12 noon whale watch trip - Krill We headed offshore and found a single finback whale on the middle part of Stellwagen Bank. This finback was feeding in the area along with at least 3 minke whales. All of the feeding was deep as the whales were surfacing in circular movements. Hard to say what they were feeding on, but we assume that both species of baleen whales were feeding on small schooling fish.
One of the minke whales had a very unusual dorsal fin. This fin had cuts in the trailing edge, cuts that were probably due to some type of interaction with gear. No worse for the wear though. This animal was feeding just fine and looked very healthy.
One of the minke whales was producing a blow or spout whenever it would surface to breath. This is unusual for minke whales typically do not produce a visible blow when they return to the surface to breath. But wild animals consistently break all our rules and theories about what they do or should do. Thanks goodness!
As we watched the finback surface off the side of our vessel, a number of our passengers commented on the animal's large size. Finbacks are the second largest mammal on the planet. The only animal larger in size is the majestic blue whale, also a baleen species. And finbacks are one of the fastest whales offshore for they can attain speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.
The finback was staying down for at least 8 - 10 minutes. As we held position waiting for the animal to return from a long dive, we were distracted by the minke whales that were surfacing all around the boat. And then, before you knew it, the finback was nowhere to be seen.
It is still amazing to me that in this technological era, we still find whales the old fashioned way, that is, we look for them. As we head offshore, we don't use any electronics to find the whales, only our eyes and a good pair of binoculars. We look for a sign of a whale's presence as we move through an area.
As we scan the horizon, we look for the breath of the whale, also called the blow or spout. We look for the animal on the surface, so we look for something big and dark. And we keep an sharp eye out for any type of splashing at the surface. Splashing could indicate dolphins traveling at the surface or aggressive feeding at the surface by large baleen whales.
And what is more amazing to me is the fact that today, when the visibility was excellent and the seas were low, we lost the finback whale that was feeding above the bank. How does one lose track of a 70 foot finback whale that must weigh close to 30 tons? It boggles the mind, but it is not uncommon. We even had another whale watching boat move into the area and they could not pick up this whale.
And so we headed south and east towards the backside of the Cape. Our captain, Capt. Russ, spotted a balloon at the water's surface. We decided to pick it up since balloons and other marine debris is deadly to even the largest of the whale's offshore. So our wonderful crew members, Rich and Ron, skillfully and quickly plucked the balloon out of the water allowing us to be on our way in no time at all.
As we moved along the shores of Race Point, one of our passengers spotted a blow just off our starboard side. As we turned to investigate, the animal surfaced and to our amazement we realized that this was a North Atlantic right whale.
Right whales are the most endangered baleen whale that feeds in our waters. Although they are in Cape Cod Bay and off Race Point primarily in the spring, a few individuals remain or move through these areas at other times of the year. This whale seemed to have a destination in mind as it was heading towards Stellwagen Bank. And as it fluked out, we slowly moved away for we were following Federal regulations regarding this very endangered species. For right whales, all vessels must move away from observed animals and maintain a distance of 500 yards. We decided to just keep moving as our time was running out for our whale watch today.
We even moved past a dead bird that was floating at the water's surface. Our hearts sank as we watched this carcass off the starboard side of the boat. The carcass looked like a gull, possibly a great black backed gull, but it was difficult to tell given the fact that the bird as belly side up. But how sad to see this animal dead at the surface.
We rounded Race Point we were treated to incredible seabird sightings as many species were feeding in the rich waters of the Race rip. We had great looks at greater shearwaters, manx shearwaters, and Northern Fulmars. Fulmars are one of my favorite birds offshore, but they are not a species that we see on a regular basis. We also had a great view of a flock of common eiders moving towards Race Point. Many were juvenile males, and even though they lacked the striking black & white plumage, their distinctive, chunky eider beak gave their identify away.
We also had great looks at Race Point Light and the Keepers House. Race Point Light is the first of 3 lighthouses that leads you into Provincetown Harbor. As we moved past these structures, the Pilgrim Monument came into view just behind the lighthouse. What a view!
There were also many fishing boats in this area and scattered across the mouth of Cape Cod Bay. The larger vessels were commercial draggers and they were fishing for deep water species like cod and haddock. The smaller vessels were fishing for giant bluefin tuna.
We also had a Coast Guard cutter offshore. Not sure what the Coast Guard was doing offshore, but we marveled at the vessel and her speed. Look for the orange stripe on the bow of any vessel. This is a tell-tale sign that you are looking at a Coast Guard vessel.
All in all a great day offshore. We were able to observe lots of different marine species including whales and seabirds. And great views of Race Point as well. We are loving it offshore this fall!
