12 noon Whale Watch - Joanne
We had an incredible day of whale watching on
Saturday, 2 ft chop,
clear, sunny skies and a brisk southerly wind.
We traveled off the southern edge of the Gerry E.
Studds-Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and had the most outstanding
display of side lung feeding by a pair of endangered finback whales which were surrounded
by a pod of Atlantic White Sided Dolphins and hundreds of Northern Gannets. The
pair lunged straight towards us giving us one of the most outstanding views of
the mouths opening wide with the ventral grooves fully extended and fish in
their mouths.
The feeding displays continued with 8-10 surface feeding
humpback whales—kick feeding, bubble cloud feeding, bubble net feeding, open
mouths, even a few tail breaches and lob tailing. Several of the whales passing right under our
boat and bow.
Dolphins and gannets
remained spread out and associated with all of the groups of whales, indicating
just how much food was present and close to the surface.
Individual humpback seen and identified included:
Cajun*, Ganesh*, Hancock, Hazard, Photon*, Pumpkinseed, Pitcher, &
Ventisca* (four* of which were mom's in 2011).
