Whale Sightings 07/12/23 to 07/18/23. Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 07/12/23 to 07/18/23 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
07-12-23
9am na 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Jioni njema
On the 9am trip, the Cetacea traveled out to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. We were greeted by blows from all directions. Just as we made our way into the area, a trio of humpback whales popped up on our portside. It was Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption! We spent most of our morning with these three whales. These three were taking short dives and swimming alongside our boat when up at the surface which made for excellent looks at them! Along with our trio, we Flock and Startrail were diving and surfacing around us constantly. We even caught multiple looks at a rather large minke whale that was hanging out in the area around the Humpback whales. It felt like the minke whale was swimming in circles around the Cetacea and the humpback whales around us! After some close encounters of the humpback whales (including three diving right off our bow!), we slowly made our way back to Boston.
The Cetacea made its way back to Stellwagen Bank for the 2:30pm trip. Upon arriving, we discovered more whales had come into the area! We counted up to twenty blows from humpback whales around the Cetacea. Our time was spent with a myriad of whales including Jabiru, Pele, Eruption, Flock, Startrail, Sprinkles, Bolide, Woodwind, Cajun and her 2023 calf, Milkweed, 3.14, and Mend. Our first encounter was with Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption. These three surfaced near our boat and were taking their time to rest before going back down on a dive. While we were watching them, we almost missed a massive breach by Flock! Right after the breach, we noticed two groups of two whales joining together at the surface. Throughout our trip, we noticed Flock, Bolide, Woodwind, and Startrail continuously come together in one large group and break apart into two duos. While we did not see any additional breaches, these four kept us busy with their constant dives and appearances near us! We also watched Cajun and her calf, Milkweed, 3.14, and Mend cross our bow multiple times as they dove and surfaced between bouts of subsurface feeding. Before we knew it, time had run out and the Cetacea slowly turned back toward Boston.
Ilikuwa siku nzuri sana kwenye maji!
Eman and Lily
Saa 10 alfajiri Whale Watch Sightings
Halo wote,
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 made it to the area with whales, we noticed a very large dorsal fin in the water. This turned out to be a basking shark! We got a brief look at the shark before it dove. Not long after, another basking shark suddenly breached not far from the boat! This shark also quickly disappeared, so we continued on towards the direction of whales. We spent most of the time with a trio of humpbacks consisting of Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption. The trio was taking short dives, and they were spending a lot of time at the surface so we were able to get some incredible looks at them! The highlight of the trip was the trio coming up right next to our boat! After several beautiful fluking dive sequences from our three we started to venture home. We also got a great bonus look at a pair of humpbacks consisting of Startrail and Flock! It was a really great day out on Stellwagen!
Hadi wakati mwingine,
Colin na Emily
Saa 12 jioni Whale Watch Sightings
Hujambo
On today’s 12pm whale watch aboard the Aurora, passengers were eager to get offshore and escape the Boston heat! Once we made it to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, we counted up to 17 humpback whales in the area. Much of our time was spent with Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption, who were taking coordinated short dives. To our surprise, a minke whale quickly surfaced off our port side bow and then slowly sank below the pulpit. Thanks to stunning sea surface conditions, we were able to get spectacular looks at this whale, including the “minke mittens”! Also, near the boat were Startrail and Flock, who we spent several moments watching as well.
Best fishes,
Meg, Anjali, and Jane
07-13-23
9am Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema
The 9am whale watch headed out on the Cetacea towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. Under glassy seas, we reached our destination and were delighted to find at least 18 humpbacks whales! We spent time with the groups of Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, Spell, 3.14 and Bolide, Sprinkles, Jabiru. These groups were likely feeding, evidenced by the large amount of whale poop from Jabiru!! The stars of the show today were the association of Pele, Milkweed, and Eruption – these whales kept popping around our vessel giving passengers great looks on all sides. At one point, the solo humpback whale Woodwind tried to join our group of 3 – and the trio was not pleased by the newcomer! There was a lot trumpeting and rapidly changing of directions to move away from the new humpback – and Woodwind soon left, defeated.
What a cool day!
Kate na Emily
Saa 10 alfajiri Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema wapenda nyangumi!
Yesterday morning the Asteria headed out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen bank in search of whales. We were excited to see that there were around 20 blows in the area from humpback whales that appeared to be busy feeding below the surface. We got some brief looks at Pele, Milkweed, and Eruption as they charged further south. We spent most of our trip with 2 groups of whales that circled around us. One of these groups included 3.14, Spell, Cajun, and Cajun 23 calf, and the other included Jabiru, Sprinkles, and Bolide. These 2 groups surrounded us on both sides of the boat, treating us to several close approaches as they forcefully surfaced sporting some fresh scuff marks, likely from feeding on sandlance. The highlight of the trip came from Spell as she forcefully erupted into a breach right off the port side! She was so close that even with my camera lens zoomed all the way out we could only get half of her in the photo! We got some lovely last looks that included a lazy half breach from Cajuns calf before making our way back to Boston.
Kwa ujumla siku nzuri kwa kutazama nyangumi!
Sydney and Anjali
Saa 12 jioni Whale Watch Sightings
Halo wote,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch made its way out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We started on a group of 4 humpback whales consisting of Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, Spell, and 3.14. This group gave us a beautiful close approach right off our bow! This group was then quickly joined by another group of 3 consisting of Bristle, Mend, and Chairlift who all popped up right next to the boat! The groups split so we continued on with the trio. We then got looks at another trio of humpbacks consisting of Pele, Jabiru, and Milkweed. All 3 of these groups popped up all around the boat before we left the area! The highlight of the trip was when 2 members of Bristle’s erupted from the water giving us a beautiful double breach! The whales calmed down, so we were able to start heading back to Boston. It was a fantastic day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Hadi wakati mwingine,
Colin na Yosia
1:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Jioni njema
On our blustery 1:30pm trip aboard the Cetacea, we were treated to 10-12 humpbacks in the SW corner! We spent our time with a group of four humpbacks, Spell, 3.14, and Cajun and calf. The adults were busy subsurface feeding and charging, while Cajun’s calf stole the show breaching! We were treated to full breaches, tail breaches, and a few chin slaps! If that wasn’t enough, our passengers on the stern had a surprise of a triple adult breach in the distance!
A wonderful day!
Shangwe,
Laura & Indi
07-14-23
9am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon baleen buddies!
The Cetacea headed out to the Southwest corner bright and early in search of cetaceans and we were excited when we saw some splashing in the distance. We cautiously approached the area to find 16-19 humpback whales! While we waited for these whales to return to the surface, we were surprised by a very small pod of Harbor porpoise. We sat out of gear when suddenly we were surrounded by whales close approaching our vessel on all sides of the boat! It was impossible not to appreciate their massive size as they travelled along our port side just feet from the vessel. These whales continued to circle around us, likely feeding, while Cajun 23 calf tail breached, lobtailed, and flipper slapped. When the calf was joined by some of the adults, she didn’t stop these behaviors, even hitting some of the adults as she did, who seemed displeased as they then began to trumpet. We were basically held hostage as these whales continually circled around us throughout the entire trip. We got some bonus looks at a tiny harbor seal while we watched the humpbacks, as well as a small fin whale on our way home making for a 4 species day! We were able to ID Cajun, 3.14, Spell, Bolide, Woodwind, Sprinkles, Milkweed, Mend, Chairlift, and Flock.
It was a fantastic day for whale watching!
Sydney and Jane
Saa 10 asubuhi na saa 2:30 usiku Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening whale watchers,
Aboard the Sanctuary, we headed out to Stellwagen Bank eager to find whales. When we arrived, we were greeted by the blows of multiple whales! We started with two humpback whales: Flock and Startrail. These two were subsurface feeding on their own for a few minutes before Chunk and Othello joined them. While we watched all four whales, we also caught some sights of a fin whale and a few minke whales! After spending time with these three species, we slowly moved over to another area where we could see more blows. Before we knew it, multiple groups of humpback whales had surrounded us. These groups included Bolide, Woodwind, Sprinkles, Cajun and her 2023 calf, 3.14, Spell, Pele, Eruption, and Jabiru. All of the whales were busy feeding below the surface but gave us incredible looks when they surfaced and traveled alongside the Sanctuary. We even had multiple close encounters as these whales navigated around our idle boat! We quickly ran out of time and returned to Boston grateful for an incredible day on the water.
At 2:30pm, the Sanctuary headed out East in search of whales. Our arrival was welcomed by two groups of humpback whales. In one group we found Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption. In the other group, we had Othello, Chunk, and Milkweed. These six whales were subsurface feeding and surfacing quite close to our boat! At one point, all six whales surfaced on the left size of our bow in what appeared to be one cohesive group. It appeared these whales created one massive group below the surface, though the association did not last long. As these whales began diving again, they dove in two distinct groups. We noticed Othello and Chunk quickly moved out of the area, while Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption stayed close. Milkweed disappeared quickly, but we sighted her again only a few minutes later with Cajun and her 2023 calf, Spell, and 3.14. In the midst of the whale soup, we also found Bolide, Sprinkles, and Woodwind. As we watched these whales, another small calf caught our eye. It happened to be Ravine’s 2023 calf trailing behind Ravine! These two whales were reportedly entangled earlier this week and the Center for Coastal Studies’ disentanglement team has been hard at work trying to help the pair. It was reported that, as of today, the calf and Ravine are both disentangled!! This exciting news prompted many fantastic conversations about sustainable seafood (check out the resource www.seafoodwatch.org to learn more about sustainable seafood consumption) and supporting disentanglement efforts in our region! After three thrilling breaches from Ravine’s calf, we slowly began making our way back to Boston!
Hadi wakati mwingine,
Eman and Josiah
Saa 11 alfajiri Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema!
We boarded the Aurora and enjoyed a wonderful ride out to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank for the 11 am whale watch. Our day started off strong, with Cajun, calf, Spell, and 3.14. This group was moving through the area, surrounded by hundreds of birds, feasting upon oily fish. The calf rolled around a bit and even surprised us with a breach! It was an exciting day with blows surrounding us, we were also able to identify Sprinkles, Pele, Eruption, and Jabiru. Greater shearwaters, sooty shearwaters, laughing gulls, great black backed gulls, and w Wilson’s storm petrels surrounded us as well, delighting some avian fans on board.
Unfortunately, we did have a brief sighting of Venom, in which she showed some erratic behavior. After photographing her fluke, we noticed that she had picked up some monofilament that was trailing behind. (see photo) Likely more of annoyance for her than anything, but still a troublesome sight to see. It’s been quite a week for our blubbery friends, and we’re hoping we can turn a corner soon!
Poleni sana!
Ashlyn and Lily
Saa 12 jioni Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema!
Under incredibly glassy and calm seas, the 12pm whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the Southwest Corner! We were ecstatic to see around 15-20 humpbacks in the area feeding in distinct associations! We spent most of our trip with the duo Flock and Milkweed – and the trio Eruption, Pele, and Jabiru. Our trio of adults spent a lot of time at the surface – and we got amazing looks at our group when they would surface and dive together in sync. We also saw the trios of Chairlift, Bristle, Mend and Bolide, Sprinkles, Woodwind – with many more blows in the area! There was also an abundance of bird activity in the area – and we got awesome looks at Wilson Storm Petrels and Great Shearwaters (see photos).
What a beautiful day!
Kate and Indi
07-15-23
9am na 1:30 Whale Watch Sightings
Hujambo
Today’s 9AM whale watch aboard the Cetacea eagerly headed towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search for whales. We were greeted by several blows, estimating up to 16 humpback whales in the area! Most of our time was spent with two groups of three humpback whales: Pele, Eruption, and Jabiru; and Bolide, Sprinkles, and Woodwind. Bird activity on Stellwagen was booming today, as there were dozens of various shearwater species in the area!
On our 1:30PM trip, we cruised out to pick up right where we left off on the southwest corner. We estimated up to 20 humpback whales in the area this time around. To our surprise, we ended up spending our time with a new group of whales: Cajun and her 2023 calf, 3.14, and Spell! Cajun’s calf tail breached several times, but then 3.14 stole the show with a very unexpected full body breach right off the starboard side of the vessel! Spell also left us a generous present of whale poop at the surface. We then got a brief look at Milkweed before we headed back to Boston Harbor.
What a fabulous day spent on Stellwagen Bank!
Poleni sana,
Meg and Indi
Saa 10 asubuhi na saa 2:30 usiku Whale Watch Sightings
Hujambo
Today’s 10:00 am whale watch aboard the Asteria headed out to the southwest corner of the Stellwagon Bank Nation Marine Santuary in search of whales. As we got closer to the area we started to see blows appearing on the horizon. The weather was beautiful out on the bank, and it allowed for us to see over a dozen whales around us. While we slowed down to form a plan of where to start, it was clear that whales would be in all directions. We spent some time watching Cajun and her calf from a distance while we had a group of two whales approach us. While all of this was happening we had another group of three move in on the other side. We had whales surrounding us on all side for the majority of trip. What a beautiful morning out on the water.
On our 2:30 pm trip we headed back out to Stellwagen but this time we came across whales before we reached the southwest corner. We found Dross and calf, along with Dyad and several others. When we first got there two of the whales were logging, which is when whales are resting just below or at the surface of the water. This behavior allowed us to get a good look at how large the whales actually are. Dross and her calf did some blowing of bubbles below the surface. Just before we needed to head back to Boston, one of the logging whales woke up and started tail lobbing. What a great way to end an afternoon on the water.
Dhati
Melissa, Emily and Anjali
Saa 11 alfajiri na saa 3:30 usiku Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening!!
The 11:00 whale watch headed out on the Aurora towards the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank and was thrilled to spot a cluster of activity. Surrounded by swarming gulls, shearwaters, and storm petrels – we spotted around 20 humpback whales! Like previous days, these whales formed distinct associations. Our whales would forcefully surface and dive down – and we saw lots of evidence of feeding (including a lot of whale poop!) Our groups for the day included Bolide, Sprinkles, and Woodwind; Flock and Milkweed; Pele, Jabiru, and Eruption; Cajun, Cajun 2023 Calf, Spell, and 3.14; and the solo whale Venom. In all this activity, we got incredible views as these whales constantly swam towards our vessel and would dive directly towards our boat, swim under our vessel, and then pop up on the other side. It is very important to note that such close approaches happened when our vessel was clutched out and these whales actively swam towards our boat. By far the biggest highlight of our trip was when got to see not one BUT TWO double breaches. Although the first double breach may have caught us by surprise – the second double breach was enjoyed by all when it happened right off our bow!!
On a very exciting note, after looking through our photos and confirming with the disentanglement team, Venom has been spotted gear free! Venom was spotted yesterday with monofilament wrapped around her fluke – and happily today it seems like she has shed the gear.
The 3:30 whale watch headed towards the same area and found the same groups of humpback whales – as well as the newcomers of Bristle, Mend, and Chairlift! In a similar fashion to the morning – these whales swam all around our vessel – giving us the quintessential “whale soup” whale watch. The group of Cajun, Eruption, Spell, and 3.14 kept approaching our vessel, and at times we were basically “trapped” by whales diving at us on all sides. Passengers got absolutely fantastic looks and a face full of whale breath. Again, it is very important to emphasize that our fantastic looks happened when we were safely clutched out and not moving. As the afternoon progressed, the wind picked up, and our little calf got very splashy. We were treated to rolling, tail breaches, flipper slaps, and full body breaches! As this calf became surface active – it seemed to draw in the attention of every other association in the area – creating mega groups. The calf would breach, then we would have 6-7 adults surface together next to the small whale.
Wow wow wow what a wonderfully spectacular day!
Kate and Jane
Saa 12 jioni na saa 5 usiku Whale Watch Sightings
Wapenzi wa nyangumi wa jioni njema!
The Sanctuary headed towards the Northwest corner of Stellwagen bank for the 12 PM whale watch, and as we headed south towards the shipping lanes, we found 10-12 blows in the area! We started our trip with Dross and her 2023 Calf. Dross greeted us with some bubble cloud feeding before they began charging to the south. We moved on to a sleep pair that included Othello and Dashdot. We got some great looks at these 2 as they rested at the surface. We moved on to find Clamp for some final looks before getting some bonus looks at a Minke whale quickly travelling at the surface as we were making our way back to Boston!
The 5pm trip decided to head south, and we started our trip with a massive fin whale! This whale was elusive so we moved on to some other blows. We estimated 16-20 whales in the area!
We found 8 humpback whales in groups of 2-3 mixing around a small area. We sat out of gear while these whales surrounded our boat making several close approaches as they dove under us. We ID’d Bolide, Woodwind, Flock, Chairlift, Milkweed, and Bristle in this group. We then moved on to spend some Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, 3.14, and Spell. Cajuns calf surprised us with a breach, and the surface activity did not stop there as this young whale continued to tail breach, breach, lobtail, and roll at the surface throughout our trip. One of the adults even breached, and another in the distance tail breached in response! We got some incredible last looks at this group as the surface activity continued behind as we made our way back to Boston.
Kwa ujumla siku nzuri kwa kutazama nyangumi!
Sydney and Josiah
07-16-23
9am Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema
We boarded the Cetacea for the 9 am whale watch and made way for the southern end of Stellwagen Bank. Upon arriving, we noticed many blows! Our day started with the trusty trio of Pele, Jabiru, and Eruption, who were taking short dives and circling the area. Soon, a humpback whale ahead of us began chin breaching, which was a sight to behold! We allowed ourselves to drift in that direction, and met up with at least 7 more humpback whales, including Cajun, her 2023 calf, and Milkweed! These whales awed us by slowing swimming towards us and then directly under the boat! This was quite the sighting to wrap up the trip, and we headed back toward Boston.
Flukes up!
Ashlyn and Emily
Saa 10 alfajiri Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema
We found ourselves surrounded by several groups of humpbacks, spending most of our time with Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption. We must have been parked over a school of fish because the trio surfaced mere feet from the boat several times.
Nearby we could see Cajun’s calf breaching and splashing around in the waves nearby to mom and associate Milkweed, and the second half of our time with whales was spent watching both the calf and the adults take off like rocket ships. My favorite photo from today shows the strength of the wind as it blew back the water streaming from the body of one of the breaching whales. We were stunned when one of the adults breached just yards ahead of the pulpits before continuing on to the southwest. We headed back to Boston riding following seas under the stormy skies.
Laura L. and Antonia
Saa 11 alfajiri Whale Watch Sightings
Good Afternoon, Whale Watch Enthusiasts!
What an exceptional day on Stellwagen Bank! A hardy group of 74 whale watchers boarded the Aurora for the 11am trip. The seas were rising as we made our way from Boston, but we braved the waves and were more than rewarded on our arrival. No fewer than 6 blows were visible on the horizon, punctuated by splashing from an enthusiastic calf breaching! We were soon able to determine we were in the presence of Cajun and her 2023 calf. This bouncing baby continued to surprise and delight us throughout the trip with erratic and exuberant jaunts skyward.
In between these impressive displays we were treated to wonderful looks several adult whales moving rapidly through the water, and even lunge feeding! We were thrilled to see another calf in the mix with their mother A-Plus! The calves seemed to take turns breaching, and even made a few close passes! We found ourselves downwind of these whales more than once, and were misted with whale breath between squalls of rain. I like to think this phenomenon brings good luck, if it is a little smelly. In the melee of subsurface feeding whales we were able to identify Cajun and her 2023 calf, Milkweed, Spell, Jabiru, Eruption, Pele, and A-Plus and her 2023 calf. There were several blows in the distance indicating there were even more whales in the area, hopefully happily feeding below the rising swells.
We were reluctant to leave, but grateful for a wonderful day on the water.
Mpaka wakati mwingine!
Linnea and Kaitlyn
Saa 12 jioni Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema
With pouring rain, wind, and swells – a very hearty group of passengers took the 12pm whale watch on the Sanctuary towards Stellwagen Bank. Although the rain and fog limited our visibility, we were still able to spot around 18-20 humpbacks in the area. We first spotted the familiar trios of Jabiru, Eruption, Pele and Chairlift, Mend, Bristle. Our attention was quickly shifted to the group of four – Cajun, Cajun 2023 Calf, 3.14, Spell and the trio of Milkweed, A-Plus, A-Plus 2023 Calf. We haven’t seen A-Plus and calf in almost a month, and it’s great to see how large and healthy this calf looks! We focused the remainder of the trip on the calves – as both tiny whales erupted into a series of chin breaches and breaches! The two groups with calves eventually merged together – and we got multiple looks at 7 whales diving together at the same time! Soon these calves began to fully launch into full body breaches – one right after the other. At one point, we saw Cajun and her calf double breach as well! Despite the swells, we got some amazing looks at these whales before heading back to Boston.
Kate and Reilly
07-17-23
9am Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema!
We rolled along the swells aboard the Cetacea during the 9 a.m. whale watch on our way toward the southern end of Stellwagen Bank. Upon arriving, the three best friends that anyone could have were hanging out at the surface, enjoying the sunshine. Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption in true form hung close together in between bouts of subsurface feeding. After some time with them, we headed a little further south into the haze, where we met up with about ten more whales! We started with a group of A-Plus and calf, Milkweed, and Woodwind! The calf lolled about at the surface while the adults fed, occasionally flicking its tail about. We also met up with Bolide and Sprinkles, the newest association on the southwest corner! I will say it has been interesting to watch Sprinkles bounce around between groups this year, as typically I’ve usually seen him hanging out alone! The bird sightings continue to be outstanding as well, we watched in awe as an osprey glided by (which I unapologetically darted across the wheelhouse to photograph). We enjoyed a relaxing ride under the shining sun, having spent another beautiful day in the sea.
Flukes up!
Ashlyn
Saa 10 asubuhi na saa 2:30 usiku Whale Watch Sightings
Halo wote,
Passengers aboard the Sanctuary were eager to get offshore and get some relief from the Boston heat! On our 10AM whale watch, we headed towards mid-Stellwagen Bank and were greeted by several blows in the area. We estimated about 5-6 humpback whales around us! Much of our time was spent with Dross and her 2023 calf. Dross was very busy blowing bubble clouds and feeding, however, her calf was much less active, logging for about 5 minutes at a time! We were able to get some fantastic close-up looks at this calf—some passengers were even able to see the barnacles on its head! Regretfully, we left these two whales and made our way back to Boston Harbor.
On our 2:30PM trip, we switched things up and headed towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. We were greeted by a humpback whale named Chunk, who was flipper slapping! Chunk then stopped flipper slapping, pooped, and began traveling out of the area. A few surfacings later, we noticed Chunk joined up with another humpback, Flock, who was in the area. To our surprise, Chunk and Flock then joined up with a third whale, Nile! We spent much time watching these whales spout and fluke in a very coordinated way, before we had to make our way back to Boston Harbor.
Best fishes,
Meg and Lily
Saa 11 alfajiri Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema
The 11am whale watch headed out on the Asteria on glassy seas (what a difference from yesterday) towards Stellwagen Bank! As we approached the area, we were shocked to find minke whales for as far as the eye could see. We estimate there were at least 20 minke whales surrounding our vessel – forcefully lunging and charging at the surface. The water seemed to be boiling at points from the sheer amount of sand lance in the water (see photo), and these minkes whales were feasting! We saw massive white splashes everywhere – and a few times these minke whales seem to drive the sand lance towards the vessel to further corral the fish ( see photo!!!!) In my three years as a naturalist, this is by far the best minke whale experience I have ever had! We also got fantastic looks at the humpbacks Chunk and Flock who were busy blowing bubble clouds and lunging! We also had some tuna breach as well – something that caught us very off guard when one launched itself next to our vessel! On our way back we got to see a pod of 30-50 Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins. This was my first dolphin sightings of the season, and I was so excited to even see some baby dolphins in the mix. These calves were very small and young – evidenced by small fetal folds visible (see photo – fetal folds are creases in the calf’s skin and blubber caused by being curled up in the womb. These folds are prominent in newborn dolphins and fade as the calf matures).
What a cool and unique day!
Kate and Kaitlyn
Saa 12 jioni Whale Watch Sightings
Wapenzi wa nyangumi wa mchana mwema!
We boarded the Aurora for the 12pm whale watch excited to head out on our search for cetaceans. We started our search North of the shipping lanes, and only found a sngle Minke whale about a mile away from us, so we decided to continue our search elsewhere. On our way out of the area we saw 2 blows from humpback whales in the distance but decided to continue our search to the south. As we approached the southwest corner we saw several patches of water that looked to be boiling due to bait balls below the surface. Soon after this we began to see Minke whales and Harbor porpoise erupt out of these patches all around us! We saw between 7-14 Harbor Porpoise in groups of 1-3 spread around the area, and throughout our trip saw almost 20 Minke whales! These Minke whales were aggressively lunging at the surface, frequently surfacing near our vessel with their mouths open, and with sand lance flying out, trying to escape (see photo!). At one point, a Minke whale lunged so aggressively that its entire body left the water right off of our port side! I have never seen this kind of feeding from Minke whales before, and it was a truly incredible sight to behold! We also found the humpbacks Chunk and Diablo in the area who were also taking advantage of the plentiful sand lance as they forcefully lunged all around us. We got in some incredible last looks as these humpbacks and minkes fed on all sides of the boat before reluctantly making our way back to Boston after such a memorable whale watch.
Overall a wonderful day for whale watching!
Sydney & Reilly
07-18-23
9am Whale Watch Sightings
Hujambo
The 9:00 whale watch cruised out to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary with a shroud of fog limiting visibility to two miles. Typically, we estimate our visibility but today we were able to determine the distance by comparing the view on the Cetacea’s radar to a boat that we could see at the fog line. Luckily the whales have remained rather consistent and we found them without trouble and even did a bit of a loop around to see if there were others in the area. We were treated to fantastic sightings of ten whales dispersed into three groups- Cajun and calf, Spell, and 3.14; Jabiru, Eruption, and Pele (of course!); and Sprinkles, Bolide, and Woodwind. By now I’m sure you know that we can tell the whales apart by the markings on their fluke, but did you know that the dorsal fins are unique as well? With these whales sticking around all summer, we’ve become quite familiar with them!
Laura L.
Saa 10 asubuhi na saa 2:30 usiku Whale Watch Sightings
Wapenzi wa nyangumi wa jioni njema!
The Sanctuary ventured out on the 10 am whale watch excited to search for cetaceans on the southwest corner of Stellwagen bank. We found about 10 blows in the area and spent most of our trip with a group of 4 humpbacks that included Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, 3.14, and Spell. Cajuns calf tail breached, lobtailed, and flipper slapped, while the adults were likely busy feeding below the waves as evidenced by their frequent pooping at the surface. At one point, Cajun surprised us by also launching into a tail breach! We were also joined by Bolide, Sprinkles, and Woodwind who would quickly travel into and out of the area around us. We got some great last looks as all of these whales gave us one last close approach before we made our way back to Boston, excited to return in the afternoon.
We returned in the afternoon to find even more blows! We estimated 14-16 humpback whales in the area. We started our trip with Jabiru, Pele, and Eruption. Eruption was sporting some fresh scuff marks, likely from feeding on Sand lance! We got some great looks at these whales when another whale in the distance caught our attention. A fin whale had entered the area and the next time it surfaced it was much closer, allowing us a great opportunity to compare the size between the fin whale and the humpbacks who were at the surface on the opposite side. Suddenly 2 more humpbacks appeared off our bow. These whales quickly left and joined up with another group. A-plus and A-plus 23 calf had gone to join Cajun, 3.14, Spell, and Cajun 23 calf who was busy tail breaching. A-plus and her calf left, but we got to continue to hang out with Cajun and her groupies. We were getting in some last looks when Cajuns calf breached right off the left pulpit! We got some final bonus last looks before heading home to Boston.
Kwa ujumla siku nzuri kwa kutazama nyangumi!
Sydney and Kaitlyn
Saa 11 alfajiri Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema!
We stepped aboard the Aurora for the 11 a.m. whale watch hoping to beat the heat as we made way for the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. Upon arriving, we met up with a splashy humpback calf! In true fashion, Cajun’s 23 calf was lobtailing and tail breaching, twisting and turning while mom and friends fed below. Soon enough, Cajun, Spell, and 3.14 emerged from the depths, circling the area slowly. Though the whale activity couldn’t be beat, the bird activity these past few days has also been phenomenal! Common and least terns, great and sooty shearwaters, Wilson’s storm petrels, laughing, herring, and black backed gulls all circled the area, eager to pick off of the whales leftovers! We even caught a common tern in flight with a sand lance, seemingly showing off its’ catch to the fellow avians around. A-plus and her 2023 calf appeared, moving slowly at the surface, apparently taking a rest up at the surface. We also met up with Bolide, Sprinkles and Woodwind, who blew some deeper bubble clouds and even swam right under the boat! Amazing looks at whales certainly cannot be beat, and we had another day well spent on Stellwagen!
Poleni sana!
Ashlyn and Reilly
Saa 12 jioni Whale Watch Sightings
Mchana mwema
The 12pm whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the Southwest Corner. Despite some haze, we spotted some large splashes from surface active whales and the blow from around 15 humpbacks. As we approached the area, we spent our time with Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, 3.14, and Spell – and we saw one adult flipper-slap and another launch into a full breach!!! We also saw the reliable groups of Bolide, Sprinkles, Woodwind and Pele, Eruption, Jabiru. We spent the remainder of our trip with A-Plus and her 2023 Calf. We got amazing looks at this mom and calf pair while sitting still, clutched out, and had numerous close approaches by the calf – the little whale even swimming under our boat and popping up on the other side with mom. With an additional sighting of two fin whales, we headed back to Boston very happy!
Katie & Antonia
Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 07/12/23 to 07/18/23