Whale Watching Trip May 20, 2010

Another beautiful day offshore though the winds were picking up out of the west. We headed east of the SE corner of Stellwagen Bank and found at least 6 humpbacks, one finback and 2 minke whales feeding in this area. We also had amazing looks at the largest seabird that feeds in our area, the Northern gannet. Adult gannets boast a 6 foot wingspan and have a gorgeous black & white plumage. Juvenile gannets sport a more mottled and darker plumage, but they are just as impressive.

Our first sighting took us a bit by surprise as a large finback whale surfaced off our bow and headed our way. Finbacks are the largest baleen whales in our area reaching a length of up to 80 feet. And they are one of the fastest whales offshore giving them the nickname "greyhound of the sea." This whale swam past us on our Port side giving us a fabulous look at this individual.

Our next sighting was a single whale who was kick feeding at the surface. As we watched this animal, we noticed that more humbpacks to the northeast of our position were also kickfeeding at the surface. Seemed like all the whales had picked up on a good thing as we saw animals throughout this area all lunging at the surface.

We had at least 5 humpack whales all feeding in the area. Most were using bubble nets to help coral the bait and then lunging mouth open through the center of this temporary net. Quit a few birds were feeding alongside the whale as they waited for the whales to push the bait fish up to the surface. Sometimes the birds were so numerous, it was difficult to see the whale among the many wings and beaks.

As we continued watching this feeding frenzy, we were able to identify three individual humpback whales that included Rapier, Tracer and Pinpoint. Both Pinpoint and Rapier were born into this population. Tracer was never seen as a calf, but was first seen as a juvenile in 2002.

Wonderful to see individuals who return each year to feed in the productive waters of New England. When you get to know these animals on an individual basis and have the opportunity to observe them in their natural habitat, they become more than just "whales." They become more like friends and family.

Whale Watching Trip May 18, 2010

As we left Plymouth Harbor, the winds were picking up out of the Southeast. We headed east of Stellwagen Bank and found a small group of whales in about 180 feet of water. In this same area was a fuel tanker moving south through the shipping channels that cut right across Stellwagen Bank, right through the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. A stark reminder of the large commercial traffic that these animals have to deal with each and every day.

We spent most of our time on a pair of surface feeding humpback whales that turned out to be Division and Nile. Both Division and Nile are adult females who in past years, have had a number of calves. Interesting to see these mature females spending time together feeding. Makes you wonder if they spend any time reminiscing about past calves and the trials and tribulations of raising young.

As we watched this pair, it became apparent that there was a division in the labor as Division and Nile fed side-by-side. Division would kick with her tail (fluke) creating a huge disturbance and then would spiral under the school of bait fish. Not sure if both Division and Nile created the bubble columns that followed, but a large and quite beautiful bubble net would rise to the surface. Then both whales would surface mouth open as they lunged through this temporary net structure.

Nile would lunge and then dive immediately. However, Division would linger a bit longer at the surface as she kept her head above the water straining (pushing the water through the baleen and out of the mouth). Fun to see the different feeding styles among humpback whales, even if they are subtle.

We saw other blows in the distant, but we didn't have time to investigate them. A front was moving into the area as the winds continued to build increasing wave height to 3 feet. We were happy to head home after enjoying wonderful views of Division and Nile.

Being able to photo-identify humpback whales based on natural body markings and pigmentation patterns has allowed us to learn much about the biology and ecology of this population. For example, both Nile and Division were born into this population in the 1980's so they are in their twenties. And both both had produced a number of calves which helps us determine age of sexual maturity at least for the females.

As we continue to watch these individuals and their family members, we will eventually learn about longevity or lifespan. It will take another 50 years or so to come up with a good estimate for the lifespan of this species, but the time offshore with these amazing and beautiful animals is definitely worth the effort.

Whale Watching Trip May 16, 2010

A beautiful and sunny day offshore. Winds were light out of the NW and seas were less than 1 foot. A big difference from the very windy day we experienced just yesterday. We headed to the north end of Stellwagen Bank and found a small cluster of humpback whales and a large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Most of the humpbacks appeared to be feeding deep, but one pair turned out to be a mother and calf.

As we watched this pair from a distance, it appeared that both the mother and the

calf were also enjoying the relatively calm seas by resting (logging) at the surface. As we slowly approached this pair, the calf swam right over to our boat with mother in tow. Our captain put the engines in neutral so there would be no harm to either animal and we drifted slowly as both animals swam right under the boat.

What a special occasion when a mother and calf pair decide to spend some time with us. And what a trusting mother as she allowed her calf to swim right under the bow of the boat as we continued to drift along. These special moments touch our hearts and they remind us of how unique and special these animals truly are. As mom and calf slowly swam away, mom lifted her tail in the air giving us a good look at the black & white ventral tail pattern that is unique to each individual. We realized that this mom was Perseid with her 5th calf. What a joy!

Our next and final sighting was a humpback named Rapier who was feeding deep and in the vicinity of at least 100 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Rapier was charging at the surface and appeared to be chasing the bait that was hidden beneath the water. As we watched Rapier we had great looks at small groups of Atlantic white-sided dolphins that were also feeding in the area. The dolphins were chasing that bait fish at the surface and causing a great disturbance that attracted many birds. One set of birds in the area caught our attention for they were the first Manx shearwaters we had seen offshore this season. Actually, they are the first shearwater of any type we have seen this season. And we continue to see large numbers of adult and juvenile Northern gannets. What beautiful birds they are with their black & white plummage and their yellow head.

So a wonderful day offshore with great looks at whales and seabirds. Can't beat that for a sunny Sunday!

Whale Watching Trip May 8, 2010

12:00 WW on Saturday, 5/8/10, - Fred

We headed out of Plymouth Bay out into Cape Cod Bay amidst a series of thunderstorms, and the "fireworks" kept up all the way to the whales, just north of the southeast corner of Stellwagen Bank.

"Waiting for us to arrive" were 20 to 25 humpback whales, almost all of whom were feeding on schools of sand lance (individual fish sometimes seen at the surface while we were watching the whales). Besides the excellent news that we had found such an exciting group of humpback whales to watch, we also had the good news that the thunder and lightning seemed to have finally subsided. (The bad news was that the rain showers, sometimes heavy, continued to come and go and come again while we were watching the whales, and sometimes a bit of fog made it a bit difficult to find and/or re-find the whales.)

Most of the whales seemed to be feeding in small groups of three to four whales at a time, although there were at least two or three that seemed to be generally feeding alone. Some of the whales were kick-feeding (slapping their tail flukes on the water surface just before diving for food), while many of those whales and others were utilizing either bubble clouds or bubble nets to corral their prey. At times we were treated to gorgeous views of one to as many as four (at one point) humpbacks surfacing with their mouths wide open, straining water from their mouths, lower jaws full of fish. (It is interesting, I think, that many baleen whales, such as these humpbacks, do not really strain food from the water, as it is commonly described in books, but actually strain out water from the food after the food is already in their mouths.)

Amongst the assembled multitude of a couple dozen or so humpbacks were a few familiar whales. For me, the high point was, for the first time this year, spotting the familiar dorsal fin of Nile, a very cooperative adult female, seemingly an old "friend" from many previous years' trips. She is somewhat unusual (although not unique in this regard) in that the very hooked shape of her dorsal fin, along with a patch of white markings at the base of the right side of the dorsal fin (which, to me, looks like a large white "thumb print" at a distance), make it easy to identify her, even before seeing her also distinctive tail fluke markings.

The predominant birds seen were gulls (herring, greater black-backed, and laughing). Very few pelagic birds were seen (just a couple of northern gannets).