Whale Sightings 08/02/23 to 08/07/23. Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 08/02/23 to 08/07/23 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
08-02-23
9pg dan 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Peminat ikan paus malam yang baik!
The Sanctuary headed to the Northwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales for th 9:00 am whale watch and quickly found a very sleepy pair of humpbacks that turned out to be Tripod and her 2023 Calf! These whales were spending plenty of time at the surface, allowing us to clearly see the difference in size between them. We also spent some time with Diablo, before finding another sleepy duo that included Othello and Dashdot. These whales were resting just below the surface, and we could watch as they slowly floated up towards the surface every couple of minutes to take some breaths. We got incredible looks as these humpbacks remained close to the surface for several minutes at a time! We decided to go check out some smaller cetaceans, which turned out to be a pod of 15-25 Bottlenose Dolphins! These sightings are incredibly rare in the sanctuary, and we felt so lucky to be able to spend time with this group of odontocetes as they quickly traveled around the area. While these dolphins were likely feeding, they would also frequently come up and flick their tails, making for spectacular looks! We watched as they began to travel away from us, sad to have to leave, but excited to go back out in the afternoon!
The 2:30 trip decided to head south, where we found over 30 humpback whales, and at least 15 minke whales busy feeding! We started with the duo of Bolide and Flock, who were blowing bubble nets! These 2 continued to demonstrate this complicated feeding technique right off of our bow several times! We also got some looks at Startrail and Zither in the area as they quickly charged towards Bolide and Flock. Some more whales in the distance caught our attention, so we continued on to find Cajun and Cajun 23 calf. The calf would charge at the surface behind mom, trying to keep up with her as she quickly traveled through the area. We also watched the calf blow bubbles several times, likely imitating Cajun as she fed! This pair was then joined by Reflection, and we also got to see Etch-A-Sketch as she quickly passed though! While watching these whales, we heard a very distinct blow in the distance. We decided to go check it out and were able to confirm that Dome was also present and busy feeding! The distinct and unusual noise Dome makes when exhaling forcefully continued while she fed with Nile, Bristle, and Grackle! These whales were busy blowing bubble nets and forcefully lunging through them, surfacing with their mouths open, allowing us to get great looks at their baleen! Our eagle-eyed intern Emily spotted a fin, so we also got to see a Mola Mola who was sunbathing at the surface while these whales fed behind it. We realized we had run out of time, and began to turn back to Boston while we got bonus looks at Cajun and her calf as they breached one after another, and lunge feeding whales in the distance, making for a wonderful end to the day.
Overall, an INCREDIBLE day for whale watching!
Sydney and Emily
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat tengah hari
The crisp, bright conditions continue to paint a perfect backdrop for the already excellent whale sightings. Today the 10:00 cruised to the southern portion of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary where we found so many whales that we couldn’t get to them all! We spent the majority of our time with five humpback whales, which started as a group of four- Bolide, Flock, Nile, And Sprinkles and grew as Venom swam in to make herself welcome. The group blew multiple bubbles nets and came up mouths wide open multiple times before swimming to the north a bit, where two of the whales breached almost simultaneously. From that point, the group split, and Sprinkles seam away to the south and Bolide was spotted on her own as well. Two fin whales ignored the humpback drama and lunge fed on fish nearby before our last looks at them in the gorgeous afternoon light. It was a spectacular day for whale watching and if you’ve been considering a trip, get on a boat!!
Laura L. and Anjali
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hai semua,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. As we entered the area, we spotted dozens of blows! We started on Ravine and Ravine 23 Calf who were taking short dives, and they were spending a lot of time at the surface. After a beautiful fluking dive from mom, we went over to see a few fin whales lunging! These were my first fin whale sightings in a few weeks, so I was very happy to see them again! We then ventured on to a single humpback whale named Reflection who was kick feeding! Reflection has her own style of kick feeding where she does a bit of a chin breach before launching her tail out of the water. After some cool looks at Reflection, we got some looks at Startrail and Skateboard who were bubble net feeding! Reflection, Startrail, and Skateboard eventually joined up with a mega group of humpbacks. Some of the IDs I was able to get included Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, A-plus, A-plus 23 Calf, Lollipop, Lollipop 23 Calf, Sprinkles, Woodwind, Spell, 3.14, Mend, Chunk, Bolide, and Dome. Dome was making her awesome, albeit a little strange, noise after each feeding which was a delight to hear! The mega group was continuously bubble net feeding and lunging up through them! Eventually the large group started to break off into smaller sections, so we got some final looks at Reflection and Startrail before heading back to Boston. It was an amazing day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Sehingga lain kali
Colin dan Lily
08-03-23
9am Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat tengah hari
The 9am whale watch headed out on the Cetacea towards the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank! As we approached the area, we spotted a cluster of activity from diving seabirds and 8-10 fin-whales! These animals were forcefully lunging at the surface, and we got some fantastic looks at the second largest animal on earth as they swam directly next to the boat! The star of our trip was the solo humpback, Mayo, who we haven’t seen yet this season. We got to see Mayo bubble-net feed, blowing bubbles in a perfect circle, then surface with her mouth wide open. We watched in awe as our whale bubble-net fed the entire trip – with fish flying and birds swarming! We were able to look directly into the inside of our humpback’s mouth – and could clearly see the baleen!! It was very easy to predict where our whale would surface, as the collection of gulls and shearwaters would all fly to one spot – seconds before Mayo would surface through her bubble-net (sometimes the birds know more than we do). These birds were very bold and would fly directly into Mayo’s open mouth to swipe a fish.
What a cool trip!
Kate dan Emily
10pg dan 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all!
Today aboard the Sanctuary, the 10am whale watch made its way out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. Before we reached the bank, we spotted a decent sized pod of Atlantic White Sided Dolphin! We got some great looks at this active pod before venturing off to Stellwagen. We then spotted several different fin whales when we arrived at the area. I have not personally seen a fin whale in a few weeks so it was nice to see several of them! These fin whales were very active, and a few of them even lunged at the surface! After some cool looks at the fin whales, we spent time with a humpback named Mayo who was cruising through the area at first. Mayo eventually settled down and began open mouth feeding! Mayo would blow a bubble cloud and then lunge at the surface, an amazing sight to see! Towards the end of our trip, Mayo, multiple fin whales, and even a few minke whales began lunging! After several amazing looks, we had to head back to Boston.
The 230pm whale watch made its way out to the same area in hopes of similar luck as the morning trip. We were in luck when we saw dozens of blows in the area. We started on several different fin whales who were cruising at the surface. These whales were taking short dives, and even passed right off our bow! Once the fin whales dove, we headed over to a very large group of humpbacks. The IDs for the group includes Freckles, Woodwind, A-plus, A-plus 23 Calf, Doric, Dome, Mend, 3.14, and Milkweed (With many others still to go!). We got several breaches from the calf, and even one of the adults went airborne a few times! The other highlight of the trip was the group blowing a beautiful bubble ring, and then coming up mouths open not far from our bow! The group proceeded to do this several times not far from us. As the group slowly started to break apart, we spent some time with Dome who began kick feeding. Dome then proceeded to lunge not far from the bow, and she even did her patented noise while she was filtering! No idea why she does this when she is feeding, but it is amazing to hear nonetheless! After these incredible sights, we had to start heading back to Boston. It was a really amazing day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Sehingga lain kali
Colin and Indi
11am Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat tengah hari
Aboard the Asteria, the 11am whale watch headed to the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank. As we slowly approached, we were delighted to see the massive splashes of breaches from three different points on the horizon! The breaching slowly stopped as we made our way over, but we were delighted to find bubble feeding and kick feeding whales in every direction! There were at least 20-25 humpback whales in the area and 3-5 minke whales. These whales were moving quickly as they blew rings of bubbles and splashed at the surface before diving to feed. It was also exciting to spot some of the growing calves participating in the feeding behavior with their mothers! Among our many whales, we identified Mend, Dome, Cajun and her 2023 calf, Ravine and her 2023 calf, Milkweed, Nile, Sprinkles, Kickoff, Freckles, Grackle, and Bolide. We happily watched these whales forage and feed around us before we bid them goodbye and began to make our way back to Boston. Our journey was soon interrupted by a large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. We stopped for a moment to allow these whales to cross our bow before continuing on.
It was a wonderful day on the water.
Eman, Anjali, and Josiah
08-04-23
9am Whale Watch Sightings
Hai semua,
Today aboard the Cetacea, the 9am whale watch made its way out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. Through the wind and the waves, we did some searching. After a little searching, we spotted a plethora of blows in the distance. We started on Dyad the humpback whale who was kick feeding! Dyad kicked, blew some bubbles, then lunged up through them! She did this several times right next to the boat! We then went over to watch a large group who was bubble net feeding! Some of the individuals included Reaper, Milkweed, Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, Freckles, 3.14, Mend, Sprinkles, and Chunk. This group was repeatedly blowing bubble rings and lunging up through them! These whales even fed not far from us a few times! As the adults were down feeding, Cajun’s little one breached right off our bow! Right before we were about to leave, Freckles, Milkweed, and another individual lunged right off the side of the boat! The whales continued on their way as we started to journey back to Boston. It was an amazing day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Flukes ke atas,
Colin dan Josiah
10pg dan 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat petang
The 10am whale watched headed out on the Sanctuary towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of wildlife and were ecstatic to find a feeding frenzy! For as far as the eye could see – we saw a flurry of blows! We spent our time with around 10 humpbacks, and have been able to ID: Bolide, Diablo, Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, Freckles, Reaper, and Hammock. Our whales were bubble-net feeding in spectacular fashion and seemed to be blowing these bubbles and open-mouth feeding about every minute! Every time I would start talking over the microphone, I would quickly see frothy green bubbles and the adults surface through in force! In between all these whales we saw gulls, shearwaters, a pod of 50 Atlantic-White Sided Dolphins, and multiple minke whales – all swimming around the nets to take advantage of any remaining fish. It was truly a feeding craze!! Throughout our trip, we saw a scattering of tail breaches and breaches from our humpbacks. Towards the end, I saw one humpback breach over two miles away, seconds later a humpback breached a mile away, and then seconds after that Bolide breached right in front of our boat!! We don’t always know why whales breach – but it definitely seemed like these large whales were breaching in almost a call and response!
The 2:30 whale watch headed a few miles north – and were happy to find even more humpbacks! So far, we’ve been able to ID: Lollipop, Lollipop 2023 Calf, Ravine, Ravine 2023 Calf, Kickoff, A-Plus, A-Plus 2023 Calf, Dyad, Sprinkles, Jabiru, Pele, Eruption, 3.14, Etch-a-Sketch, Chunk, and Hammock! The feeding groups from the morning had seemed to have dissipated – and we instead found ourselves in a sea of solo humpback whales. We had multiple individuals dive towards our boat – including the ever-reliable Sprinkles. The only consistent association was Jabiru, Pele, Eruption – a group that has been spotted together for over a month! As the trip progressed, the wind definitely picked up – and at one point we seemed to be surrounded by breaching whales on all sides. As we began to leave the area, we watched Lollipop’s calf – who launched its entire body out of the water in consecutive breaches for the rest of the trip!
What a spectacular day!
Kate and Jane
11am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon whale enthusiasts!
The Asteria headed towards the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen bank in search of cetaceans and quickly found what looked like a never-ending wall of blows from humpback whales. We started with a brief sighting of Bolide as she cruised past us, before we decided to head over to some splashing nearby. We found Labyrinth flipper slapping, and a moment of quiet allowed us to appreciate how loud this behavior is, demonstrating how this may be a form of communication on windy days like today. Suddenly labyrinth took a powerful dive, which was followed by 3 consecutive breaches! This whale continued to switch back and forth from flipper slapping to breaching, and all the commotion seemed to attract some Atlantic white sided dolphins. We got some incredible last looks at Labyrinth breaching surrounded by dolphins before going to check out some feeding! We quickly found multiple groups of bubble net feeding whales. While most of the whales fed, Chunk and Mend were busy lobtailing and ANOTHER large pod of Dolphins arrived. We got to watch Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, Ravine, Ravine 23 Calf, 3.14, Etch-A-Sketch, Reaper, Dome, Pitcher, Kickoff, Bristle, Startrail, and Reflection kick feeding and bubble net feeding in constantly interchanging groups of 2-6 whales. Several of these bubble nets formed right next to our boat while we sat out of gear, allowing for incredible looks! The calves would sometimes surface in the bubble nets, and other times would be breaching behind them, leading to incredible whale behaviors happening on all sides of the boat. A final massive pod of over 150 Atlantic White Sided dolphins entered the area while we watched these whales feed, in awe of the buffet of fish they were all feasting on. We had several last looks as we were held hostage by the whales who seemed to be closing in on us. One of our final looks was Bristle swimming underneath our pulpits and diving underneath our bow as we sat out of gear to allow the whales to move safely around us. Once the whales were a safe distance away, we slowly began our journey home, grateful for being able to witness this fantastic display of humpback whale behaviors.
Secara keseluruhan, hari yang luar biasa untuk menonton ikan paus!
Sydney
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat tengah hari
Aboard the Aurora, we braved the choppy seas in search of whales. Our arrival was greeted by blows and bubbles in every direction! We found groups of Humpback whales bubble and kick feeding all around! Our long list of whales in the area includes Freckles, Milkweed, Cajun and her 23 calf, 3.14, Mend, Sprinkles, Nile, Startrail, Bristle, Reaper, Skateboard, Ravine and her 2023 calf, Dyad, and lots more! The adults were all busy kicking and blowing bubbles before surfacing with their mouths wide open. When we first arrived, the calves were up at the surface lobtailing, breaching, flipper slapping, and even practicing lunges. Soon after, the calves joined with their mothers and began feeding alongside them. We also spotted a large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins that were feeding and swimming alongside the busy humpback whales. These dolphins stayed in the area the entire time we were there! After some wonderful views of all the whales, we returned to Boston grateful for a fantastic experience with the whales.
Eman and Indi
08-05-23
9pg dan 1:30 Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat tengah hari
Aboard the Cetacea on the 9am whale watch, we journeyed out on bumpy seas to the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank. We arrived to find four humpback whales surrounded by massive flocks of birds. Our first encounter was with Pitcher who was up at the surface and appeared to be taking a Saturday morning nap. As we watched this whale, we almost didn’t catch the massive bubble net Etch-a-Sketch blew at our portside! This whale lunged right next to the boat giving us incredible views of her mouth and baleen. We also caught sight of Ravine and her 2023 calf slowly traveling through the area. We ended our trip with Quote and Scylla who were both sleeping at the surface. We got beautiful looks of them going down on dives before we slowly left the area.
On the 1:30pm whale watch, the Cetacea returned to the Southwest Corner. As we cruised out, our visibility became increasingly limited by fog. It took some time (and even listening!) to find the whales. Our first encounter with whales was just by hearing them swim and splash in the fog around us. Within no time, we were entirely surrounded by humpback whales that kept popping up on every side! We started out with Ravine and her 2023 calf, Woodwind, and one other unidentified whale. The three adults dove at our bow, but the calf stayed up rolling at the surface. After an incredible breach and tail breach right off our bow, that calf dove to join its mother. We also encountered several other whales all split in specific groups as they surfaced and dove around us. We identified Pitcher, Startrail, Bristle, Chunk, Milkweed, Flock, and Chairlift. These whales were all diving around us and under us which gave us absolutely incredible views of them. After watching these incredible cetaceans, we returned to Boston just as the fog began to lift.
It was an incredible day!
Eman and Josiah
10pg dan 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening Whale enthusiasts!
The Asteria headed towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen bank for the 10am whale watch, and quickly saw some splashing! We watched a humpback whale breaching in the distance as we made our approach. We found 2 mom and calf pairs, Shuffleboard and her 2023 calf, and Lollipop and her 2023 calf! While there had been some breaching that caught our attention, these whales had settled into some napping. Lollipops calf surprised us by breaching one more time, before returning to sleeping. These whales were traveling slowly at the surface for long periods of time allowing for great looks! The fog began to close in on us, and we got some final great looks at these pairs before heading back to Boston. Our sighting of Lollipops calf, who is still entangled with fishing gear, was reported to CCS as the calves’ condition and behaviors are continuing to be monitored.
The 2:30 pm trip headed south again, and found that the fog from earlier had intensified, but we did not let this deter our search! We cautiously moved through the area, looking and listening for whales. We started our sightings with a Mola Mola who was busy resting at the surface. We got fantastic looks at this massive fish on all sides as it remained at the surface for an extended period! We moved on to find a trio of humpback whales that included Startrail, A-Plus, and her 2023 calf! These whales were traveling quickly and taking short dives, and frequently would surface very close to our vessel while we sat out of gear leading to incredible looks! This trio definitely made our journey through the fog worthwhile. We got some final looks before carefully making our way through the fog, and back home to Boston.
Overall a great day for whale watching!
Sydney and Indi
11pg dan 3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat petang
The surprise fog was a bit unwelcome today, but luckily we’ve had more and more whales moving into the area in the last few days and so finding them was not a problem. In the morning, we began our search close to midbank and cruised south until we came across Pitcher, who dove rather quickly. The fog was so thick that we weren’t able to resight her, so we continued on and found Freckles, Pipette, and Hammock. We had some great looks at them as they lazed about in the calm waters before riding the diminishing swells back to Boston.
For the afternoon, we started a bit farther to the south where we found Reaper and enjoyed several high flukes before A-Plus, her calf, and Startrail became visible. The calf enjoyed our company and rolled and swam toward the boat, so close that I couldn’t see from my vantage point on the top deck! We kept seeing whales dive just at the edge of the line of vision in the fog, and the flukes all looked different from each other, so we realized that we had way more whales in the area than we initially thought. Bolide, Sprinkles, and Woodwind zipped around while a mola mola, gray seal, and shark (possibly a porbeagle) were spotted intermittently. Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption made waves while Joy and Mayo snoozed to the west of the crowd.
Laura L. and Jane
08-06-23
9pg dan 1:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hai semua,
Today aboard the Cetacea, the 9am whale watch made its way out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We started on a trio of humpback whales, two of which were Bristle and Chairlift. This group dove right near our boat! We then ventured on to see Ravine and Ravine 23 Calf who were spending a lot of time at the surface. These two were joined by Sprinkles and Startrail, and the four of them swam right next to our boat! After some beautiful fluking dives from Ravine and Sprinkles, we went over to another group of whales who consisted of A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, Spell, and 3.14. This group was spending a lot of time at the surface and dove not far off our bow! After several great looks at our group, we had to head back to Boston.
The 130pm whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner in hopes of similar success as the morning trip. We were in luck when we noticed some splashing in the distance. This turned out to be a humpback named Hasselback who breached not far from us! Hasselback gave us a beautiful fluking dive before going on a very long dive. We decided to continue along to the bank where we stumbled upon a trio of humpbacks consisting of Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption. This trio was taking longer dives, but they were spending a lot of time at the surface, so we were able to get some fabulous looks at them. The trio gave us some beautiful fluking dives right next to the boat! We then ventured along to another group consisting of A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, and Startrail. This group was taking short dives, and they came up right near our boat a few times! This group was shortly joined by Chairlift who gave us several beautiful fluking dives. After one last close approach, we made our way back to Boston. It was a great day out on the water!
Sehingga lain kali
Colin and Kaitlyn
10pg dan 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening!
We boarded the Asteria for the 10 am whale watch and headed for the northern end of Stellwagen Bank under blue skies. Upon arriving, we found a very sleepy duo of Tripod and calf, moving slowly and staying up at the surface for several minutes! Mom lazed around while calf began nursing, and we even noticed it poop a few times, a sign it was surely filling its’ belly! Leaving them to nap, we made our way over toward a few more humpbacks, Shuffleboard and calf, not too far from Clamp! These whales were wide awake, following a robust bait ball of mackeral, before Clamp suddenly emerged in a lunge, pleats fully expanded! Shuffleboard began taking advantage as well, and we noticed the calf mimicking the behavior! Tripod and calf had woken up and joined the feeding crowd as well, calf blowing bubbles while Tripod lunged! We enjoyed a few more lovely looks at the lunching ladies, before we began our journey back toward Boston.
We returned to Stellwagen Bank for the 2:30 trip, first stumbling across two of the sleepiest humpback whales, Othello and Dashdot! Quite literally letting the current take them, this pair was up at the surface for about 7-10 minutes, allowing for incredible close up views of these individuals. They drifted so close that I could count the hairs on Othello’s head! We left them to nap and explored our surroundings, coming across a sleepy Clamp, who surprised us by surfacing just off our starboard side. Clearly not wanting to be bothered, we left her to it and grabbed one last look at Quote, also resting but taking beautiful fluking dives. With a flick of her tail, we bid her adieu, and made our way back to shore.
Flukes ke atas!
Ashlyn and Reilly
11am 4Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat tengah hari
Aboard the Sanctuary on the 11am whale watch, we sailed out on calm waters to find whales on Stellwagen Bank. Our first encounter was with an elusive elasmobranch. We found a Blue Shark that happened to be swimming along at the surface!! This shark was up at the surface for several minutes and we got incredible views of it as it swam alongside the boat. Once the shark slowly sunk down, we continued onward. It wasn’t too long until we found a Humpback whale named Scylla! Scylla clearly had places to be and was busy traveling at the surface nearly the entire time we were with her. With such calm water, we got incredible views as we cruised alongside her. We also caught sight of a minke whale that surfaced multiple times in our vicinity. After some wonderful fluking dives from Scylla, we very slowly crept back to Boston.
It was a wonderful day on the water!
Eman and Antonia
08-07-23
9am Whale Watch Sightings
Hai semua,
Today aboard the Cetacea, the 9am whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We spotted a trio of blows as we arrived at the area. These blows came from three humpbacks who turned out to be Pele, Eruption, and Nile! These three lovely whales were spending a lot of time at the surface, and they were not moving far between dives, so we were able to get some tremendous looks at them. At one point they came up not far from our boat! After several beautiful fluking dives from the trio, we started making our way back to Boston. It was a really awesome day out on Stellwagen!
Sehingga lain kali
Colin
11am Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat tengah hari!
We boarded the Asteria and set off at 11 a.m. on a journey to find whales, one that took us to a new area for the season in the form of Peaked Hill. Spotting scattered humpbacks and one sneaky fin whale as we grazed the southwest corner, we continued on to a massive number of blows- about 20 humpback whales rapidly surfacing among various bubble clouds! These individuals fed just below the surface, surrounding our vessel and offering incredible views. We identified A-Plus, her 2023 calf, Bolide, Eruption, Startrail, Woodwind, Milkweed, Flock, Spell, 3.14, Bristle, Mend, and a new whale for the season, a familiar fluke in the form of Tear! A-Plus’ calf mimicked the behavior mom was partaking in, temporarily pausing to check our boat out. As we circled back toward Boston, we caught a glimpse of a gray seal and several surface-active humpbacks just north of us. All in all, Captain Deb worked her magic on this beautiful afternoon, granting us whales as far as the eye could see! We enjoyed a beautiful ride home, with birds and landmarks on our way.
Flukes ke atas!
Ashlyn dan Antonia
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Selamat tengah hari
On the noon whale watch, the Aurora headed out to Stellwagen Bank to find whales. Our search started in midbank where we were surrounded by half a dozen whales of three species! We could see several minke whales, one fin whale, and a few humpback whales in the distance. Our first close encounter was with a humpback whale named Shards who took a fluking dive right off our bow! We also spotted Dyad who lobtailed a few times for us before going down on a dive. After a few more minutes with Dyad, we continued on to see what other wildlife called Stellwagen Bank home. Within no time, we found Reflection kick feeding with one other humpback whale in the area! We watch as Reflection would surface, rest for a few moments, and then begin slapping her tail against the surface of the water.. After watching this unique feeding behavior several times, we caught sight of a massive pod of 100-150 Atlantic White-Sided dolphins! These smaller cetaceans were moving quickly and jumping as we neared them. They swam all around our boat, diving under us and surfacing on the opposite side as we idle in the area. It was an incredible encounter! We also got a glimpse of an ocean sunfish that was up slowly swimming at the surface. After all the excitement, we turned toward Boston and began making our way home.
It was a wonderful day on the water!
Eman dan Reilly
Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 08/02/23 to 08/07/23