Friday, June 10, 2011

2 pm Whale Watch - Tammy

Today on our whale watch we headed to the tip of Cape Cod (Race Point), an area where we have been whale watching for a couple of weeks now. We had passengers from several different states today, including two groups from North Dakota and Connecticut; many of them had never been on a whale watch or seen the ocean, so we were very excited to find some whales.

After reaching Race Point, we slowly moved up the beach toward Wood End lighthouse where we found a lone Finback whale. This whale would take 3-5 breaths at the surface before diving down and spending several minutes beneath the surface. This finback was likely feeding on herring that has been abundant in the waters off of Cape Cod recently.

Our captain did a fantastic job at staying with this animal while also following the federal whale watching guidelines; this allowed us to watch this animal for quite awhile and get some fabulous looks at this whale. Everyone on board was amazed by this animal’s size and speed.

It’s fascinating that finback whales are so massive, but are still so sleek and graceful as they move through the water. We even got an up-close look at the unique coloration of the whale’s lower jaw. The right side of a Finback whale’s jaw is white, while the left side is dark gray. Scientists think that this coloration may help camouflage the whale, allowing it to coral and engulf more fish.

Overall, a wonderful afternoon spent with the second largest whale in the world, the Finback whale!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

9 am Whale Watch - Dianne

What a beautiful day to start my season. We had light variable winds and a two foot swell with hazy, hot and humid weather. The school buses arrived and we loaded our boat with middle school students from Braintree, Ma.

We headed across Cape Cod Bay with Race Point in mind as a destination, Sure enough, once we passed the Point and got into "Finback Alley" we encountered our first Finback. This animal wasn't identifiable as an individual as it didn't have any particular scarring or unusual markings.

We spotted a number of seals in the area, both Grey and Harbor. The highlight of our day was a close approach and some very good looks at our elusive Finback. We saw some Minke whales pop-up in the distance, but they were to far away to get any looks.

We cruised up the backside of the Cape and spotted more seals and Capt. Johnny and crew retrieved a plastic fish cooler that was floating along in some seaweed. Good job! Our passengers from the Middle School were super! And congratulations to Mr. Larry Kramer for 35 years of educating and encouraging them!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

9 am and 2 pm Whale Watches - Krill

A beautiful day offshore with clear skies and light winds. Seas were low and our spirits were high as we headed offshore in search of whales. On both the morning and afternoon trips, we headed to the tip of Cape Cod to see if we could pick up finback whales that had been feeding just off the shore.

For the morning trip, we found finbacks feeding on herring a little north of Race Point, the tip of Cape Cod. Two finback whales were seen feeding within a mile of each other. Finback whales and all other baleen whales are quite solitary, but if there is a lot of bait in an area, you will often find a few animals feeding together.

Both the Capt. John & Son IV and the Capt. John & Son II worked together to watch these animals feeding just off land. The Son II had a school group from Plymouth and it was obvious that the students were having a wonderful time.

These students and their teachers had chartered the boat for a whale watch / fishing combo. So after they had their whale watch, they would be heading to the fishing grounds to see what they could catch for dinner!

Finbacks tend to circle the bait as they feed at depth. And they will use their speed and agility to coral the bait in an attempt to concentrate the bait. This allows the whale to get more per mouthful as it lunges mouth open through schools of herring. After lunging, the whales will spend a few minutes straining, pushing the water back out of the mouth to ensure that only fish remain.

As we waited for the finbacks to surface, a harbor seal and then a gray seal popped up next to the boat on different occasions. These are the most common species of seals that feed in our cold southeastern waters.

On the afternoon trip, we picked up two finbacks whales just off Wood End, the second lighthouse that leads you into Provincetown Harbor. What a beautiful view we had of the tip of Cape and of Wood End Light. The Pilgrim Monument could be seen prominently the behind the dunes of the Cape. This monument is an impressive testament to the trails and tribulations of the Pilgrims in the 1600's.

One finback was much larger in size than the other. This animal was easier to watch as it spent more time on the surface after lunging through the bait below. Again, we assume that both whales were feeding on schools of herring that are currently abundant just off the shores of the Cape. But finbacks will feed on many other species or types of small school fish including the American sandlance, mackerel, menhanden and pollack.

A wonderful day of finback whale watching for everyone onboard. We can't wait to see what adventure awaits us on tomorrow's whale watching trips!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

9 am and 2 pm Whale Watch Trips - Krill

A beautiful day offshore with light winds out of the east and relatively calm seas. As we headed past Gurnet Point, our spirits were high as we anticipated another fabulous day offshore with some very rare and endangered marine mammals.

As we approached the west side of Stellwagen Bank, we found a finback whale that was feeding deep along the edge of the bank. This whale would come up to the surface and take one quick breath and then stay down for 4 to 6 minutes. When up once again, this finback would spend a few minutes at the surface before arching its back and slipping quietly beneath the water's surface for another long-term dive.

These behaviors indicate that the finback whale was feeding deep beneath the water's surface. The whale wasn't heading out of the area, but instead it's swimming pattern was circular in nature and quite unpredictable. When diving deep, the finback would kick hard with its tail (fluke) creating a temporary feature termed a fluke print or a foot print. These circular areas of calmed out water are a temporary structure that indicate where the whale dove, not where the whale will come back up.

Our captain did a fabulous job of maneuvering around this animal, following the NMFS guidelines set down to protect all whales in our area. We had a lot of fun with passengers and crew and enjoyed the day offshore immensely.

Our onboard photography team, Johnny T. and Delia, were a big help today not only spotting the whales, but helping to collect some really great video of these magnificent and very endangered marine animals.