Whale Sightings 07/26/23 to 08/01/23. Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 07/26/23 to 08/01/23 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
07-26-23
9:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Salve,
The Cetacea ventured into the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary with a sense of adventure and just happy to go for a boat ride. Upon arriving to the area in which 15-20 whales were scattered throughout, we received a radio transmission from the Massachusetts Environmental Police asking us to alert them or the Center for Coastal Studies if we found Lollipop and her calf. Lo and behold, the first whales I laid eyes on were the pair, so Capt. Mike radioed immediately. The whale watch community has been following this case intensely all summer, and I really hope that we have good news to share soon.
We attempted to give the rescue teams space, but this mom and calf pair kept popping up, eventually joining Nile, Sprinkles, and Spell. Pele, Jabiru, and Eruption were also frequent flyers of our trip with some looks at Bolide, Chunk, Flock, and Mend throughout. There were even more whales that we didn’t even get to see up close, as we were busy enjoying breaches from at least three different whales, including a double breach by Lollipop and her calf. We continue to hope for the best for the little one and are so grateful to have a world-class disentanglement team local to Stellwagen Bank. In honor of their efforts and the calf, let’s all choose one goal to lesson our impacts on the environment and the whales that we’ve come to love so much!
Laura L.
10:00 e 14:30 Avvistamento delle balene
Ciao a tutti!
The Sanctuary made its way towards mid-Stellwagen Bank in search of whales on the 10am trip. We soon found ourselves in “whale soup”, surrounded by up to 15 humpback whales! Our first looks were at Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption, who swam closely by the boat. We then caught a quick glimpse at Cajun’s 2023 calf as it popped up next to the vessel. This calf then joined up with a larger group in the distance. To our surprise, we lucked out with some breathtakingly close looks at Spell, Nile, and Sprinkles. This trio swam up to our starboard side and then under our bow! Passengers on the pulpit got an extra special encounter with these three whales, as they got a face full of spouts, or whale breath! We then reluctantly left all the excitement behind and headed back towards Boston.
On the 2:30pm trip, we made our way back out to Stellwagen to pick up where we left off. This time we were greeted by a new trio of humpbacks: Bristle, Mend, and Chairlift. Other familiar flukes in our area included: Woodwind, Bolide, Flock, and Chunk; and Milkweed, Cajun and her 2023 calf. It was Spell, Nile, and Sprinkles who stole the show for sure! Sprinkles left us a huge poop at the surface, and while we were admiring that, Nile did a full body breach off the port side bow!!! Unfortunately, it was a one-and-done breach for Nile, so I was unable to capture any photos. But, the mental image will last forever! Such a great way to end a busy day whale watching.
I pesci migliori,
Meg e Anjali
11:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio,
The 11am whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank and spotted 17 humpback whales! These whales were busy feeding in 5 distinct associations and were popping up on all sides of the boat! For most of our trip we stayed motionless and got amazing close looks as the whales approached us again and again. The groups we saw today included the trios of Chairlift/Mend/Bristle, Nile/Sprinkles/Spell, Jabiru/Eruption/Pele and the groups of 4 of Cajun/Cajun 2023 Calf/3.14/ Milkweed and Chunk/Bolide/Flock/Woodwind. These whales were clearly very successful in their eating endeavors – as we saw scatterings of bubble- clouds and lots of poop (Pele alone pooped at least 7 times during our trip). Out of the blue, we were ecstatic to see two breaches off our port side from the Chunk association! Today was such a wonderful day and we got such fantastic looks at our massive group with beautiful weather on top!
Kate e Emily
12:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Ciao a tutti,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch made its way out towards the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in search of whales and other marine life. We were greeted by a plethora of blows when we arrived in the area. We started on a trio of humpbacks consisting of Mend, Bristle, and Chairlift. This group gave us an awesome close approach before heading on a dive. Next thing we know, we are surrounded by humpbacks! Some of the whales we saw were Woodwind, Bolide, Flock, Chunk, Nile, Spell, and Sprinkles. All of the groups were popping up right near the boat, and they all gave us beautiful close approaches! The groups started to spread out a bit, so we spent time with the trio of Nile, Sprinkles, and Spell. This group gave us a series of beautiful fluking dives right off our bow! We then got some bonus looks of another trio consisting of Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption. The trio was spending a lot of time at the surface so we were able to get some phenomenal looks at them! After they dove, we had to head back to Boston. It was an amazing day out on Stellwagen!
Flukes up,
Colin e Lily
07-27-23
9:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Ciao a tutti,
Today aboard the Cetacea, the 9am whale watch made its way out towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We approached just south of the southern shipping lane to a plethora of blows from humpback whales, plus some small splashes from a large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! We started on a group of 4 humpback whales consisting of Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, 3.14, and Milkweed. The calf shocked us all by breaching not far from us! The adults then soon surfaced and gave us an amazing close approach. We then got to spend time with another group of 4 consisting of A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, Woodwind, and Mend. A-Plus’ calf was incredible curious of our boat as the little one would pop up not far from us several times! The highlight of the trip was this group of 4 swimming right under our boat twice! It was incredible to see these gentle giants up close. We then got some brief, but awesome looks at a trio of humpbacks consisting of Chunk, Bristle, and Chairlift before having to head back to Boston. It was a fantastic day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Flukes up,
Colin ed Emily
10:00 e 14:30 Avvistamento delle balene
Buonasera osservatori di balene,
Aboard the Sanctuary, the 10am whale watch headed out to Stellwagen Bank. We were pleased to discover a myriad of whales (both toothed and baleen!) in the area as we arrived. As we arrived, we found a large group of Atlantic White-sided dolphins! These cetaceans were porpoising all around us as we encountered our first humpback whales. There appeared to be three groups of humpback whales in the area. In one group, we found 3.14, Milkweed, and Cajun and her 2023 calf. We had A-plus and her 2023 calf, Mend, and Woodwind in a separate association. In our final group, we identified Chairlift, Chunk, and Bristle. We watched these three groups as they dove and surfaced around our boat. After some splashing from Cajun’s calf as it breached and head breached, we turned our boat and made our way back to Boston.
The 2:30pm whale watched boarded the Sanctuary and braved choppy seas to find whales. Our efforts were met by a large pod of Atlantic-white sided dolphins! As we marveled at these toothed whales, we almost missed a giant breach from Cajun’s calf! This calf breached multiple times before we sighted some adult humpback whales. Before we knew it, we were in the presence of Cajun, Milkweed, 3.14, A-Plus and her 2023 calf, Chairlift, Mend, and Spell. All of these whales were cruising around the area, diving frequently, and spending ample time at the surface. It appeared these whales were subsurface feeding. We caught multiple views of them as they surface with water gushing from their jaws, and it was even more special to find the calves mimicking this behavior as they joined their mothers in feeding! Before we knew it, it was time to return to Boston.
È stata una giornata fantastica in acqua!
Eman e Josiah
11:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio,
The 11am whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the middle of Stellwagen Bank! Battling some impressive wind, we made it to our destination and found around 10-15 humpbacks in the area! We spent time with the groups of 3.14/Cajun/Cajun 2023 Calf/Milkweed and Mend/Woodwind/A-Plus/A-Plus 2023 Calf, with others scattered in the area! With all the wind, we were treated to a scattering of breaches from both adults and calves throughout the trip! The highlight of the trip was when Mend breached right off our port side. In between all the humpbacks, we spotted a pod of around a 150 Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins – which seemed to be playing at the surface and surfing the waves. We spotted lots of baby dolphins in the area and some were even doing little baby breaches of their own. As the wind and waves increased, we headed back to Boston!
Kate e Anjali
12:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buona sera,
On the 12pm trip aboard the Aurora, the wind and chop didn’t stop us from enjoying an amazing day on the water! We started out our day with A-Plus and calf traveling with Mend and Woodwind making a close approach right along-side our vessel! In midst of this excitement, we then spotted many Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins surrounding both us and the whales! It was fun to constantly see them pop up throughout our trip. We then saw splashing of a small breaching whale in the distance, this was Cajun’s calf doing repeated chin breaches! Cajun’s calf was the star of the show doing repeated full breaches and chin breaches, while mom Cajun was busy feeding with Milkweed (back together again!) and 3.14. They also treated us to a great close approach as well before we left home. A great day!
Salute,
Laura & Indi
07-28-23
9:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio,
With beautiful seas, the 9am headed out on the Cetacea towards Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. After a little traveling, we found a large cluster of at least 15 humpbacks!! In the area we saw: Bristle, Bolide, Chunk, Flock, Milkweed, Mend, Spell, 3.14, Nile, Sprinkles, Chairlift, A-Plus, A-Plus 2023 Calf, Lollipop, and Lollipop 23 Calf. These whales were explosively feeding and forcefully traveling at the surface – each group spending usually less than two minutes underwater before popping up again. Many times, the associations would come together and then split off in different groupings – making us feel like we were in whale soup! Throughout the trip we mainly stayed still and watched the whales constantly approach us. In particular, the group of Nile, Sprinkles, and Chairlift didn’t seem to want us to let us leave and kept diving right towards us!
With glassy seas and amazing whales, this was such a great trip!!
Kate e Jane
10:00 e 14:30 Avvistamento delle balene
Hello all
The 10am whale watch aboard the Sanctuary made its way out towards the southern portion of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We were delighted to see a trio of blows when we arrived in the area. These blows came from Mend, Bolide, and Flock! These three were taking short dives and spending a lot of time at the surface so we were able to get some great looks at them! We then got some great looks at a mom and calf pair consisting of Ravine and Ravine 23 Calf. The two groups joined up briefly which was a neat sight to see! Eventually the groups split, but we were able to get great looks of both groups as they both swam right near the boat! We also got some brief looks at A-plus and her 2023 Calf before we had to head back to Boston.
The 230pm whale watch headed out towards the same area in hopes of similar success to the first trip. We started on a group of 4 whales, 3 of which were Mend, Bolide, and Flock! These group was darting through the area, but we were still able to get some cool looks at them. We then spent time with a sleepy A-plus and A-plus 23 Calf. The two were floating at the surface which allowed us to get some really neat looks at them! A-plus even swam right next to the boat! We then ventured on to the feisty group of Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, Chunk, and Milkweed. Cajun was doing her very loud trumpet blows, potentially mad at Chunk for stealing some food or joining the group. Cajun’s calf was being adorable rolling at the surface, and even coming close to the boat! After several beautiful fluking dives from all 4, we had to head back to Boston. It was an amazing day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Alla prossima volta,
Colin e Lily
11:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio agli appassionati di balene!
The Asteria made its way toward Stellwagen bank in search of Cetaceans, and quickly found several groups of humpback whales! We started our trip with a brief sighting of a trio that closely approached our left pulpit before charging south, that included Bolide, Sprinkles, and Flock. This was followed by a brief sighting of Ravine and Ravine 23 Calf who were also charging to the South. We spent the rest of our trip with A-Plus and A-Plus 23 Calf who were busy taking an extended nap at the surface. These whales were lounging at the surface allowing us great looks at their entire bodies! A-Plus would frequently drift underneath her calf, allowing the calf to rest on her body as they slept at the surface. At one point we even saw a short bout of nursing as they calf surfaced on either side of A-Plus! It was incredible to be able to witness such intimate moments between this mom and calf pair, and the glassy sea conditions allowed us to get an even better glimpse of these behaviors. At one point the calf came right next to us and turned on its side to show its flipper. Upon closer inspection we realized the calf’s eye was WIDE OPEN and the calf was staring right back up at us! It was amazing to be able to essentially make eye contact with this whale and allowed us to appreciate how intelligent and curious these whales can be even more then we already did. A-Plus and her calf sunk back down to deeper waters, and we reluctantly had to make our way home to Boston after such a wonderful day on the water.
Nel complesso, una giornata incredibile per l'osservazione delle balene!
Sydney and Josiah
12:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio,
Aboard the Aurora, we ventured out to Stellwagen Bank on the noon trip. As we arrived, we discovered A-Plus and her 2023 calf. The pair was at the surface sleeping which gave us incredible views of the whales. We enjoyed watching them take their afternoon nap for a few minutes before we slowly moved on to see what other wildlife encounters the area had to offer. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by whales on every side! We had Bolide, Cajun and her 2023 calf, Ravine and her 2023 calf, 3.14, Milkweed, Chairlift, Spell, and Chunk in our vicinity. All these whales were busy feeding below surface, and we got some incredible looks at them when they came up to breathe and rest between bouts of feeding.
È stata una grande giornata in acqua!
Eman
07-29-23
9:00 e 1:30 Avvistamento delle balene
Ciao a tutti,
Today aboard the Cetacea, the 9am whale watch made its way out towards the middle of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We spent our time with Dross and Dross 23 Calf! Dross was continuously blowing bubble clouds and lunging up through them! The calf was watching mom’s every move, and was even circling at the surface probably immitating mom. Dross even blew a few bubble clouds and lunged right next to our boat! As Dross continued to do her thing, the calf began rolling around and it even spy hopped! After a series of beautiful fluking dives, we had to head back to Boston.
The 130pm whale watch made its way out towards the same area in search of whales. Through the rain we spotted a few blows. This turned out to be Dross and Dross 23 Calf! Dross was doing her thing, blowing bubble clouds and lunging up through them! The calf was much more intentive this trip as it would follow along with mom, and it continued to do the circling behavior just like mom. Dross lunged several times right near our boat! The pair then dove right under boat! We continued to watch the amazing pair as mom continued to lunge while baby was intently watching. After a few beautiful fluking dives from mom, we made our way back to Boston. As a special birthday request, I have made sure to include several beautiful fluking dives™. It was an amazing day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Alla prossima volta,
Colin e Josiah
10:00 e 14:30 Avvistamento delle balene
Ciao,
What a day to be out on the water. The 10am whale watch aboard the Asteria headed out of the heat of the city in search of marine life, and we certainly found it! Shortly after departing the harbor Alex, the deck engineer spotted a Mola mola or ocean sunfish. What a great way to start our trip off. Mola’s are one of the largest bony fish in the ocean being able to reach weights of 2,000 pounds. They are often mistaken for a shark, since when they are swimming at the surface their flipper looks similar to that of a shark. After getting some great looks at the mola, we continued on our way to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. As we got closer to where other vessels had whales, Captain Deb noticed a few harbor porpoise pop up. We only got a couple quick looks before they headed away. As we continued on, it wasn’t long until we started seeing minke whales popping up all around us. We had probably close to a dozen minke whales all around us. After getting some good looks at them we started towards where reports had humpback whales, but before we could reach them we had a fin whale come up. After watching the fin whale for a few minutes we then got over to the humpbacks. We had Cajun and her calf, Pele, and Jabiru to name a few. It was an amazing morning out on the water with 4 different species of whales and a mola!
Our 2:30pm trip we battle some weather, but Captain Deb did a great job to make sure we didn’t have to deal with any rain once we were on whales! We headed back in the same area that we had, had whales on the morning trip. Once there we found our friend Cajun and her calf, who gave us some nice close looks. This allowed everyone on board to truly see the size difference between the calves and adults. We had a few different groups, who came together and crossed a few times. One whale who we watched a bunch was Chunk who is easy to ID from it’s dorsal fin, since there is a chunk missing out of it. We also had Mend and Bolide.
Great job to Captain Deb and her crew aboard the Asteria today, for giving us great looks at the whales, and keeping us out of some of the severe weaher.
-Melissa and Emily
11:00 e 15:30 Avvistamento delle balene
Happy last day of Shark Week!!
We boarded the Aurora for the 11 a.m. whale watch and cruised across the glassiest seas you could imagine. We arrived at the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank and met up with about a dozen humpback whales! ID’s included Bolide, Sprinkles, Mend, Spell, Nile, Eruption, Jabiru, and Pele! These whales zoomed through the area, the birds following close behind, feeding below the surface. Soon, several minke whales joined the party, one taking several breaths just off our bow! We wrapped up with the Fab Four™️ Cajun, her calf, 3.14, and Spell! The avian and cetacean action these days is tough to beat, but we even spotted a mola mola on our way back to Boston!
We eagerly boarded for the 3:30 adventure and once again headed for Stellwagen Bank. This time, we headed a little further north where our first sighting was a lunge feeding Scylla! She continued to wow us with her explosive displays, but competition swooped in in the form of Dross and her 2023 calf! The calf circled the boat while mom hunted below, and she amazed us with the most perfect bubble ring right off our bow! As the visibility improved, we suddenly realized we were surrounded by lunge feeding humpback whales! Pitcher and Diablo worked in close proximity, even popping up right next to our starboard side! A third whale lunged just after them, making for some exciting views. Our day wrapped up with impressive lunges from about 5 whales in the area, with a cameo by a small group of harbor porpoises! We headed home slowly, taking in our last views before the rain came.
Flukes in alto!
Ashlyn and Jane
12:00 e 17:00 Avvistamento delle balene
Buona sera,
On the Sanctuary, the noon whale watched set off for Stellwagen Bank. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by lunging humpback whales! These whales were surfacing vertically with their mouths pointed straight up as they consumed the balls of bait around us. Our first encounters were with Scylla and Quote as they fed in unison. In between their exciting lunges, we also watched Tripod lunge with her 2023 calf trailing behind doing adorable half-lunges. Eventually, the activity began to slow down and Quote and Scylla split from their temporary association. We trailed behind the whales as they slowly moved to a new area. Within a few moments, the feeding activity started up again! Tripod lunged several more times (while Scylla and Quote lunged separately in the distance) before we made our way back home.
On the 5pm whale watch, the Sanctuary tried to escape the rain in Boston as we headed out to Stellwagen Bank. We spotted our whales fairly quickly by their splashy and towering lunging behavior! These whales were busy feeding nearly the entire time we spent with them. There was a trio of whales named Diablo, Scylla, and Quote that were traveling around us and lunging every few minutes. We also found Tripod and her calf in the area. Tripod was busy feeding while the calf stayed up at the surface resting or slipped down below on short dives. We also caught a glimpse of Dross and her 2023 calf as they took a well-deserved Saturday afternoon nap. After some breaching from Tripod’s calf and lunging from our trio of whales, the Sanctuary made its way back to Boston just in time for an absolutely incredible lightning storm over the city.
È stata una grande giornata in acqua!
Eman and Kaitlyn
07-30-23
5pm Whale Watch Sightings
Salve,
On the 5pm whale watch, the Sanctuary enjoyed a busy evening with our local cetaceans on Stellwagen Bank. Our first encounter was with Tripod and her 2023 calf. The duo was traveling slowly at the surface. As we watched them, we noticed a few more blows belonging to humpback whales in the area. One particular blow, belonging to a whale named Mogul, slowly made its way over to our duo and joined up with them! With little warning, Tripod and Mogul lunged through some piles of bait in the area. They repeated this feeding behavior multiple times before slowly returning to their traveling behavior. Around this time, we also watched Mogul quietly disappear from the area. As Tripod and her calf slowly settled down for a nap, we made our way over to Scylla and Quote who were traveling lazily at the surface. After spending some time with these two whales, we made our way home as the sun was setting over Boston.
È stata una grande giornata in acqua!
Eman and Sydney
07-31-23
9:00 e 14:30 Avvistamento delle balene
Buona sera!
We boarded the Sanctuary for the 9 am whale watch and switched things up a little by heading on a northerly close! On the northwest corner, we met up with several minke and humpback whales. We spent much of our time with Dross and her 2023 calf, who were also switching it up by taking a little snooze at the surface. With the calm seas, we were able to keep up with them and admire as the slowly drifted with the current. After some time, we also met up with Diablo, who was circling around a delicious looking bait ball. She treated as to a fluking dive with Boston in the background, and we cruised back towards Boston.
We loaded up the Sanctuary again for the 2:30 pm whale watch and returned to the northwest corner. About 7 blows could be seen, and after a quick look at a minke whale, we settled on a slow moving group of 3 humpback whales. Dashdot, Diablo, and Othello mingled at the surface, moving slowly and allowing for some gorgeous looks. While admiring these whales, we spotted a fin from a mola mola! This fish basked at the surface, making sure to even its tan lines and sun on both sides, eliciting oohs and aahs from passengers. Right around this time, our trio of humpbacks woke up and began feeding! From powerful surfacings to TRIPLE LUNGES! we watched in awe as these three satisfied their appetites. After a beautiful last look with synchronized dives, we continued on our way home, having enjoyed a fantastic start to the week.
Flukes in alto!
Ashlyn e Reilly
10:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio agli appassionati di balene!
The Asteria headed out to the Northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, excited to begin our search for cetaceans. We started our trip with a surprise from a mysterious whale that breached not far from us, but then quickly vanished beneath the waves. While we waited for this whale to return to the surface, we saw some blows in the area ahead of us, and eventually decided to cautiously make our way over to them. We started our trip with the humpback whale Diablo, who breached, and then quickly began to engage in some lunge feeding. We got some incredible looks as Diablo lunged right off of our bow! Her behavior seemed to get the attention of the other whales in the area, as Scylla soon joined in on the feeding. It was interesting to be able to compare the 2 different types of feeding that were being used as Diablo lunged at the surface while Scylla blew bubble clouds and was likely feeding deeper in the water column. We got some great looks at these 2 as they started to slow down and rest at the surface, before heading to some other blows we had seen in the area. We got our final looks at Quote, who was quickly travelling south. After a wonderful day with whales, we began to make our way home towards the Boston Skyline.
Nel complesso, un'ottima giornata per l'osservazione delle balene!
Sydney and Antonia
12:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio!
The 12pm whale watch headed out on the Aurora towards the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank! With glassy conditions, we spotted a cluster of blows from multiple humpbacks – and first found Scylla slowly traveling through the area. Wet then moved on to the more active Quote and Pitcher. Pitcher was blowing multiple bubble clouds in the area, and even popped directly next to our starboard pulpit – surprising everyone! As we were watching Quote off our bow – she suddenly erupted into a full body breach! For the rest of the trip, she then began to flipper-slap!!!! Again and again, Quote repeatedly rolled over and slapped her 15-foot-long flipper against the water – creating an impressive sound that traveled far. She continuously lifted her head out of the water far enough that we could even see her eye peek out above the surface. With Pitcher on one side blowing bubbles clouds and Quote on the other, we had a fantastic trip. We slowly moved out of the area with Quote still flipper slapping – almost like she was waving us goodbye!
Kate and Kaitlyn
08-01-23
9:00 e 14:30 Avvistamento delle balene
Buona sera,
On the 9am whale watch, the Sanctuary headed out to calm seas to find whales. Our first encounter was with two humpback whales named Scylla and Quote. These two whales were taking a mid-morning nap at the surface which gave us incredible views of them. As they snoozed, we noticed some splashing activity in the distance! Not too far from us, a humpback whale had rolled over and started flipper slapping! As this activity continued, another whale identified as Dashdot began lobtailing close to where we were idling. It was incredible to watch these two whales splash at the surface. Soon after, the activity died down and we continued watching our two sleepy whales. After some bonus looks at a mother named Tripod with her 2023 calf, we slowly made our way back to Boston. Our efforts were quickly interrupted by a fin sticking out of the water! We stumbled upon a Basking Shark!! We got some incredible views of this shark before it slipped below the surface and disappeared. It was an incredible day on the water!
The Sanctuary made its way back to Stellwagen Bank eager for more whales on the 2:30pm whale watch. We quickly found two Humpback whales sleeping at the surface which were identified as Dashdot and Othello. The sleepy duo gave us absolutely beautiful views as they hung out at the surface, constantly coming up for air. After some time with them, we slowly cruised over to another humpback whale duo that was a mother-calf pair. It turned out to be Dross and her 2023 calf! These two whales were taking a well-deserved afternoon nap, but the calf quickly woke up and surprised us with some rolling at the surface! After a few fluking dives from the pair, the Sanctuary slowly made its way back to Boston.
It was a wonderful day to be on the water.
Eman and Kaitlyn
10:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio,
The 10am whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the Northwest Corner of the Sanctuary. With great visibility, we were excited to find the scattered blows of at least 10 humpback whales. We started off with Tripod and her 2023 calf and got fantastic looks at this pair as the repeatedly popped up right next to our vessel! At one point, we were about to watch a bout of nursing – as we got to see the calf pop up on alternate sides of mom. We then moved on to the solitary humpbacks Scylla and Quote, who continuously surfaced in close proximity but never joined together in an association. Scylla was certainly the star of our trip, and we spent most of our remaining time with this whale. She swam close to our vessel and suddenly took a powerful dive, before moments later erupting into a full body breach! She then quickly transitioned to flipper-slapping, and we watched in awe as she repeatedly lifted her giant pectoral flipper out of the water! As the surface activity quieted down, we moved on to Pitcher – who was bubble cloud feeding and forcefully lunging, pleats out, at the surface. We also saw the duo Dashdot/Othello and the solo whale Diablo throughout our trip! When we eventually left the area, we saw one of our distant whales begin to flipper slap – waving us goodbye!
What a fantastic day with such a range of behaviors from numerous individuals!
Kate e Reilly
12:00 Avvistamenti di balene
Buon pomeriggio,
Today’s noon whale watch cruised over the glassy seas to the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. We had some sleepy whales this afternoon, snoozing away in pairs with a single humpback, Pitcher, who appeared to be enjoying lunch on her own. She was the only whale who was seen swimming around and even lunge fed on mackerel a couple of times. It was my first time seeing Quote this season, and the new entanglement scars that are visible around her head were disheartening to see. We watched her and Scylla for a bit before catching a glimpse of Othello and Dashdot. Finally, we watched Dross and her calf as mom logged alongside her more wiggly calf. The clarity of the water even allowed for unreal looks at the whales’ entire bodies!
Laura L. e Antonia
Osservazione delle balene a Boston: note naturalistiche - dal 26.07.23 al 01.08.23