Again we were treated to a glorious day offshore. Light winds out of the southwest making for a low sea state. We also had clear, blue skies perfect for searching for blows in the distance.
As we left Plymouth Harbor and headed east, we picked up a small pod of harbor porpoise that were feeding a few miles off the Gurnet. Harbor porpoise are the smallest of all the cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and they are often in our waters feeding in the spring and fall. Harbor porpoise are quite shy and elusive so we decided to move on in search of the larger baleen whales like finbacks and humpbacks.
As we crossed into the waters of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, we picked up a tall blow off to the north. As we swung around and headed in this direction, we realized that we had found a finback whale, the second largest of all the baleen whales. We had a few good looks at this animal off the port side of the boat and then continued on our journey east.
We traveled another 13 miles before coming into an area with quite a few whales. Obviously the bait has moved a great distance to the east and this is where the whales are going to be as well. We saw blows all around the boat, but most were single animals that were not spending much time on the surface. And so our captain decided to head a few more miles to the east and picked up a small cluster of humpback whales that appeared to be surface feeding.
Our first humpback whale was a small animal that we were not able to identify for it was not lifting its fluke out of the water. Since this whale was not spending much time on the surface, we moved a few hundred meters to the east and picked up a single humpback named Reflection.
Reflection is a female humpback that was first seen in 1992 and that has had 3 calves over the time period. Reflection was lunging quickly and aggressively and she was closing her mouth just as she reached the water's surface. Reflection was also producing bubbles as a way of helping her concentrate the bait. But these bubbles were not in a circular form as is typically used when humpbacks feed on small schooling fish. Therefore, we assumed that Reflection was feeding on some type of zooplankton, possibly krill.
We have been seeing this type quick and unpredictable lunge feeding from our humpback whales for a few weeks now. Many people refer to this type of feeding as "gulp feeding." Again, we assume that the humpbacks are feeding on large Euphausiids such as krill. But whatever they are feeding on, it is just beneath the surface and therefore hidden from our view.
Two other humpback whales were feeding in the same vicinity as Reflection and our captain, Capt. Russ Burgess, decided to slowly move in their direction. This pair was coordinating their every movements as they surfaced unpredictably all around our boat. Capt. Russ did a fabulous job of anticipating where and when this pair would surface. No small feet when they are feeding in this rapid and quick manner.
At one point, both whales surfaced just off our port side and our passengers could see that their throats were fully distended. Humpback whales are rorqual whales, whales that have ventral pleats running from the chin to the umbilicus.
These pleats expand when the whales are feeding allowing the animals to take as much food and water into the mouth as possible. Then the whales strain, or push the water back out of the mouth to leave only the prey inside.
We were able to identify this pair as Schooner and Viking. And we wondered if these young humpback whales would eventually join with Reflection and start to feed as a trio. No sooner had we voiced this idea then the animals did indeed join forces. Now we had 3 humpback whales coordinating their movements like dancers on a stage.
Soon it was time for us to head home. It was sad to have to leave this area and the humpback whales we had come to know and watch over the course of the hour. And as we slowly moved out of the area, many of our passengers commented on the beauty, the power and yet the fragility of these great whales.
We had great looks of seabirds as we headed home including Northern gannets, greater shearwaters and Cory's shearwaters. We also saw common large flocks of sea ducks offshore, including common eiders and white-winged scoters. A wonderful Saturday during our Columbus weekend. Looking so forward to tomorrow's whale watch.
