Friday, July 1, 2011

2 pm whale watch - Leah

Today's trip was absolutely out of this world. We had some amazing looks at the humpbacks that are in our waters. We did travel around the back side of the Cape today, heading passed the area where the Pilgrim Monument sits.

Once we got to this area we picked up a mother and a calf pair which turned out to be Ganesh and her calf of this year. Sadly, Ganesh's calf has some chunks missing out of the trailing edge of its fluke, but that didn't stop the calf from being very playful. Not only was this calf breaching and showing us great looks at its tail, we also got to see it nurse from mom and it was also rolling around, lifting its beautiful flippers out of the water and hitting them back down at the surface. This calves playfulness seemed to have the affect of a child asking "But mom, five more minutes?"

After we moved on from this pair we moved into an area where there were 6 or more other humpbacks filtering through. Some of the whales that were identified were: Joy, Habenero, Timberline, Thalassa, Duckpin, and Seal. These whales were very busy in their continual hunt for food. We saw many of them kick feeding, and there were a few scattered bubble nets here and there. Along with all the whale activity we did have a group of Sooty Shearwaters, which interestingly enough is called an "Improbabilty."

Friday, July 1, 2011

11 am whale watch - Michael

Today was a glorious day both weather-wise and whale-wise. Visibility was so clear that we could see Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown as soon as we left Plymouth Harbor. Once we cut across Cape Cod Bay, we started spotting whales just north and east of Race Point. We came across multiple groups of humpback whales, many solo Minke whales moving through the area, and even a pair of Finback whales.

Our first group of three Humpbacks were Cajun, Stub, and another unidentified whale. These whales were covering a bit of distance going down on several fluke out dives and heading in westerly direction. Looking out around the boat, it was easy to spot other Humpbacks and Minke whales off in the distance. We could spot activity almost everywhere we looked!

After staying with these whales, we moved up on Echo and another whale who were traveling together and doing some subsurface feeding. Echo took the opportunity to come right up next to the boat and move around the bow of the boat just a few feet under the surface, giving us a great opportunity to appreciate just how majestic these whales are.

We then spotted a pair of Finback whales traveling together and a large number of Sooty Shearwaters and many Common Terns in the area, hoping to catch anything the whales brought up to the surface.

Before heading back towards Plymouth, we came across an individual Humpback, as well as rejoining our first trio who gave us another great sequence of fluke out dives before we had to say goodbye.

Friday, July 1, 2011

9 am whale watch - Tammy

Today we headed toward Peaked Hill Bar, an area just off Truro, MA, where there have been very good whale sightings lately. As we got into that area, we saw several large splashes in the distance. These large splashes were being produced by a breaching humpback whale!

To witness a breach is a very special event, as we only see this behavior on about 10% of our trips. As we approached this animal, the whale actually breached two more times before rolling onto its side and raising its long white pectoral flipper in the air, giving us a great look at the long “wings” of the humpback whale. Humpback whales have the longest pectoral flippers of any marine mammal and can reach 1/3 of the whale’s body length.

After several minutes we left this whale and continued to move toward the East where we picked up a group of seven humpback whales who were feeding together. This group was producing bubble nets to concentrate their prey and then lunge feeding at the surface to engulf as much food and water as possible. As the whales would come up with mouths wide open, we got excellent looks at the baleen which hangs down from the upper jaw.

Also in this area were 5-8 minke whales, a pair of finback whales and a huge group of sooty shearwaters and gulls, who were feeding right alongside the humpbacks. On our way home we got quick glimpses of several other lone humpback whales, some who were feeding at the surface. Another beautiful and amazing day of whale watching!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

9 am and 2 pm trips - Krill and Leah

9 am trip:

We had quite a few whales once again off Peaked Hill Bar. We ended up with a three species day for we had great looks at humpback whales, finback whales and minke whales. We also continued to see how numbers of sooty shearwaters and other pelagic birds. But the sooties outnumbered them all!

As we moved into this area, our first sighting was a single humpback named Touche. I haven't seen Touche in a week or two, so this was a nice way of getting reacquainted with this individual. Watching Touche surface all around the boat gave us the feeling that Touche was feeding deep. So the bait is still plentiful off Peaked Hill Bar and that is what is attracting all this wildlife to the area.

Our second sighting was a pair of humpbacks that included Buckshot and Spike. This pair seemed to be moving around the area as if searching for something. Perhaps fish? We have had the pleasure of observing Spike on a number of recent whale watches, but I haven't seen Buckshot for a few weeks now.

Spike has a distinctive ventral tail pattern that lends this animal his name. If you look on the right side of the bottom of the tail (fluke), you will see a very distinctive vertical black line. This line reminded someone of a "spike" giving this animal its name.

Our next sighting was another pair of humpbacks who turned out to be Tectonic and Echo. Tectonic has a cut in the trailing edge of the fluke on the right hand side. This is a very distinctive cut and is an excellent field mark for identifying this individual.

Next up was a group of 4 humpback whales that were traveling as a group or small pod. This group contained Abrasion, Stub, Thalassa and Entropy. What a sight to see when all 4 whales surfaced right next to the boat. And what a treat to see Thalassa, a female calf of Salt, the most famous humpback whale in the world!

Our last sighting was a quick look at a pair of finback whales. These animals were feeding side-by-side and it was amazing to watch how coordinated their movements were. As we held position for the whales to surface, one of the pair came to the surface right off the Port side of our boat. We could see the entire mouth extended as the whale just finished lunging through the water and bait.

All in all, a fabulous day offshore. Great weather, great sightings and wonderful, enthusiastic passengers onboard who make the trip so worthwhile.

Thursday, June 20, 2011

11 am whale watch - Dianne

It was a glorious summer day with near perfect wind and sea conditions. We headed out towards Provincetown in hopes of spotting some Humpback whales and indeed, we found them. Our first look was at a lone Humpback but it became obvious that it was feeding deep and wasn't going to be spending a lot of time on the surface.

We continued toward the beaches of Ptown and found a group of 8-10 humpbacks spread out and began to watch a pair of mature adults. We were very lucky when one of them gave us a close approach and moved under our bow and right along side our boat!

We had the opportunity to see several minkes that popped up in the same area. After watching another pair of humpbacks we headed home only to spot two very mighty and tall blows out in front of the Boston Harbor Co.'s boat, the Aurora. These turned out to be finback whales, so our passengers had a three species day!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

11 am whale watch - Krill

As we headed to the backside of the Cape in an area called Peaked Hill Bar, we started to see blows in the distance and to the southeast. We also saw a number of seabirds and gulls circling the water as if in anticipation of an exciting event.

Low and behold, a humpback whale surfaced right in the mix of the birds as we realized that we had surface feeding whales once again! As we slowly approached, our first sighting was a pair of humpbacks who turned out to be Fracture and Pogo. We have seen this pair together a number of times this past week and we were eager to watch them feeding side-by-side.

We waited for the bubble nets to rise to the surface as Fracture and Pogo worked very hard to concentrate the bait with these structures. Once the animals surfaced with mouths wide open, we saw that they remained on the surface and strained or pushed the water back out of the mouth.

The beaches of Cape Cod were a wonderful backdrop to our sightings and photos. And the close proximity of land reminded us of just how close these animals will come when feeding.

In this same area were at least 5 to 7 minke whales who appeared to be feeding deep in the same areas as their larger cousins. Without warning, a minke whale would surface close to our boat as we waited for the humpbacks to return to the surface. Although the minke whale is not that showy since it does not lift its tail out of the water, it still is a very beautiful animal and a joy to watch.

A number of other humpbacks were seen coming into the area and we waited in anticipation to see if they would join with Fracture and Pogo. To our delight, we ended up with 4, not 2 humpback whales in a newly formed group including Fracture, Pogo, Spike and Colt.

This association brought the level of surface feeding to a new and higher level as 4 whales surfaced in unison through bubbles and blue-green water. It was fun to see how these individuals interacted together and we wondered if each animal was putting in their fare share of work.

Spike started kick feeding in addition to bubble netting with the group. The huge splash created by Spike's tail as testament to the immense disturbance that this activity caused on the water's surface.

Sadly, it was time to head home. But we said our goodbyes to this amazing foursome and dreamed of spouts, bubbles and tails in the future.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

11 AM Whale Watch aboard the Son IV - Joanne

We left Plymouth Harbor on the 11 AM whale watch aboard the Son IV with calm seas, mostly clear skies and light winds. Terns were active feeding off of Plymouth Beach and throughout the Harbor.

We traveled to the southeastern edge of the Gerry E. Studds-Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary where we got to spend time in the company of nearly a dozen feeding humpback whales. Sooty sheartwaters, herring gulls and laughing gulls were actively engaged in the feeding behavior of the whales, being used as cues to where the whales’ bubbles would surface.

We started with a group of six humpbacks coming up through a bubble net together, a spiral of bubbles which helps to trap prey. Right off the bow of our boat, we could see light green foaming water.

Abrasion, Coral, Entropy, Joy, Stub & Touché came up in perfect coordination with mouths wide open, all 6 whales dragging as they filtered the hundreds of gallons of salt water from their mouths, trapping the small schooling fish. When the whales surfaced, we could see the baleen hanging from the upper jaw, the pink roof of the mouth (palate) and the tubercles or stove bolts (bumps) covering their heads, each with a hair like whisker that may help detect sensory information about their environments.

Echo was also kick feeding nearby. Her preferred style of feeding is almost always a combination of kicking and bubbling. She’s got a very dramatic high kick, usually kicking 2-3 times before circling to blow her bubbles and trap prey. She was first seen in 1988 and was named for a series of parallel lines on her left fluke that look like the pattern of sounds produced during echolocation. Genetic studies indicate that she is descended from the same distant ancestors as other well known Stellwagen humpbacks Cardhu and Trident.

Humpback whales are very social animals, especially when feeding, and sometimes form associated groups which may last a few minutes or hours. In this feeding frenzy, the group would vary from 6 to 4 to pairs back to 6 as they searched and devoured prey.

Coral seemed to be the most varied, joining and leaving the group on numerous occasions, very loose associations when feeding. Coral is the son of a whale named Silver, who only had half of her tail and died in 1991 from an entanglement in fishing gear. Coral’s name was suggested by children in the Eastern Caribbean, highlighting the importance of our areas as different types of habitats for the same population of whales, feeding/nursing on Stellwagen and breeding/calving in the Caribbean.

The rake marks on his tail indicated he survived a killer whale attack early in his lifetime. Coral is very easy to identify in the field due to a white patch of scarring behind his blowholes. Coral’s family has taught us quite a bit about humpback whales; his sister was one of the first whales tracked from birth to her own first birth, providing researchers with important information on ages of sexual maturity and reproductive rates and intervals.

Joy was named for three marks on the right fluke that look like letters spelling out the word Joy.

Abrasion was born in 1997 and is the fifth known calf of Liner. While most whale are named for a pattern on the bottom of their flukes/tail, Abrasion was actually named for a very prominent white scar along the left side of her caudal peduncle (where her tail and body meet). We don’t know the cause of this injury, but it makes her very easy to identify. Abrasion spends more time in the Stellwagen Bank area than any of her other known relatives.

Stub is one of the older whales to have been cataloged, first seen in 1979. Stub is more often in the northern Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy. He’s named for his stub like dorsal fin, which is easily distinguished. He also has a very unique fluke with ‘rake’ marks from killer whales teeth scraping along it, most likely as a calf.

Entropy had the most notable fresh scars on her body, which over the years have indicated she’s had several different entanglements, one quite recently. She was first seen in 1997. She was disentangled by a team of rescuers on May 15, 1998. In 2005, she was seen with her first calf and only known calf. She has scarring around her tailstock, as well as raw pink scars on the leading edge of her flukes and caudal peduncle. Overall, her skin was a little grayer too. Over 60% of the humpbacks in the Gulf of Maine have entanglement scars on their bodies and each year, 10-20% get entangled. Some whales get out of fishing gear on their own, some, like Entropy in 1998 are disentangled, and some we never see again. .

As we watched the groups and pairs and single whales feed, a whale started breaching not far from us. Tail breaches, full spinning breaches and a very familiar dorsal fin appeared belonging to—COLT! Colt is one of few whales which is named for his mother, Equus, the genus of horse. He was born in 1981 and is 30 years old this year. Following whales for their lifetime allows to He is quite well known for his curious behavior around boats, often making them late returning to port.

It was another incredible day whale watching with Captain John Boats off Stellwagen Bank!

Monday, June 27, 2011

9 am and 2 pm whale watch trips - Krill

9 am whale watch:

A gorgeous day offshore with light winds out of the south and a low swell from the east. We headed down the backside of the Cape to an area just off Truro, MA called Peaked Hill Bar. There we found balls of bait boiling at the surface being attacked from above by shearwaters and gulls and below from tuna.

As we drifted next to the surface bait, we observed at least 5 minke whales surfacing all around our vessel. One minke whale surfaced just off the starboard bow and this gave us wonderful looks at the smallest of the baleen whales. We assume that the minkes were feeding deep, taking advantage of the abundant bait below. We wish we could see what is happening beneath the water's surface, but we can only guess at what is actually happening.

Suddenly we saw a large blow or spout just 1 mile south of our position. As we moved up on this animal, we realized that we had Coral, a male humpback whale born to Silver in 1988. Coral has been seen in this area over the past week or so. He has a beautifully white ventral fluke with black vertical lines. These lines are rake marks caused by killer whale attacks. Whether the killer whales were just playing with Coral or intended to kill this animal, we do not know. But these marks have been on this individual for a long time so this incidence was not recent.

A number of tuna boats were in the area hoping to catch the bluefin tuna that were working the bait from below. Many were using spotter planes in an attempt to get good information as to the location of any tuna close to the surface. Many of the boats were "stick boats" meaning that the fisherman were hoping to harpoon a bluefin tuna. The harpooner stands at the end of the long walkout bowsprint in order to get some distance away from the vessel. If he throws the harpoon and strikes a fish, they will kill the fish quickly by sending an electrical current through the harpoon.

The most amazing thing to see in this areas was an ocean kayaker who was fishing in the area where the whales were feeding. To see this small boat in and around such large whales was bit unnerving.

We saw a larger blow to the north and realized that a lone finback whale was also in the area. These are the largest of all the baleen whales that commonly feed in our waters.

As we waited to Coral to return to the surface, we saw a number of balloons and plastic items floating at the water's surface. If only we could reduce the amount of marine debris that our marine wildlife have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

So a great morning of whale watching and wildlife viewing including:

1 humpback whale (Coral), 1 finback whale, 5 to 6 minke whales, sooty shearwaters, greater shearwaters and giant bluefin tuna.

2 pm whale watch:

We headed back to Peaked Hill Bar to see if Coral was still feeding in that area. To our delight, we found Coral and at least 6 other humpback whales all feeding in the area. And our large contingent of sooty shearwaters was also still present as they continued to feed right alongside the whales.

Our first sighting was a pair of humpbacks feeding in unison at the surface. This pair turned out to be Coral and Fracture. Fracture not only lunged mouth open at the surface, but then proceeded to roll upside down so we could see his ventral pleats on his belly. These pleats expand when the whales feed allowing the animal to take more food and water into its mouth.

The the whales push the water back out of the mouth, leaving only the fish behind. To see these animals strain with their heads above the water's surface is just amazing. And it gives you a great opportunity to see the tubercules, bumps on the top of the whale's head that are thought to be used for sensory purposes.

As we watched this pair, a number of other whales came into the area to feed on the abundant bait. We were able to ID Pogo, Spike, Rune and Habenero. At times we saw these humpback whales feeding on their own. At other times, they would join temporary associations and feed together in small groups of two or three.

At the end of our trip, we were treated to great looks at a juvenile gray seal who surfaced right next to the boat. The rounded or Romanesque nose of this animal is a dead giveaway as to its identify. There is a permanent breeding population of gray seals on the south side of Cape Cod, and this population is expanding in numbers very quickly. So it is not unusual to see these pups who are very independent at a young age.

A few minutes later, we were treated to a second species or type of seal that is common off New England. A juvenile harbor seal popped up on the port side of our vessel. This inquisitive animal just hung around the boat for a few minutes before swimming away.

Great day of whale watching and wildlife viewing with humpback whales, finbacks whales, minkes whales, gray seals and harbor seals. At least 7 to 8 humpbacks in the area including Fracture, Coral, Pogo, Spike, Rune, Habenero and possibly Anvil.