Whale Watching Trip September 12, 2009

12:00 Whale Watch Trip - Fred

A foggy, rainy day offshore.  The winds were ENE 10-15 early, although they did let up later on.  We had about a 3-5 foot sea on the way across the S end of Stellwagen Bank, but it let up to about a 2-3 foot sea for the trip home.

We observed several humpbacks (as singles and as pairs), while running across the S end of Stellwagen, and we were treated to a couple of breaches (from two different whales, one of them Habernero).  We ended up just E of the SE corner of Stellwagen, where we found about 15 to 20 humpbacks, most of which were in two feeding squadrons, one of which we we pleased to watch for a while.  There were 7 to 8 animals in the group, including Crown, Whisk, and Draco (pictured above).

Most birds seen were greater shearwaters.

Whale Watching Trips August 27, 2009

9 am and 2 pm Whale Watch Trips - Fred  

Both trips headed out to Stellwagen on a fall-like day, with excellent visibility from a dry NNW wind.  It was mostly sunny with unlimited visibility.  Light winds in the AM made for a 1-foot sea from the NNW with a 1-foot swell from the NE.  In the PM the wind picked up a bit, to 10-18 knots or so, for a 2-foot sea from the NNW with a 2-foot swell out of the NE.

On the AM trip we spent our time-on-whales a bit NE of the SW corner of Stellwagen Bank.  We started with two fairly close but unassociated humpbacks, with one of them providing a couple tail breaches and a few lobtails.  After a brief look at a minke whale we headed over to humpbacks Coral and Pixar, who seemed to be deep feeding.  We then stuck with Pixar as they separated, and then watched another smaller apparently deep feeding unknown humpback, before the three (Pixar, Coral, and the unknown) all came together, apparently deep feeding as a threesome.

On the PM trip we headed ENE toward the S end of Stellwagen Bank, as we did on the AM trip, but that's where the similarities ended.  While the AM trip was fairly typical for many of our recent trips, the PM trip featured a couple of less than usual feeding situations.

Our first PM whale was a young unidentified humpback that we stumbled across only about 6 miles ENE off Gurnet Point.  It seemed to be deep feeding, with fairly long dives and seemingly random (at least to us) surfacings, never really very close to us.  What was most unusual was that, while we watching the whale, we found ourselves surrounded by lengthy streams (all oriented in an E-W direction) of what looked to the eye to be millions of small jellyfish.

Looking, after the trip, at the photos of the "jellyfish" swarms, it turned out that they actually were ctenophores (a.k.a. comb jellies).  Furthermore, there were a few scattered small fishes, probably sand lance, visible in the photos close to the surface.  Therefore, while it first seemed as if the young humpback might possibly be feeding on the comb jellies (which, although probably unusual, was one hypothesis for what we were observing), it may also just be that there were sand lance also in the area, apparently mostly below the ctenophores, judging by the whale's apparent feeding behavior.

So, was the young humpback feeding on the comb jellies, or was it feeding on sand lance, or?  And, could the sand lance be feeding on the ctenophores (as some larger fish sometimes do), or not?

After leaving that enigmatic scene a few miles from the Gurnet, we headed out to the SW corner of Stellwagen, where we briefly watched another young humpback and about a half dozen minke whales, all apparently subsurface feeding.  A bit further to the E we spent a short while watching a young humpback named Buckle, also seemingly subsurface feeding.  After leaving Buckle, we managed to find a spot a bit further to the E, with five humpbacks (including Rattan and her calf, another pair, and a single whale), who were doing some close to the surface feeding, with bubble clouds and partial bubble nets.

Finally, we ended up at an area where two to three dozen humpbacks were feeding, and, surprisingly, the prey was krill instead of the usually ubiquitous schooling fishes (generally sand lance).  This is not the first time in the Massachusetts Bay area that we have seen humpbacks (or finbacks or minke whales, for that matter) feeding on krill, but it's the first time I have seen this in quite a while.  The first humpback we came upon at the closest edge of the humpback feeding frenzy repeatedly displayed an unusual lunge-feeding-on-its side-at-the-surface feeding style (pretty commonly seen in fish-feeding finbacks, but not usually seen in humpbacks).  Unfortunately, because we had already spent so much time watching whales in other areas, we did not get to observe closely many of the whales in this active area.  We did manage to ID Sloop, Percussion, and Pele before heading back to port.

I do have some photos from this trip at http://www.flukeshots.net/2009/090827/

Whale Watching Trip September 7, 2009

12 pm Whale Watching Trip - Krill 

Considering the extremely high winds and seas yesterday, conditions offshore today were absolutely glorious. We had light and variable winds for the majority of our trip and this made for a smooth sailing offshore. However, we did have a SE swell of about 2 feet that increased as we headed east.  

Just west of the southern portion of Stellwagen Bank, we picked up a young humpback whale named Pitcher (see image above). We assumed that Pitcher was feeding deep for this animal was surfacing erratically, but never left the same general area. We left Pitcher and then moved over the southwest corner of the bank where we found a small concentration of humpbacks mixed in among the tuna fishing fleet. Most of these animals were logging at the surface or spending a great deal of time beneath the water's surface.

Our final and most memorable sighting was that of a mother and calf pair who turned out to be Reflection and her calf of this year. As we approached this pair, we noticed the calf was nursing as it was coming up on alternate sides of the mom. Soon, both mom and calf started to log at the surface. After approximately 15 minutes, both mom and calf started to move slowly to the north and west. But before we had to leave them, our passengers got some great looks at both Reflection and calf right next to the boat.

Seabirds sightings included Wilson's storm petrels, greater shearwaters and common terns. 

Whale Watching Trip September 4, 2009

9 am and 2 pm Whale Watches - Joanne

We left Plymouth Harbor with near perfect conditions, light winds, clear skies, cool temps--the perfect start to Labor Day Weekend. Just 9 miles from Gurnet Lighthouse, we came across whales. Their close proximity and behavior allowed us to spend nearly 2 hours in their company. 

We had pairs and trios, all behaving in such a manner to indicate mid water feeding on euphasiids (or krill). The whales were very slow surfacing, taking a single breath and returning down. When they surfaced, their throats were fully expanded and water could be seen coming out of their mouths. There were no birds in the area and no prey to be seen in the water.

We watched each group displaying the same behavior, even calves (although their throats were not expanded upon surfacing).  Whales were feeding right off our bow and next to us giving us amazing looks at their entire bodies through the water. We dropped a plankton net and did a tow got one krill in our tow, another sign that was exactly what they were eating. Whales seen in the morning included: Nile and calf and Gladiator, Tongs and Scylla, Abrasion and calf and Pitcher, and several new whales. 

In the afternoon, we traveled to the same spot and had a few of the same whales feeding, in pairs and trios. We got our final 'proof' they were eating krill when one of the whales defecated bright red. Whales aren't able to digest the exoskeleton of the krill, so it is evacuated in their waste. We continued north through the southwest corner and found Nile and calf and Gladiator. 

Whale Watching Trip September 5, 2009

11 am Whale Watch Trip - Leah

Today's trip went really well, we had great sunny weather, a calm breeze, and very calm seas. We headed to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank and started our trip with a group of three humpback whales. This trio was probably sub surface feeding for they were moving all around and continued to surface in all different areas. As we continued to watch this group, this trio joined with another group of 3 humpback whales. So far, we have been able to identify a number of individuals in this large group including Nile and her calf of this year, Scylla (see image below), and Anvil.

In August, Anvil (see top image) was seen with fishing line and a fishing hook stuck in one of her tubercules. From the photos that were taken today, we were not able to determine if the gear remains for we were not able to collect any clear shots of her head. We hope that this gear falls off very soon, if it hasn't already. 

As we watched this group of 6 humpback whales, we observed an occasional tail breach. However, most animals in this group were keeping a semi-low profile. 

Once we moved on from this large group, we found an individual humpback that continued to be active as it lobtailed and breached next to the boat (see photograph above). Once we got a look at the underside of this whale's fluke, we realized that this whale was a humpback named Gladiator. After quite a few great looks, it was time to head home. On the way back to Plymouth Harbor, we got one last look at Nile and calf and then had a nice smooth ride back into the harbor. 

Seabirds sighted offshore included shearwater, Wilson's Storm Petrels and Northern Gannets.