August 31, 2012 Whale Watches

9 am and 2 pm Whale Watches - Krill 

Humpback whale coming towards the boat.

9 am trip:

Crew onboard the Tails of the Sea.

We headed to the backside of Cape Cod off the shallow water of Peaked Hill. There we found at least 10 to 15 humpback whales and a small number of minke whales. The humpbacks were taking life very easy as they surfaced to breath. One group of 4 humpback whales included a whale named Pleats. Pleats has been hit by a boat as dark prop scars on visible on the right shoulder of the animal. These wounds have healed, but this is a reminder that whales face many threats when in our waters including collisions with boats.

Prop scars on the right flank of Pleats. 

In this group, we were also able to identify Pumpkinseed, Epee, and Apex.  It was amazing to see these animals coordinating their movements at the surface as they came very close to our boat.

Ventral tail pattern of Pumpkinseed.

Spyhop by one whale in this group of 4. 

Whale coming towards out boat. 

The next large group of whales that were traveling together was a trio that included Elephant, Wave and Cantilever. We had wonderful looks at the ventral tail patterns of these individuals as they flaked out right off the side of the boat.

Fluke out by Elephant. 

Ventral tail pattern of Elephant.  

Wave's ventral tail pattern. 

Cantilever fluking out. 

More whales started moving into the area as we watched whales off the backside of the Cape. A humpback whale named Hornet joined the group with Elephant and Cantilever and we saw a lot of mixing and matching over the course of our time offshore. 

Humpback whale Hornet. 

 As we started to head home, our captain stopped on a large group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins that were charging to the east. This species is the most common type of dolphin in our waters and it was unusual to see them moving so quickly at the surface.

Atlantic white-sided dolphin. 

Dolphins off our bow.  

Humpback whales identified on today's trip include: Pumpkinseed, Apex, Pleats, Eppe, Mayo, Wave, Elephant, Cantilever, Convict and Hornet. Seabirds seen offshore included manx shearwaters and common terns.

2 pm trip:

Common terns.

Manx shearwaters.

As we headed back to Peaked Hill, just off the backside of the Cape, we saw hundreds of common terns feeding at the water's surface. We also had manx shearwaters and greater shearwaters in the area with the humpback and minke whales. 

Ampersand fluking out.

Out first sighting was a distant look at a humpback whale named Ampersand. This whale appeared to be feeding deep like many of the humpbacks in the area. We picked up Cantilever and Hornet who were traveling together. This pair came very close to our boat as they surfaced to breathe. 

Dorsal fin of Cantilever.  

Dorsal fin of Hornet.

Cantilever surfacing towards our boat.  

Hornet traveling off our bow.  

We also had Zeppelin feeding very close to the shoreline. What a beautiful sight seeing these animals so close to shore. 

One of my favorite sightings was of a mother and calf pair that surfaced right off our starboard side. This mom turned out to be Thumper and her calf was very curious as it surfaced right off our bow. 

Thumper's calf on the bow.  

For much of our trip, we had a group of 3 humpbacks that became a group of four. This group included Convict, Cantilever, Elephant and Buzzard. Beautiful looks at these animals as they coordinated their movements together when back at the surface.

All throughout our trip, we saw sporadic breaching all around our boat. At one time, we had two whales jump out of the water together creating a huge splash. We don't see breaching as often as we would like, so this was a treat for everyone onboard. 

Breaching humpback whale. 

At the end of our trip, we had a great look at a minke whale. These are the smallest of the baleen whales and they are a bit more shy than their larger cousins, the humpback whale. 

Minke whale. 

Epee surfacing right next to our boat.  

Epee fluking out. 

As we held our position in the area, a pair of whales started feeding at the surface. This pair turned out to be Putter and Epee. Humpbacks are one of the few baleen whales that use bubbles to help them coral the baitfish. Both whales were joining together as they lunged mouth open through the rising bubbles. 

Epee surfacing through the bubble net.  

Putter fluking out. 

Ventral tail pattern of Putter. 

Great afternoon offshore with amazing views of endangered whales. Humpbacks identified include: Ampersand, Longboard, Elephant, Wave, Buzzard, Hornet, Cantilever, Zeppelin, Thumper and calf, Apex, Pumpkinseed, Putter, Seal, Epee, and Pox.