Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes - 6/6/22 to 6/12/22

Whale Sightings 6/6/22 to 6/12/22 Please find the Naturalist Notes for the weekend of 6/6/22 to 6/12/22 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.

6-6-22

10 am Kutazama kwa Whale

The Sanctuary made its way out to Stellwagen Bank on this flat calm day in search of whales. As we approached Mid-Bank, we spotted a Humpback Whale spout, and happily went over to investigate. It only took a few minutes to figure out that this was a female named Shuffleboard! She was taking short dives and was likely feeding deeper in the water column, as her perfect bubble net ring would appear well after she returned to the surface. On one of her dives, we noticed some bubbles off our port side, and shortly realized she had blown a bubble ring right next to us! She surfaced gently next to us, giving us some incredible looks at her. We also noticed another blow in the distance and decided to say goodbye to Shuffleboard to check it out. It ended up being another Humpback Whale, a male named Mogul. He was also taking short dives, surfacing forcefully, and travelling rather unpredictably while on his dives. He stayed in the area though, so we got some great views of this very busy whale. With time dwindling, we had to eventually turn back for Boston. It was a great day on the water!

Mpaka wakati mwingine!

David, Rachel & Maddie

06-06-22

12 pm Kutazama kwa Whale

Today aboard the Asteria, the 12pm whale watch headed out towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. After a little bit of searching we spotted a blow. This blow came from Dross the humpback whale who was cruising at the surface. After some brief looks at her, we noticed some very large splashes in the distance so we decided to see what was causing them. It turned out to be Shuffleboard the humpback whale who was breaching up a storm! She continued to breach as we got into the area as well as double flipper slap! She kept doing this most of the trip which allowed us to get some really incredible looks at her. After several minutes of this amazing surface activity, Shuffleboard started to blow bubbles and even lunged through them! After a beautiful fluking dive from Shuffleboard, we had to head back to Boston. Today was a whaley awesome day on Stellwagen Bank!

Poleni sana,

Colin, Eman, and Addy

6-7-22

10 am Kutazama kwa Whale

Today we ventured out to Stellwagen Bank in beautiful conditions! We soon saw a blow and followed it to a fin whale! This massive leviathan gave us some gorgeous looks at its chevron pattern, baleen, and back. However, we had heard rumors of humpbacks in the area so we left this fin whale behind and searched on for more behemoths. Not long into our search, we came across Tongs and her calf! The calf breached, tail breached, and overall was just very surface active! Our passengers were ecstatic! Satisfied and sunburnt we returned to Boston.

Log on,

Mira, Addy, and Rachel

6-7-22

12 pm Kutazama kwa Whale

What an INCREDIBLE day! The Asteria headed to Stellwagen Bank in search of whales. As we approached Mid-Bank, we spotted a few blows in the area. The one closest to us ended up being a Humpback Whale named Shuffleboard! She seemed like she was on a mission, doing one quick dive in front of us. We also noticed two blows a little further away- one big and one small. As we got closer, we found ourselves watching a Humpback mother and calf pair. Upon closer inspection, we discovered our mother was a whale named Tongs. Tongs was going on some longer dives to start, but much to our delight, the calf rocketed up out of the water next to our boat in a full spinning head breach! The calf continued to do this for most of the trip, occasionally also throwing in a chin breach, flipper slap, and tail breach here and there. We were so thrilled to see this rare behavior, as this really is something we do not see every day. We watched this calf make splash after splash before we saw a much bigger body leave the water…Tongs had joined in the fun with a full breach! She continued to breach right next to her calf, before they ended up next to our boat, alternating between lobtailing, breaching and flipper slapping together. They continued to do this as we began to realize we were out of time for the day. As much as we didn’t want to, we had to say goodbye to Tongs and her calf, still splashing away, and headed back to Boston. Even as people who go out on these trips several times a week, this was a trip no one could ever forget! A huge thank you to fellow naturalist Eman for calling this once in a lifetime whale watch!

Mpaka wakati mwingine!

David, Eman & Maddie

06-10-22

10 am Kutazama kwa Whale

What an amazing day for whale watching! The Asteria headed out towards Stellwagen bank in search of whales, and we were ecstatic to find at least 20 humpbacks, 5 minke whales, and 3 fin whales in the general area. We were surrounded by kick feeding and lunge feeding humpback whales, starting with a T5 who we have yet to ID, and Etch-a-Sketch who simultaneously lunged around us, while another single individual who we believe to be Picket traveled around us. We then spent some time with a pair of humpbacks who were cooperatively bubble feeding together, who turned out to be Piano and Draco! These 2 delighted passengers by repeatedly blowing bubble clouds off of the pulpits. We then moved on to find a group of 4 humpbacks, made up of Ase, Milkyway, Twinkle, and another humpback we have yet to identify. These 4 showed off another form of feeding, by blowing a bubble net off of our pulpit! It was truly impressive to see these whales working cooperatively to feed. We reluctantly had to head back to Boston, but as we started to head home one of member of our group of 4 began to flipper slap, and we continued to watch whales bubble feed all around us.

Truly a wonderful day out on Stellwagen Bank, and hopefully a great sign for the days to come!

Sydney na Gracie

06-10-22

10 am North Quincy High Whale Watch Sightings

The Sanctuary headed out past the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of wildlife. As we approached, we were delighted to see a literal sea of spouts ahead of us! We soon found ourselves in thick “whale soup” on all sides. There were anywhere between 20-30 Humpback Whales feeding all around us, but we spent our time with a dense subgroup of whales, which included Ganesh and her calf, Dyad, Draco, Cat’s Paw, Slope, Vault, Forensics, Shuffleboard and Reflection to name just a few! These whales were mainly kick feeding, so it was fun to see to splashes in every direction. We were treated to some great looks at these whales, especially Cat’s Paw, who was lunging with her head fully out of the water right next to our boat, a rare feeding behavior amongst the whales out on the bank. We saw some other species on the bank as well, with an Ocean Sunfish and a few scattered Minke Whales in the area too! With great photos and wonderful memories from today’s trip, we had to bid our feeding whales farewell and head back to Boston. Another great day on the water, and a huge thank you to North Quincy High for spending this sunny day with us!

Mpaka wakati mwingine!

David, Caitlin & Colin

6-10-22

12 pm Kutazama kwa Whale

Like yesterday, today was an adventure. But today was an adventure filled with whales! We arrived at the northern edge of Stellwagen Bank and were greeted by approximately 7 minkes and 20 to 30 humpbacks! The humpbacks included a large group of six feeding together and several singles. These whales included Reflection, Legume, Zap, GOM 1206, Gar, Ase, and Dynamite! Everyone has a radical time on the water. Satisfied and sunburnt we returned to Boston.

Meli laini!

Mira na Liza

06-11-22

10 am Kutazama kwa Whale

Whale hello there everyone!

Today aboard the Asteria, the 10am whale watch made its way towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. Right around the LNG Terminal we spotted a very small humpback whale moving through the area. We got some great looks at this probable juvenile before moving on. We did a little more searching before we spotted several whales in the area. We estimated that there were 20 to 30 humpbacks in this particular area! Most were kick feeding and bubble net feeding. Some were even feeding right next to the boat! We spent most of the time with a very large group who was actively feeding. Some of the IDs we were able to get for today include: Dynamite, Kappa, GOM 1206, Slope, Glo, Erosion, and Cats paw. At one point, one of the members of the large group even breached not far from the boat! As we were slowly turning towards home, Slope was actively kick feeding right near us which allowed us to get some really fantastic looks! Cats paw even spyhopped! After some beautiful fluking dives by our whales we headed back to Boston. It was a really, really amazing day out on Stellwagen Bank!

Colin, David, Olivia, and Liza

6-11-22

12 pm Kutazama kwa Whale

Today the whales were fabulous. We headed out to the Northwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank to be greeted by double digits of feeding humpbacks! We are still working on IDing them but know that we had Forensics, Ridgeline, Landslide, GOM 1916, GOM 1941, and Gar! In addition to open mouth feeding, chin slapping, and kickfeeding, there was one whale who spent the entire time we were out there flipper slapping! Additionally there were five minke whales in the area! Happily we started heading back to Boston only be waylaid by a Finback whale! Our three species day was a smash with our guests.

Meli laini!

Mira, Eman, na Caitlin

6-11-22

2:30 pm Kutazama kwa Whale

Today the Asteria headed to the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of wildlife. As we got onto the bank, we saw many blows all around us, and a promising cloud of green bubbles in the middle of it all. To our delight, seven Humpback whales surfaced with their mouths open, feeding on a large school of small fish! These whales spent the trip breaking into smaller groups and rejoining into a single group again, all the while surrounding us with several bubble rings. Each of these rings contained a few Humpbacks with their mouths wide open, giving us some of the best looks at feeding we have seen recently! Some of these whales still need to be identified, but we were already able to identify Glo, Slope and Twinkle in our lovely group. Around us, several other groups of humpback whales could be seen a little further away, as well as some passing Minke Whales, a lone Fin Whale, and a curious Gray Seal! As these whales began to settle into a slower, more relaxed state of behavior, we noticed that one whale had not settled down and started to flipper slap, giving everyone a great look at their 15-foot flippers! With sunlight fading and some incredible photos, we sadly had to wave goodbye to our friendly whales and return to Boston. It was a spectacular day on the water!

Sun Out, Baleen Out!

David, Colin, Olivia & Liza

06-12-22

10 am Kutazama kwa Whale

We boarded the Asteria for the 10 a.m. whale watch today, and made our way to the middle of Stellwagen Bank. The seas and skies could not have been more beautiful, and we suddenly found ourselves in the presence of a kick feeding humpback whale! This humpback whale turned out to be Etch-a-Sketch, who wowed us with impressive displays of kicking, lunging, and dragging! She even made several close approaches, appearing to use the sides of the boat to aid in corralling fish. While watching her, Ganesh and her calf slowly swam by, the young whale eagerly nursing. Piano also appeared in the mix, doing some feeding of her own. We started noticing more blows to the north, so we carefully made our way in that direction, and almost immediately realized we were surrounded by dozens of whales. There were lunging fin whales, humpback whales blowing bubble clouds, and minkes quickly moving through the area. It was difficult to decide where to look, but we eventually settled on humpback whale Scylla, and a hungry pair of fin whales. After some incredible looks at these whales, we began to make our way back home, but not before taking a detour to Shuffleboard, who was lobtailing! She paused her surface activity to continue her travels, and we made our way westward and homeward. It was truly a spectacular Sunday!

Flukes up!
Ashlyn, Sydney, and Rachel

6-12-22

12 pm Kutazama kwa Whale

It was an absolutely stellar day in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary today! We found four humpbacks just east of the northwest corner and noticed two individuals kick feeding with a mother- Ganesh- and her calf nearby. We followed Ganesh and her little peanut toward Piano who surprised us after several rounds of kick feeding with a large tail breach. Piano then stopped feeding but began swimming in the direction of Etch-a-Sketch, who could be identified by her feeding style alone.

After some time with this group, including the very sweet and playful calf, we headed closer to the northwest corner and found ourselves amidst nearly a dozen fin whales! We have seen very few fin whales over the last couple of years and I’m so hopeful that they will stick around this year. As if seeing their immense size wasn’t impressive enough, about half of them began lunge feeding all around us. Humpbacks Scylla and Vault made brief appearances and a minke whale swam right up alongside the M/V Sanctuary. Wilson’s storm petrels, sooty and great shearwaters, gulls, cormorants, eider ducks, and a gannet made for great birdwatching observations, and we rode home immensely grateful for the day we had!

Laura L., Addy, and Gracie

06-12-22

2:30 pm Kutazama kwa Whale

This afternoon aboard the Asteria, the 2:30 pm whale watch eagerly headed back to Stellwagen bank in search of whales, and we were excited to find a plethora of whales once again! We started off our trip in the company of quite a few Fin Whales, in fact we were surrounded by lunging fin whales in almost every direction! We spent some time with a humpback whale named Vault, who was busy kick feeding and lunging at the surface, but passengers were also treated to looks at lunging Fin whales who had begun to converge in a large group of at least 7 individuals! Vault was showing of her unique style of kick feeding, which included a full body roll at the conclusion of each round of feeding, allowing passengers to see the underside of her body. Vault also began to head in the direction of the large group of fin whales, and we got to witness her lunging simultaneously with one of these fin whales, leaving us with questions around interspecies cooperation. We were distracted by some larger splashing in the distance and decided to check it out. We found ourselves surrounded by at least 7 feeding humpback whales, including Gar, Landslide, GOM-1753 and Vault who made a repeat appearance! These whales were busy displaying a range of feeding behaviors, including kick feeding, bubble clouds, and bubble nets, and were doing so in every direction. No matter where passengers looked, they were able to get a look at some feeding humpbacks. We realized we had unfortunately run out of time, and reluctantly began making our way home to Boston, but were grateful for the opportunity to continue watching these whales feed as we slowly made our way out of the area.

Overall a truly spectacular day out on Stellwagen!
Sydney, Ashlyn, and Rachel