Chunk, Bolide, and Sprinkles had been a very consistent association – until Woodwind tried to join. Sprinkles was clearly not pleased with this newcomer, and engaged in a series of forceful chin breaches, trumpeting, and charging. The whales in the area seemed almost angry with each other – and there was a lot of thrashing and trumpeting. While we were safely clutched out, the group of four even charged right towards our vessel, swimming right at us and giving us spectacular looks! Eventually, Chunk seemed to have enough of the ordeal and left to join Eruption and Milkweed – what an interesting display of social behaviors! Towards the end of our trip, the feeding behavior began to change from subsurface feeding to more surface feeding activity. With gulls and shearwaters flying, we saw some massive lunges from one humpback!

क्या एक महान दिन!

केट और एशलिन

सुबह 9 बजे और दोपहर 2:30 बजे व्हेल वॉच देखी गई

Good evening whale watchers,

What a foggy but fantastic day!

The 9am whale watch headed out on the Aurora towards Stellwagen Bank and approached thick and foreboding fog. As we slowly creeped through the foggy bank, we were ecstatic to stumble upon a flipper-slapping Chunk! It was a very surreal experience to see nothing but fog and then turn and see a 15-foot-long flipper slowly rise of the water! We watched in excitement as Chunk lazily flipper slapped, and our boat got to hear the loud ricochet of the flipper slapping the surface echo across the fog. When Chunk rolled on her side, we were able to see fresh scarring on her rostrum (see photos). These markings are a good indication of some busy subsurface feeding – when the whales scrape their rostrum against the ocean floor to disturb fish it can leave some distinct marks. Suddenly as she appeared, Chunk disappeared out of our range of visibility. We slowly continued through the area and found Spell, moving quickly through the area! We watched a few fluking dives, before continuing on and finding A-Plus and her 2023 Calf. Our mom and calf pair were moving slowly though the area, and our little calf seemed very curious of our vessel – repeatedly popping up nearby, sometimes chin first! At one point, the calf even swam right towards us and dove under the boat. This was our intern Reilly’s last trip, and it was extra special to wrap up her season by seeing her favorite humpback whale – A-Plus. Thank you so much Reilly for all your hard work this season, it’s been wonderful having you!

The 2:30 whale watch continued out into the fog and found the humpback 3.14 in a patch of good visibility. After watching the whale take a long dive, we decided to go on a bit of a drive towards Peaked Hill. Although the fog began to swallow us on all sides – we were ecstatic to find around 15 humpbacks in the area. Initially, we found the groups of: A-Plus, Spell, and GOM-2322; Nile and Mend; Woodwind, Chairlift, Bristle; and Ravine, Ravine 2023 Calf, Draco, Wizard. Through the fog we could hear the exhale of more whales – letting us know there were even more humpbacks beyond our line of visibility! All of a sudden, Mend surprised us with a massive breach off our bow! Although I didn’t capture a photo, the breach was witnessed by practically everyone on the boat – as it was right off the starboard pulpit of the Aurora! After Mend’s breach, she joined the group Woodwind, Chairlift, and Bristle – and Nile swam off into the fog. As we moved through the area, we were shocked to see expansive rafts of seabirds as far as the eyes could see. Truly in my 3 years as a naturalist I don’t think I’ve seen so many birds!! Eerily melding into the fog, we were surrounded by Sooty Shearwaters, Great Shearwaters, Parasitic Jaegers, Greater Black-Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Wilson’s Storm Petrels. As the whales swam and dove, the birds flied around – almost like swarming flies. Like moths to a flame, all the birds would suddenly take off at once – indicating the presence of feeding whales! Towards the end of our trip, we got to see a group of at least 5 humpbacks whales begin to bubble net feed! Abrasion, Snap, Nile, Wizard, and Ravine blew beautiful bubble-nets and surfaced through with force.

Despite the fog today, we had such great whale watches!

Kate and Reilly

दोपहर 12 बजे व्हेल वॉच दृश्य

नमस्कार

The thick, thick fog made for an ominous journey to Stellwagen Bank- check out the photo of a container ship at Connelly with only two of the four cranes visible at the dock! Nevertheless, we cruised out and scanned the calm waters until we spotted a minke whale surface just in front of a humpback. We were a little surprised to find 3.14 off on its own, away from the crowd it’s been swimming with, but maybe it wanted all the fish to itself, coming up in a huge, sideways lunge through a school of sand lance. We saw evidence of some bubbles later but today’s feeding style was noticeably different than what we’ve seen when this whale was spending time with the veteran individuals.

The several minke whales were equally active and we spotted them lunging throughout the trip as well. Great shearwaters, herring gulls, great black back gulls, and a northern gannet also spent their time in search of a meal as the fog lifted and we enjoyed a lovely afternoon in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

लौरा एल और एशलिन