Although we can not post each and every whale watching trip that we take offshore, we will do our best to post as many as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Monday, May 20, 2013

May 20, 2013 Whale Watch

2 pm Whale Watch - Tammy



Trip Sightings: 
  • 16 humpback whales (Grackle, Fracture, Zeppelin, Etch-a-Sketch, Jabiru, Jupiter, Perseid, Falcon, Aerospace, Eruption, Apex and calf, Plateau, Mend, A+)
  • 4-5 gray seals
  • 5-10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins
  • 6-12 minke whales
Grackle.
Luckily for us the weather report was wrong for this afternoon and we had partially sunny skies, light winds and gorgeous, flat seas. As we have for almost 2 weeks now, we headed toward the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank to find whales all around us. 

Grackle surface feeding. 
Our first sightings were of a pair of humpbacks named Fracture and Zeppelin and a single humpback whale named Grackle. We focused on Grackle who was using bubble nets to catch sand lance.

Aerospace
While we watched Grackle feeding, we also had some great looks at minke whales and gray seals that were travelling and feeding in the area. Our next humpback sighting was of a large group of humpback whales that have been together for quite some time now.  


The size of the group varied between 6 and 8 whales; it seems as though there is a core group of about 6 animals (Jabiru, Jupiter, Aerospace, Perseid, Falcon and Eruption) and other whales will join periodically and then break off.  Although they can be quite social, humpbacks, like all baleen whales are thought of as solitary animals. So to see this many whales sticking together for so many days is truly amazing. 
Fern and calf. 
We had breathtaking views of this group as they came right next to our boat on several occasions.  Another special sighting of the day was Apex and her calf of this year. We got to see Apex and her calf leisurely traveling side by side and then occasionally they would catch up and join the larger group.  


We ended our trip watching the large group of humpbacks and a small group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins that had joined them.  A perfect afternoon on the water!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

May 19, 2013 Whale Watch

9 am and 2 pm Whale Watch - Krill
Etch-a-Sketch kick feeding off the stern.


Here is some video from the trip that I was able to collect using my Nikon camera. Enjoy!


9 am trip:

Straining with friends. 
Trip Sightings:
  • 14 Humpback Whales (Etch-a-Sketch, Jupiter, Bounce, Jabiru, Eruption, Perseid, Aerospace, Falcon, Flounder, Tunguska)
  • 3 minke whales
  • 5 - 8 Atlantic white-sided dolphins
  • 6 gray seals
  • Northern gannets (adult and juveniles)
  • Ring-billed gulls
  • Common Terns
Hitching a ride!
Trip Report:

We had a beautiful ride offshore as we headed to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. Calm seas and excellent sighting conditions made our ride offshore a true joy. We were headed for an area that has been very good for us regarding sightings of whales, seals and dolphins. There has been a lot of bait fish in this area and we were hoping that the animals were feeding on this food.

Perseid with Etch-a-Sketch in the background. 

As we crossed over the edge of bank, we moved into an area where we had 3 separate groups of humpback whales feeding at the surface.

Etch-a-Sketch kick feeding. 
The first sighting was a single humpback whale named Etch-a-Sketch. This whales was kick feeding in her own unique style. Etch-a-Sketch typically kicks 3 to 4 times and then swims under the school of fish blowing bubbles as she rises to the surface. Then Etch-a-Sketch would surface mouth wide open in order to engulf as much water and bait as possible. What a sight!

The group of 7. 

Lunging at the surface. 

The group of 7 straining. 
Spy hop among friends. 
Also feeding in this area was a large group of humpback whales that included Jupiter, Jabiru, Perseid, Abrasion, Bounce, Aerospace and Falcon. This group was coordinating their movements as they feed side-by-side. What an amazing view of these large mammals feeding in unison.
Falcon, Jabiru, Bounce and Perseid. 
The group of 7 getting close. 
Popping up on our port side was a mother and calf who we determined was Apex and her new calf of this season. Mom was obviously feeding deep, but the calf was just enjoying itself at the surface waiting for mom to finish eating.

Aerospace and Falcon. 
Also in this area were minke whales and a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Often it was hard to know what side of the boat to look off as there was activity all around us.
Minke off the bow. 
My favorite part of the trip were the 6 gray seals that surfaced close to our boat throughout the course of our trip. At our trip's end, two gray seals surfaced together. It isn't often that you see multiple seals hanging out together. What fun!

Atlantic white-sided dolphin.
Gray Seal. 
Two gray seals hanging out. 
Great day offshore. Love the feeding and seeing old friends once again offshore.

2 pm trip: 

Trip Sightings:

Surface feeding.
  • 19 humpback whales (Etch-a-Sketch, Jupiter, Eruption, Jabiru, Bounce, Wizard, Falcon, Apex and calf, Perseid, Aerospace, Tunguska, Mira, Pixar, Abrasion, Venom, Grackle, Harrow, Rocker) 
  • 3 minke whale
  • 1 gray seal
  • Northern gannets
  • Common terns
Surface straining. 
Fluke out dive. 
Trip Report:

Winds were increasing out of the SE as we headed back offshore for our afternoon trip. As we crossed over the bank, we started picking up clusters of blows from small groups of humpback whales. As we began to watch these groups, individuals from two main groups came together creating a large concentration of humpbacks with up to 10 individuals.


Right dorsal fin of humpback whale named Bounce. 
Right dorsal fin of humpback whale named Jupiter.

With the help of Tammy, one of our naturalists and marine biologists, we were able to identify all 10 individuals in this group that included: Eruption, Jabiru, Falcon, Bounce, Jupiter, Apex and calf, Perseid, Mend and Aerospace. These animals were coordinating their movements as they fed together at depth. 
Ventral tail pattern of Eruption. 

Ventral tail pattern of Jabiru. 

When offshore, we collect hundreds of photos during each trip for photo-identification. We typically examine and photograph both sides of the the dorsal fin and the ventral tail pattern. The ventral tail pattern is a black & white pattern unique to each individual. You could say that it is like a human fingerprint as no two humpbacks have the same tail pattern. 

Gray Seal. 
As we watched this group a gray seal popped up off our bow. Also a marine mammal, gray seals are increasing in our waters due to many years of protection. And with the increase of gray and harbor seals, we are seeing an increase in their predators, especially the great white shark.

As we moved on, we picked up another grouping of humpback whales, but this group only included 5 individuals. We were able to identify Abrasion, Wizard, Mira, Pixar and Tunguska. This group of whales also appeared to be feeding deep, for when they surfaced, they remained in the same general area.
Dorsal fluke of Abrasion and left dorsal fin of Wizard. 
Ventral tail pattern of Abrasion.

White scarring on tail stock of Abrasion.
As we continued to watch, this group started blowing bubble nets in an attempt to help concentrate the bait fish. As the whale's lunged mouth open, they collected hundreds of gallons of water and fish in their mouths. The next step was to strain or push the water out as they whale slowly swam forward.

Surface feeding. 
At times, there were so many whales all around our boat, that we didn't know where to tell our passengers to look!  But we did get some really great views of known humpback whales all around us.

Straining at the surface.
Fluke out dive. 

A fabulous day of whale watching for one and all. Thank you for choosing Captain John Boats and for your continued support. 

Ventral tail pattern of Wizard. 


May 18, 2013 Whale Watch

Spinning head breach.

9 am and 2 pm Whale Watch - Tammy

Trip Sightings:
  • 12-15 humpback whales (Hazard, Pitcher, Perseid, Wizard, Mira, Abrasion, Etch-a-Sketch, Fern and calf, Strike, Mend)
  • 100-150 Atlantic white-sided dolphins
  • 5-10 minke whales
  • 3 gray seals
Trip Report:

Flipper slapping. 
It was a perfect morning offshore with warm sunshine and flat calm seas. As we made our way towards Stellwagen Bank, our captain spotted repeated large splashes in the distance. We had found a humpback whale named Hazard that was breaching and flipper slapping! Eventually Hazard seemed to take an interest in us and this whale came right over to our boat, gazing up at us as it swam alongside and under our boat.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
After a great start to our trip we continued to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank and once again, we saw blows and splashes all around us. We had Atlantic white-sided dolphins, minke whales, gray seals and humpback whales all feeding in this area.

Gray seal.
When we looked down into the water, we could see huge patches of sand lance, the small, abundant fish on Stellwagen Bank that everyone was feeding on this morning. Kick-feeding and bubble-netting humpbacks could be seen all around the boat. 

Fern and her new calf of this season.
We also got to spend quite a bit of time with a female humpback named Fern and her calf of this year.  Fern was using her powerful tail to stun the bait fish while her calf, who is just a few months old and is still nursing, waited patiently at and just below the surface.  

Surface feeding by humpback whales. 
We couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend our trip - 4 different species of marine mammals and lots of activity!

Wizard.

2 pm Whale Watch 


Trip Sightings:
  • 19-25 humpback whales (Jupiter, Jabiru, Eruption, Falcon, Aerospace, Apex and Calf, Harrow, Convict, Entropy, Perseid, Venom, Fracture, Mend, A+, Etch-a-Sketch, Zeppelin
  • 3-5 minke whales
  • 3 gray seals
  • 100-150 Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Trip Report:

Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
We headed a little further to the east this afternoon but had just as much activity! The same four species, humpbacks, minkes, gray seals and Atlantic white-sided dolphins were abundant and still feeding this afternoon. 

Feeding group of humpback whales. 
We saw lunging humpbacks and minke whales and dolphins charging through the area, chasing prey.  The highlight of this afternoon’s trip was seeing 8-10 humpback whales traveling together surrounded by dolphins! 

Venom
We marveled as one by one the humpbacks, travelling so gracefully in such proximity. Somehow the dolphins were able to avoid a slap of the tail or flippers! One whale in the group named Perseid was even flipper slapping, raising one and then both flippers out of the water at one time! 

Flippering.
We ended our trip with an unidentified humpback whale that was lobtailing and flippering as well as another big group of associated humpback whales. 

Humpback Whales.