Learn about the whale, dolphin and porpoise sightings in Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay. Join naturalists - Krill, Fred, Joanne, Dianne, Leah, Lauren, Tammy, and Michael - aboard Captain John Boats as they head offshore each day from April through October to view the unique coastal marine wildlife off New England. Our intern Ian will also be providing seabird reports.
Although we can not post each and every whale watching trip that we take offshore, we will do our best to post as many as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
April 30, 2012 Whale Watch
Close approach by Scylla's 2008 calf
Bubble net feeding by Midnight, the humpback whale.
Scylla's 2008 calf.
9 am whale watch - Krill
Salt and friend traveling together.
Salt surfacing off the bow of our boat.
Today was a fabulous day offshore. Not only did we have at least 10 to 15 humpback whales on the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, but we also had our first sighting of Salt. We believe that this is the first sighting of Salt this season!
Salt's white dorsal fin.
Salt is the most famous humpback whale in the world and the first whale to be named in our waters. Here is a video from our trip that shows Salt and another humpback whale as they surfaced right off our bow.
We also had a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. These are the most common dolphins in our area this time of the year. It was wonderful to see these individuals pass by our boat right off our bow.
Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
Also in the same area as Salt and the dolphins, we had many humpback whales that were feeding at the surface. They were spread out over a larger area so it was difficult to come up with a total count for the entire group.
Humpback whale straining at the surface.
As we moved from one humpback or group of humpbacks that were surface feeding, we saw a small humpback whale coming towards our boat. This whale turned out to be Scylla's 2008 calf who decided to give us a close approach and what a close approach it was. Soon Scylla's 2008 calf was joined by another humpback whale. You have to watch this video and hear how excited both the whales and the students onboard the boat were.
Thank you for visiting our Naturalist Blog. This blog is maintained by Carol "Krill" Carson, Outreach Educational Coordinator for Captain John Whale Watching and Fishing Tours. If you have any questions or comments, you can reach Krill at krillcarson@mac.com.
