September 12, 2012 Whale Watch

12 noon Whale Watch - Krill

Backside of Cape Cod. 

Another beautiful day offshore as we headed to the backside of Cape Cod. Here we found at least 10 to 15 humpback whales and a handful of minke whales. We also had a close look at a very young gray seal who surfaced right next to our boat. Hard to imagine that these young animals are very independent within a few months of birth. But how cute is this young fella!

Our next sighting was a trio of young whales that included Samara, Pleats and an unknown. This trio was logging or resting at the surface. But as we watched them, they came over to the boat and gave us a close approach. 

Trio logging at the surface. 

Pleats is an easy whale to identify for this individual has healed propellor scars on its back, just posterior to the blowhole. Sad to think that this animal was hit by a boat, but it is a stark reminder that vessel strikes and  entanglements in fishing gear are the two greatest threats to these endangered mammals when they are feeding in our New England waters. 

Close approach.

Two humpbacks right alongside our boat. 

Here is a short video clip of one of the humpbacks coming right over to our boat. We never know when the whales will take an interest in us, but we love it when they do! And when they do come close the boat, you really get a feel for how big and beautiful these animals really are.

This close approach also gave us a chance to get a close look at the propellor scars running along the back of Pleats. These scars are healed and are not causing any problems to the animal at this time. But sad to think that these endangered animals can be injured in this way.

Right side of Pleats. Prop scars more visible on this side. 

Prop scars on the right side of Pleats.

Left side of Pleats. Prop scars just visible. 

Close approach by the trio. 

Pleats surfacing next to the boat. 

Samara giving us a close approach. 

As we continued to watch this group, Pleats rolled upside down and then lifted her head out of the water. We call this behavior spy hopping and it provides the whale a better look around as their eyes are very low on the head region.

Pleats spy hopping next to Samara.

Spy hop by Pleats.

As we headed home, we passed a lot of pollen floating at the water's surface. This pollen was pinkish in color and streaked the surface of the water all around the boat.