Naturalists aboard Captain John Whale Watching and Fishing Tours, Plymouth MA

Beach Cleanup at Scusset Beach - a huge success!

2011-11-03T19:32:00.001-07:00

On October 29, 2011, NECWA teamed up with Captain John Whale Watching and Fishing Tours and the Department of Conservation and Recreation to cleanup Scusset Beach. This cleanup effort was part of COASTSWEEP, the Commonwealth’s annual coastal cleanup program that is organized by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Urban Harbors Institute of the University of Massachusetts Boston. Last year, over 2,900 COASTSWEEP volunteers collected over 20,000 pounds of trash from beaches, marshes, rivers, ponds, and the seafloor.

At 9 am, eleven volunteers met at Scusset Beach, a beautiful beach located within the Scusset Beach State Reservation on Cape Cod Bay. Everyone was bundled in hats and gloves, as it was mostly cloudy with increasing winds. Equipped with trash bags, gloves and data sheets, volunteers ventured onto the beach in pairs or trios looking for a variety of marine debris. Each piece of trash or debris that was collected was logged into the data sheet and all data will be sent to Coastsweep.

Volunteers found several interesting debris items, including firework containers and many plastic sewer filter discs. The plastic sewer discs were likely carried many miles from New Hampshire, where a sewer plant accidently released thousands of filter discs earlier this year. By recording this information and categorizing all debris, we can learn what types of trash or debris are found most often and we can possibly think of ways to reduce specific types of marine debris.

We were once again delighted to work with John DeCosta from the Department of Conservation and Recreation. John drove a DEC 4 X 4 mini rover up and down the beach, transporting large pieces of debris or heavy bags filled by each volunteer team. We’d like to thank John for his time and for all of his help with this cleanup effort. His great sense of humor keep us all laughing and moving forward.

Thanks also to Ronnie Hunter from Captain John Boats. Ronnie was instrumental in helping set up and tear down our check in area and provided needed supplies for the collection of the debris. We couldn't have done this clean up activity without his support and the support of Captain John Boats.

After combing almost a mile of shoreline, we weighed all of the collected debris. Volunteers managed to cleanup 109 pounds of debris from Scusset Beach. Great job everyone! At the end of the cleanup, volunteers chatted and enjoyed a great lunch of sandwiches, chips and drinks.

On behalf of the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance, Captain John Boats and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, we’d like to thank everyone for their time and efforts. It’s amazing to see what a small group can accomplish in just a couple of hours and we thank you for taking the time to cleanup one of our local beaches.

We look forward to seeing you all again next fall for another beach cleanup! Thanks again to everyone joined us this past Saturday and who helped clean up Scusset Beach!

2011-10-28T17:20:00.001-07:00

Update: Beach Clean up for this Saturday is a go!

Please check this blog for any changes due to weather. Hope to see you on the beach!

SCUSSET BEACH – Join the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance, Capt. John Boats and the Department of Conservation and Recreation from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, working together to clean up Scusset Beach, located within the Scusset Beach State Reservation. The rain date is from 9 to 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 30.

This cleanup effort is part of Coastsweep, the commonwealth’s annual coastal cleanup program that is organized by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Urban Harbors Institute of UMass Boston. Last year, more than 2,900 Coastsweep volunteers collected in excess of 20,000 pounds of trash from beaches, marshes, rivers, ponds and the seafloor.

NECWA and Coastsweep will provide all the necessary supplies, including protective gloves, garbage bags and data sheets for this cleanup effort.

After the event, cleanup participants are invited to enjoy drinks and snacks and NECWA will raffle off a number of nature-related items like T-shirts and DVDs to thank everyone for helping out.

For additional information, call Tammy Silva, NECWA staff member and CJB naturalist, at 508-410-9749 or email tsilva1620@yahoo.com.

Studying bizarre-looking ocean sunfish | CapeCodOnline.com

2011-10-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

Studying bizarre-looking ocean sunfish | CapeCodOnline.com

Sunday, October 23, 2011 (12 noon trip - Krill)

2011-10-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

We headed out of Plymouth Harbor with clear skies and low seas. What a beautiful October day to be whale watching offshore! As we crossed over Stellwagen Bank and through the waters of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, we started seeing large flocks of searbirds and sea ducks in the area.

We had great sightings of Northern gannets, greater shearwaters and manx shearwaters. We were also treated to view of common eiders as a number of large flocks passed close by our boat. These sea ducks are preparing for their southerly migrations to warmer wintering areas. The females are a beautiful rich brown while the adult males have a striking black & white pattern.

As we continued offshore, we picked up a small pod of harbor porpoise that were milling at the surface. Milling is often a sign that the animals are feeding just beneath the water's surface.

Harbor porpoise are the smallest of all the cetacean species and are classified as Odontocetes or toothed whales. Adults are between 4 to 5 feet in length with a distinctively triangular dorsal fin . Harbor porpoise are often seen in our waters each spring and fall as they move into the southern Gulf of Maine to feed on herring, their favorite prey.

As we watched this group, we estimated that there were between 5 to 8 individuals making up this family grouping. Most toothed whales have a tight social structure as they travel in tight social units called pods. Strong bonds are formed within these units with some family members remaining in the same pod their entire lives.

We left this group of harbor porpoise and continued our journey east. Earlier in the day, Capt. Dave Niemi and crew aboard the Capt. John and Son had seen a few large baleen whales another 13 miles to our east. Although these sightings were a few hours old, we wanted to try and find these animals for our passengers on today's trip.

As we continued east, we saw quite a lot of splashing off our bow. As we approached this area, we realized that we had porpoises or dolphins traveling very fast at the surface. At first we thought we must have some type or species of dolphin given the very fast nature of their travel. But as we continued to watch this small pod, we realized that we had a very fast moving group of harbor porpoise. In all my years of whale watching and whale research offshore, I have never seen harbor porpoise move so quickly. Wow!

After watching these very active porpoises surface all around the boat, we decided to keep moving. Before long, we saw a number of blows off our bow. Large whales ahead! This pair of endangered whales appeared to be feeding just beneath the water's surface. And the style of feeding that they were exhibiting made us think that they were feeding on large zooplankton, like krill, instead of their usual meal of American sandlance.

As we slowed down our approach, the humpback whales surfaced off our starboard side. Our captain, Capt. Russ Burgess, did an excellent job of maneuvering our boat around this pair giving all of us onboard great looks at feeding whales. Being able to maneuver a boat around whales is an art form with a lot of experience thrown in for good measure. And Capt. Russ did an excellent job around the animals and expertly predicted where and when they would surface to take a breath of air.

Both animals had hooked dorsal fins (fins on the back of the animal), but only one individual lifted its flukes out of the water. Even though the flukes were not raised as high as we would like, we were able to identify this individual as Pixar. We were hoping that Pixar's friend and companion would also fluke out, but our waiting was in vane.

As we held position for Pixar and friend, we saw something pushing the water off our starboard side. As Capt. Russ moved the boat slowly in that direction, a back with a sharp, hooked dorsal fin cut through the water. We watched in amazement as a small sei whale surfaced right next to the boat!

We don't see sei whales very often since this species is typically found in more southern waters. But they do feed on large zooplankton and can sometimes be seen very east of Stellwagen Bank. We watched in amazement as this animal lunged mouth open on its side, taking in hundreds of gallons of water as it slowly swam must beneath the water's surface. Then the whale would make a tight turn and lunge again in the plankton bloom.

As the whale rolled on its side to feed, it brought its pectoral fin (front flipper) out of the water. This gave us a chance to see some type of ectoparasite dangling from the tip of the flipper. Like other mammals, sei whales and other types of whales have a normal parasite load that they live with their entire lives. But it is unusual to see parasites hanging from the flipper of any whale.

Sei whales look like small finback whales, but they have a very falcate or sickle-shaped dorsal fin. And this sei whale's dorsal fin was textbook perfect, in both color and shape. As we left this individual, we couldn't believe our luck for we picked up a second sei whale who was also feeding just beneath the water's surface. This sei whale was bigger in length and size than the first animal, and it was

But this sei whale's dorsal fin was very different in size and shape to the first animal we had watched. This dorsal fin was more erect and larger in size. In fact, this second sei whale was significantly larger than the first. Researchers who study sei whales use the size and the shape of the dorsal fin for photo-identification of individuals within the population. It takes a lot of energy and time, but identifying individuals based on natural body markings and pigmentation patterns is an excellent way to track individuals over the course of their lifetime.

An incredible day of whale watching for all onboard. Although I work 5 to 6 days a week from the beginning of April to the end of October, this is my first sighting of sei whales this season!

Saturday, September 22, 2011 (12 noon trip,Krill)

2011-10-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

The weather offshore was just phenomenal as we headed towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. Here within the waters of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary we found a single finback whale feeding in the area.

Finbacks are the second largest of the baleen whales that feed in our cold, New England waters. This species is considered one of the fastest offshore and is therefore given the nickname the "greyhounds of the ocean."

Finback whales are often quite elusive and are difficult to get a good look at. But not this animal. This finback whale was breaking all the rules. It didn't stay down for very long and when it returned to the surface to breathe, it swam slowly and took quite a few breaths.

This very slow and regular behavior allowed our captain, Capt. Jonny Dennen to get us some amazing views of this very endangered animal. Not easy maneuvering around a finback whale, but Capt. Jonny did a wonderful job.

After a few surfacings from the finback whale, we decided to head northeast to the middle of the bank. Here we found a single humpback whale that turned out to be the most famous humpback whale in the world, Salt! The last time I saw Salt was this past Tuesday and she was traveling in company with two other mature females, Trident and Nile. But on today's trip, Salt was on her own and was consistently conducting 12 to 14 minutes dives.

Salt is the most famous whale in the world for she was the first humpback whale to receive a name. Capt. Erin Avellar, son and co-owner of the Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch named Salt back in 1976. Erin named Salt for the extensive white scarring on her dorsal fin, the fin on her back. This scarring is noticeable on both the right and left sides.

Salt has been seen each years since 1976 and over this time period, she has brought back 12 beautiful calves. By being able to recognize Salt and her calves over this past 30+ years, Salt and family have taught us a lot about humpback biology and life history.

What a thrill for all of us onboard the boat today! Even we seasoned veterans are ecstatic when we see Salt for she is the most well documented, most photographed and most loved humpback whale in our area. Salt appeared to be feeding deep as she never really moved out of the area. She continued to take 12 to 14 minute dives followed by brief breathing excursions at the surface.

As we watched Salt, we were joined by the Nora Victoria, a whale watching boat out of Boston, MA. Onboard this boat was our friend and colleague, Capt. Earl. Captains' Jonny and Earl are very good friends as are most of the captains that work offshore. Most company's share their sighting information and this benefits not only the companies, but also the whales. The days of jockeying around a whale to shield the view from another company are over. And thank goodness they are over!

As we headed for home, some of our passengers got a quick glimpse of a minke whale, the smallest of all the baleen whales. Unfortunately we didn't have time to stop on this animal since we were going to be late getting back to the dock as it was.

But what a trip we had with a very workable finback whale and a sighting of Salt, our most favorite whale!

Strandings provide rare close-up glimpse of the odd ocean sunfish

2011-10-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Strandings provide rare close-up glimpse of the odd ocean sunfish

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 (12 noon trip - Krill)

2011-10-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

As we headed offshore, we were treated to a beautiful October day out on the ocean. Skies were clear and winds were light out of the southwest. This produced seas that were less than 2 feet.

We had great views of historic features in Plymouth Harbor including the Duxbury Pier Lighthouse and Clark's Island. The Duxbury Pier Lighthouse, also called Bug Light by local fisherman, has recently received a paint job which makes her really stand out in Plymouth Harbor.

We moved out of Plymouth Harbor and headed east towards Stellwagen Bank. As we moved through the waters of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, we started seeing large numbers of high flyers. These offshore buoys are indicating the presence of fishing gear that could include gill nets and lobster pots.

We also started seeing large concentrations of seabirds including Northern gannets (adults and juveniles) as well as greater shearwaters, Cory's shearwaters and manx shearwaters. Since these birds feed on the same small schooling fish as our large baleen whales, seeing seabirds in an area is a good sign. We also saw a number of jaegers harassing other birds for their food. One jaeger was very successful and bullied a herring gull for its lunch.

As we crossed over the east edge of the bank, we finally started seeing a few blows off our bow. As our captain, Capt. Dave Niemi, slowed the boat down to follow NMFS guidelines, we realized that we had a trio of humpback whales. And as we watched this small group, we realized that all 3 individuals were well known individuals that have been sighted in our waters for many summers.

One of the whales was a humpback named Salt. Everyone onboard was excited to meet the most famous humpback whale in the world. Salt was the first humpback whale to receive a name in 1976 and she has returned each season to feed in the waters of the Gulf of Maine. Salt was named for the extensive white scarring on the top of her dorsal fin. It looked as it someone had "salted" it. Last year, Salt was seen with her 12th calf, a beautiful little humpback whale that was named Zelle.

Traveling alongside Salt was another long-time mother named Nile. Nile was born into the population in 1987 to a mother named Mars and since that time, Nile has had 4 calves. Nile was named for a black vertical line on her left ventral tail that looks like the Nile river. Our passengers never saw Nile's ventral tail pattern since she did not fluke out, but her hooked dorsal fin is quite distinctive as is the white pigmented blotch in the center of the right side of the dorsal fin.

This summer, the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies tagged close to 2o individual humpback whales with satellite tags. One purposes of this study was to document the tags to evaluate their impact on the health of the tagged animals. Over the course of the tagging project, most of the tags worked their way out of the animal's body and you could see the hole that was created on the right side of Nile's body.

The third humpback traveling with Salt and Nile was also a reproductively mature female named Trident. Trident was born to a mother named Flag in 1982 and since that time, Trident has been seen with 10 calves. Trident has a very curved dorsal fin that looks ver different than either Salt's or Niles. Also, Trident has a cut in the trailing edge of her right fluke and this cut is obvious even when one only gets a look at the dorsal surface of the fluke.

What fun to see these reproductively mature females traveling slowly together. It was obvious that they were resting as they moved slowly side-by-side. Interesting to see 3 adult females, all whom have had calves in the past, spending time together. One wonders if they were exchanging stories about their children and their grandchildren.

As we held position for this trio, a large commercial tanker was seen heading our way. The major shipping channels in and out of Boston Harbor cut right across Stellwagen Bank and through the waters of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. I was able to get a number of photographs of this ship as it moved past us and another whale watching boat.

Even though humpback whale receive protection when in the waters of the United States, there are many dangers to their survival. Getting caught in fishing gear and getting hit by vessels are two of the main hazards or concerns for these very endangered species.

Much thanks to our captain, Capt. Dave Niemi, for doing such an amazing job of maneuvering around this trip. Capt. Dave is one of our long-time fishing captains, yet he is very good at predicting where and when this trio would surface. At times, the whales would surface right off our bow. What a day to be a whale watcher!

Sunday, October 16, 2011 (12 noon trip - Tammy)

2011-10-17T21:56:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Tammy

We left Plymouth with sunny skies and increasing winds. Our passengers onboard the Tails of the Sea were enthusiastic and excited to find whales. As we traveled east across Stellwagen Bank, our captain spotted a blow off the port side of our vessel. This animal took just a couple of breaths before disappearing below the waves. Although we waited several minutes for this animal we did not see it surface again and we did not want to spend too much time waiting. We did not get a very good look at this whale, but we suspected that it was likely a finback whale.

After travelling east across the Bank for quite some time and having no additional sightings, we decided to try our luck searching to the northwest. We were now heading directly into the wind and seas and we had quite the ride! But it did not dampen the spirits of our passengers! We travelled up the middle of Stellwagen Bank and suddenly our crew member, Mike, spotted a blow. We approached this whale and we identified it as a single finback whale. This was likely the same whale we had seen earlier in the trip.

Finback whales are the second largest whale in the world and are nicknamed “the greyhounds of the sea” because of their speed. This whale was spending lots of time diving but it was staying in the same general area and was likely feeding below the surface. Despite tough conditions, our captain did a great job getting us some excellent looks at this finback. We had beautiful looks at the head and body of the whale on the right side of our boat. This finback whale also gave us great looks off the bow and as it prepared to take a deep dive it even showed us its fluke!

Finback whales very rarely raise their tails out of the water and we were so lucky to have seen this whale’s gorgeous fluke. Even though we had a bumpy ride out, we had wonderful looks at a beautiful and endangered finback whale.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 (11 am trip - Leah)

2011-10-13T10:26:00.002-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Leah

Today was overcast but quite enjoyable in terms of sea conditions and air temperatures offshore. We traveled about 31 miles offshore, east of Stellwagen Bank and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

As we moved through an area with quite a few seabirds and gulls, we were welcomed by a humpback named Marsh. Marsh seemed to be searching for bait below the surface for this animal was traveling very unpredictably. Finally, Marsh seemed to settle down and did indeed start to feed.

Marsh was coming up to the surface with large mouth fulls of food and water. This young humpback whale has a distinct dorsal fin with a curved cut out of its trailing edge. Since Marsh wasn't spending much time at the surface we decided to move on to watch a pair of finbacks.

One of the finback whales, also called finners, also had a distinct dorsal fin. This animal had a small chunk missing out of its dorsal fin and seemed to be a little bigger than the other one traveling with it. They also seemed to be feeding since they were traveling around in a circular motion. In this area, we had good looks at greater shearwaters, and a Northern gannet.

Great day offshore with lots of wonderful sightings and great folk aboard the boat!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 (12 noon trip - Sue)

2011-10-13T10:26:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Sue

Monday, October 10, 2011 (12 noon trip, Krill)

2011-10-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

We headed east to try and find a small cluster of humpback whales that have been feeding east of the bank for over 2 weeks now. As we moved across Stellwagen Bank, we started picking up groups of seabirds that were resting on the water's surface. We were able to identify greater shearwaters, Cory's shearwaters, Northern gannets (adult and juvenile), and one Northern fulmar.

As we continued to head east, we picked up quite a few humpbacks that were feeding in a small area offshore. All of the whales we saw were humpback whales and most were juveniles as estimated by their small size. All were feeding at or just below the surface on krill or some other large zooplankton species.

Many of the animals were feeding alone or in groups of two. All were doing a quick type of lunge referred to as "gulp feeding." As the whales performed these quick lunges, we could see the water being pushed back out of the mouth and the throat pleats fully distended.

One of the humpbacks that we were able to identify was a whale with a very white ventral tail pattern. This was humpback whale named Mayo and it is easy to see how this whale got that name. Mayo was first seen feeding alone and then joined a pair of humpback whales for a few surfacings. But then as fast as this association started, Mayo moved off to feed once again on its own.

Mayo's tail (fluke) has a large wound or welt on the left side. This injury is probably the result of an previous entanglement in fishing gear. Today, Mayo is gear free indicating that she was able to shed the gear that had wrapped around her fluke. Many of our whales get entangled in fishing gear each season. It must be difficult for them to avoid the gear since this area is heavily fished by both commercial and recreational fishermen.

Our last sighting was a pair of humpback whales that were also feeding in the area. There was a great disparity in size between the two individuals giving us the impression that we could have a mother and calf pair. However, as we continued to watch this pair feed close to the boat, we realized that this was not a mother and calf pair. Rather, an older adult traveling with a much younger animal.

We were not able to identify the smaller whale, but we did get a great shot of its ventral tail pattern. And this whale has a unique dorsal fin with multiple cuts along its trailing edge. We were able to identify the larger animal who was a humpback named Gunslinger (see photos below). Gunslinger was was first seen as a juvenile in 2001. We are not sure of Gunslinger's sex, but we assume that this association was one based solely on food, not relationships.

A fabulous day of whale watching offshore. We headed home in great spirits and settled down for a beautiful ride back to Plymouth Harbor. Much thanks to our captain and crew, especially Captain Russ Burgess who extended our trip to provide more time on the whales. Our captains are more concerned about the quality of our trips then they are about the time on their watches and this trait is greatly appreciated not only by passengers, but also by naturalists.

Sunday, October 9, 2011 (12 noon trip - Krill)

2011-10-13T08:15:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

We headed east through the waters of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. As we crossed over the bank, we heard other whale watching boats talk about a group of humpback whales that were feeding further to the north and east. This is an area where the whales have been concentrated for the past few weeks. So our spirits were high as we continued on our journey.

We started picking up large concentrations of seabirds. Some were sitting on the water while others were moving through the area. Seabirds are a good sign for their presence indicates that you are in a productive location that might have also attracted other marine wildlife, including whales.

Soon we saw blows to the east. Our first sighting was a small humpback whale that turned out to be Zeppelin's 2009 calf. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) for their assistance on identifying this whale and so many others that we have this season and seasons previous. I and a number of Captain John naturalists collaborate directly with PCCS for we provide them with all of our sighting data and photographic information collected over the course of our season. And PCCS helps us with tough identifications like this young humpback whale that has not been given a name yet.

Our next sighting was a pair of humpback whales that were surface feeding together. To date, we were able to identify only one humpback in this pair, Parrot's 2006 calf. This pair was lunging all around our vessel. Our Captain, Capt. Jonny Dennen, did a fabulous job of anticipating where the whales were going to surface.

At one point, the pair surfaced with mouth's open just off our starboard side. We were drifting at the time so we just sat there and watched in amazement at the incredible look we were getting. Definitely up close and personal!

Our next sighting was another pair of young humpback whales that turned out to be Ventisca's 2008 calf and Andes. Andes has a very dark ventral tail pattern, but with a number of distinctive marks that makes identifying this animal relatively easy.

Ventisca's 2008 calf is also easy to identify, but for a different reason. This young animal has a series of healed propellor scars running down its right flank. This injury is a few years old and the wounds have healed nicely. But seeing this series of long and deep gashes all along the right flank of the animal was difficult to stomach.

Here is Ventisca's 2008 calf surfacing just off our bow. You can see the prop scars on the animal's right side.

Here is a close-up of the propellor scars as Ventisca's 2008 calf surfaces in our direction.

Here is another look at these healed scars. How can we get boats to slow down? It is so sad to see this type of injury on such a young animal. We are just relieved to see that Ventisca's 2008 calf is looking healthy and doing well. But these scars are a stark reminder that even though our endangered whales receive protection when feeding off New England, there are still many dangers to their survival, and getting hit by a boat is just one of those dangers.

And what a beautiful ventral tail pattern this young animal has. It will be interesting to see what name is given to this individual. We assume that Ventisca's 2008 calf will be named this fall.

As we waited for a third whale to surface in the area, we saw a large tanker moving through the commercial shipping lanes a few miles to our east. The major shipping lanes in and out of Boston Harbor move up along the outside of the Cape and cut right through the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. When you see how small a 100 foot whale watching boat is to a tanker, even when that tanker is a few miles away, it makes you think!

We finally got a look at this third whales and realized that it was another young humpback whale. This whale is named Woodland and it has a very striking ventral tail pattern with lots of black vertical lines. Woodland defecated as we watched it feed all around the boat. The bright red color of its scat is a good indication that Woodland and the other humpbacks feeding in this area are feeding on krill.

As we were slowly leaving the area to head home, we spotted a lobster buoy adrift. Our captain and crew picked up the buoy as we continued our journey home. Everyone had a great day offshore filled with amazing sightings of very endangered humpback whales.

Sunday, October 9, 2011 (12 noon trip - Leah)

2011-10-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch aboard the Captain Rudy Thomas - Leah

WOW! Today was a wonderful day. We had beautiful clear weather and it was very nice out on the water. We took a 28 mile trek on the Capt. Rudy Thomas out of Plymouth and what a sighting we had. Our trip started out with one humpback that was a delight to watch as it surfaced multiple times and was going on short dives. Then we moved on to another humpback that was subsurface feeding, and was also surfacing fairly quickly.

After watching the humpback surface a few times and getting wonderful photos of its tail, we noticed another much small surfacing organism. To be quite honest I had no idea what I was looking at at first. It turned out that we had a small pod of 3 pilot whales. This was a first for me seeing them out on the water, I was very excited.

In one of the photos you will see in this post the pilot whales have one blowhole meaning they are toothed whales. Humpbacks, or the baleen whales, have two blowholes. The even cooler part of this sighting was that we had a mother and calf pair in this pod.

The mother would surface and the little baby would swim right behind her. These animals can be about 20 feet in length, and are quite adorable, which is the best scientific description that I can come up with. After watching them for a few minutes we did have to start heading back to Plymouth, but our whale watch didn't end there.

Once we got closer to home we found a small group of harbor porpoises, but unfortunately I only have splash photos of this group because I wasn't fast enough when they came up to the surface. We also did have a great sighting of a northern gannet taking off from the water, and small groups or greater and sooty shearwaters. What a great day! I could not have been happier!

Saturday, October 8, 2011 (12 noon trip, Krill)

2011-10-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

Again we were treated to a glorious day offshore. Light winds out of the southwest making for a low sea state. We also had clear, blue skies perfect for searching for blows in the distance.

As we left Plymouth Harbor and headed east, we picked up a small pod of harbor porpoise that were feeding a few miles off the Gurnet. Harbor porpoise are the smallest of all the cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and they are often in our waters feeding in the spring and fall. Harbor porpoise are quite shy and elusive so we decided to move on in search of the larger baleen whales like finbacks and humpbacks.

As we crossed into the waters of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, we picked up a tall blow off to the north. As we swung around and headed in this direction, we realized that we had found a finback whale, the second largest of all the baleen whales. We had a few good looks at this animal off the port side of the boat and then continued on our journey east.

We traveled another 13 miles before coming into an area with quite a few whales. Obviously the bait has moved a great distance to the east and this is where the whales are going to be as well. We saw blows all around the boat, but most were single animals that were not spending much time on the surface. And so our captain decided to head a few more miles to the east and picked up a small cluster of humpback whales that appeared to be surface feeding.

Our first humpback whale was a small animal that we were not able to identify for it was not lifting its fluke out of the water. Since this whale was not spending much time on the surface, we moved a few hundred meters to the east and picked up a single humpback named Reflection.

Reflection is a female humpback that was first seen in 1992 and that has had 3 calves over the time period. Reflection was lunging quickly and aggressively and she was closing her mouth just as she reached the water's surface. Reflection was also producing bubbles as a way of helping her concentrate the bait. But these bubbles were not in a circular form as is typically used when humpbacks feed on small schooling fish. Therefore, we assumed that Reflection was feeding on some type of zooplankton, possibly krill.

We have been seeing this type quick and unpredictable lunge feeding from our humpback whales for a few weeks now. Many people refer to this type of feeding as "gulp feeding." Again, we assume that the humpbacks are feeding on large Euphausiids such as krill. But whatever they are feeding on, it is just beneath the surface and therefore hidden from our view.

Two other humpback whales were feeding in the same vicinity as Reflection and our captain, Capt. Russ Burgess, decided to slowly move in their direction. This pair was coordinating their every movements as they surfaced unpredictably all around our boat. Capt. Russ did a fabulous job of anticipating where and when this pair would surface. No small feet when they are feeding in this rapid and quick manner.

At one point, both whales surfaced just off our port side and our passengers could see that their throats were fully distended. Humpback whales are rorqual whales, whales that have ventral pleats running from the chin to the umbilicus.

These pleats expand when the whales are feeding allowing the animals to take as much food and water into the mouth as possible. Then the whales strain, or push the water back out of the mouth to leave only the prey inside.

We were able to identify this pair as Schooner and Viking. And we wondered if these young humpback whales would eventually join with Reflection and start to feed as a trio. No sooner had we voiced this idea then the animals did indeed join forces. Now we had 3 humpback whales coordinating their movements like dancers on a stage.

Soon it was time for us to head home. It was sad to have to leave this area and the humpback whales we had come to know and watch over the course of the hour. And as we slowly moved out of the area, many of our passengers commented on the beauty, the power and yet the fragility of these great whales.

We had great looks of seabirds as we headed home including Northern gannets, greater shearwaters and Cory's shearwaters. We also saw common large flocks of sea ducks offshore, including common eiders and white-winged scoters. A wonderful Saturday during our Columbus weekend. Looking so forward to tomorrow's whale watch.

Friday, October 7, 2011 (12 pm trip, Krill)

2011-10-08T07:11:00.002-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

We headed offshore after not being able to whale watch for the past few days. The winds were too high on Wednesday and Thursday making the seas too rough for whale watching offshore. On today's trip, we still had a good swell from the northeast, but the winds were light and variable and we assumed the swell height would drop as the day continued.

We saw quite a few seabirds and sea ducks offshore. We got excellent views of greater shearwaters as well as Northern gannets. We also saw a large flock of common eiders moving through the area. Seabirds often feed on the same prey as large baleen whales, so seeing these birds offshore was a good omen or sign.

We headed to the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank for we head via the VHF radio that there were a few whales in that area. Once we arrived on the corner, we saw two fins flopping up and down in the water. Ocean Sunfish! We moved over to these animals and our captain, Capt. Russ Burgess, got us some amazing looks at these fish. In fact, these were probably the best looks at ocean sunfish that I have had all season.

One fish was larger than the other, but they seemed to be associating with one another. They didn't appear to be feeding, rather enjoying the beautiful day and calm seas offshore. Our passengers loved seeing these two fish right next to the boat. Soon our ocean sunfish should start heading south to more tropical waters. But for now, we are very glad to see them offshore.

As we moved away from the ocean sunfish, we picked up a pair of humpback whales. Low and behold we found Salt and Rattan traveling together. As many of our passengers already knew, Salt it the most famous and most photographed humpback whale in our waters.

Salt was first seen in 1976 and she was the first humpback to get a name. She was named "Salt" for the extensive white scarring on the top of her dorsal fin. That scarring hasn't changed over the 30+ years we have had the honor of watching her offshore.

Salt has been observed in the Gulf of Maine each spring, summer and fall by some researcher. Some years like this season, she is seen on her own. Others season she has a calf by her side. Salt has returned with 12 calves over the years and last season, Salt was seen with her 12th calf, a whale named Zelle.

Rattan was first seen in 2002 and she had a calf in 2009. Perhaps these mom's were hanging together and chatting about their previous calves. Unfortunately, we will never know what these two females were discussing, but it did seem as if they were just taking it easy with calm seas and warm air temperatures.

There was a third humpback whale in the area and as we approached, it started flipper slapping. This whale fluked out very high as it headed toward our boat. At first we thought this humpback might be a whale named Jabiru for it had a white tail with a black core. We finally were able to get a look at its ventral tail pattern and realized that this was a humpback whale named Downsweep.

Although Downsweep remained in the same general area as Salt and Rattan, these animals never joined together. We find these associations with humpback whales so very interesting, but determining the whats and whys of their actions are often difficult if not impossible.

As we headed home, our captain spotted another large whale off our bow. This turned out to be a finback whale that was feeding deep. What was amazing about this finback was that it lifted its tail out of the water as it fluked out. Finback whales typically do not lift their tails out of the water as they head down for a deeper dive. What a treat for all of us onboard the boat today!

We also had a minke whale in the same area as the finback whale, but time did not allow us to check it out. Also offshore were lots of great seabirds including greater shearwaters, sooty shearwaters, manx shearwaters, Northern gannets, Northern fulmars and common eider. A great day offshore and a great start to our Columbus Day weekend.

Thursday, October 6, 2011 (12 pm trip, Tammy)

2011-10-08T07:11:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Tammy

Trip canceled due to inclement weather offshore.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 (12 noon trip - Leah)

2011-10-08T07:10:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Leah

Trip canceled due to inclement weather offshore.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 (12 noon trip - Sue)

2011-10-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Sue

Monday, October 3, 2011 (12 noon trip, Krill)

2011-10-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch trip - Krill

We headed offshore and found a single finback whale on the middle part of Stellwagen Bank. This finback was feeding in the area along with at least 3 minke whales. All of the feeding was deep as the whales were surfacing in circular movements. Hard to say what they were feeding on, but we assume that both species of baleen whales were feeding on small schooling fish.

One of the minke whales had a very unusual dorsal fin. This fin had cuts in the trailing edge, cuts that were probably due to some type of interaction with gear. No worse for the wear though. This animal was feeding just fine and looked very healthy.

One of the minke whales was producing a blow or spout whenever it would surface to breath. This is unusual for minke whales typically do not produce a visible blow when they return to the surface to breath. But wild animals consistently break all our rules and theories about what they do or should do. Thanks goodness!

As we watched the finback surface off the side of our vessel, a number of our passengers commented on the animal's large size. Finbacks are the second largest mammal on the planet. The only animal larger in size is the majestic blue whale, also a baleen species. And finbacks are one of the fastest whales offshore for they can attain speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.

The finback was staying down for at least 8 - 10 minutes. As we held position waiting for the animal to return from a long dive, we were distracted by the minke whales that were surfacing all around the boat. And then, before you knew it, the finback was nowhere to be seen.

It is still amazing to me that in this technological era, we still find whales the old fashioned way, that is, we look for them. As we head offshore, we don't use any electronics to find the whales, only our eyes and a good pair of binoculars. We look for a sign of a whale's presence as we move through an area.

As we scan the horizon, we look for the breath of the whale, also called the blow or spout. We look for the animal on the surface, so we look for something big and dark. And we keep an sharp eye out for any type of splashing at the surface. Splashing could indicate dolphins traveling at the surface or aggressive feeding at the surface by large baleen whales.

And what is more amazing to me is the fact that today, when the visibility was excellent and the seas were low, we lost the finback whale that was feeding above the bank. How does one lose track of a 70 foot finback whale that must weigh close to 30 tons? It boggles the mind, but it is not uncommon. We even had another whale watching boat move into the area and they could not pick up this whale.

And so we headed south and east towards the backside of the Cape. Our captain, Capt. Russ, spotted a balloon at the water's surface. We decided to pick it up since balloons and other marine debris is deadly to even the largest of the whale's offshore. So our wonderful crew members, Rich and Ron, skillfully and quickly plucked the balloon out of the water allowing us to be on our way in no time at all.

As we moved along the shores of Race Point, one of our passengers spotted a blow just off our starboard side. As we turned to investigate, the animal surfaced and to our amazement we realized that this was a North Atlantic right whale.

Right whales are the most endangered baleen whale that feeds in our waters. Although they are in Cape Cod Bay and off Race Point primarily in the spring, a few individuals remain or move through these areas at other times of the year. This whale seemed to have a destination in mind as it was heading towards Stellwagen Bank. And as it fluked out, we slowly moved away for we were following Federal regulations regarding this very endangered species. For right whales, all vessels must move away from observed animals and maintain a distance of 500 yards. We decided to just keep moving as our time was running out for our whale watch today.

We even moved past a dead bird that was floating at the water's surface. Our hearts sank as we watched this carcass off the starboard side of the boat. The carcass looked like a gull, possibly a great black backed gull, but it was difficult to tell given the fact that the bird as belly side up. But how sad to see this animal dead at the surface.

We rounded Race Point we were treated to incredible seabird sightings as many species were feeding in the rich waters of the Race rip. We had great looks at greater shearwaters, manx shearwaters, and Northern Fulmars. Fulmars are one of my favorite birds offshore, but they are not a species that we see on a regular basis. We also had a great view of a flock of common eiders moving towards Race Point. Many were juvenile males, and even though they lacked the striking black & white plumage, their distinctive, chunky eider beak gave their identify away.

We also had great looks at Race Point Light and the Keepers House. Race Point Light is the first of 3 lighthouses that leads you into Provincetown Harbor. As we moved past these structures, the Pilgrim Monument came into view just behind the lighthouse. What a view!

There were also many fishing boats in this area and scattered across the mouth of Cape Cod Bay. The larger vessels were commercial draggers and they were fishing for deep water species like cod and haddock. The smaller vessels were fishing for giant bluefin tuna.

We also had a Coast Guard cutter offshore. Not sure what the Coast Guard was doing offshore, but we marveled at the vessel and her speed. Look for the orange stripe on the bow of any vessel. This is a tell-tale sign that you are looking at a Coast Guard vessel.

All in all a great day offshore. We were able to observe lots of different marine species including whales and seabirds. And great views of Race Point as well. We are loving it offshore this fall!

Ocean Sunfish Sightings and Strandings

2011-10-03T03:39:00.000-07:00

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/A-Note-from-New-England-Coastal-Wildlife-Alliance.html?soid=1101909067888&aid=NHwjMXItZ9k

Saturday, October 1, 2011 (12 noon trip, Krill)

2011-10-01T19:24:00.002-07:00

12 noon whale watching trip - Krill

We had southeast winds increasing over the course of our trip. But the weather remained unseasonably warm even offshore. We headed east and crossed Stellwagen Bank in the mid part of the bank. Early this morning, one of the Captain John fishing boats had seen humpback whales feeding further to the east, so we continued over the bank in search of these animals.

As we crossed over the east side of the bank, we started to pick up seabirds like greater shearwaters, Cory's shearwaters and Wilson's storm petrels. Seabirds are a good sign when whale watching for they are often found in the same areas as the whales.

We saw a large yellow buoy off our bow and passed it on the port side of the boat. This is one of WHOI's Right Whale auto-detection buoys that are anchored in the commercial shipping channel. These buoys alert managers to the presence of endangered right whales off Cape Cod. To learn more about these buoys, visit WHOI's website at by clicking HERE and Cornell Universities Right Whale Listening Network by clicking HERE.

But to our delight, we found 2 finback whales and 4 humpback whales exactly where the fishing boats had seen them earlier in the day. We never got a close look at the finback whales, but assume that they were feeding in the same area as the humpbacks.

Our first sighting was of a single humpback whale named Lutris that we had seen on yesterday's trip. This whale was performing quick lunges just beneath the water's surface. Because the whale wasn't staying down for very long, our passengers were treated to lots of viewing time with this individuals.

Capt. Russ did a great job of anticipating where Lutris would surface. We had great looks of this animal as it continued to feed all around the boat. We wondered what Lutris was feeding on and assumed it was some type of large Euphasiid. Nick, our NECWA intern onboard the boat was able to confirm this suspicion after the trip by enlarging some of the photos we collected offshore. In these photos, Nick was able to identify tiny red critters, krill, at the surface as Lutris was feeding.

Lutris performed a number of different lunges on this krill patches that were close to the surface. Most of the time, Lutris was lunging in a horizontal position. But there were a few occurrences where Lutris lunged sideways giving us a great view of the baleen hanging down from the upper jaw. What a day and what great views of this very endangered and special animal.

After leaving Lutris, we picked up a pair of humpback whales that included a whale named Gladiator. Like Lutris, both whales appeared to be feeding on krill. But they were feeding a bit deeper than Lutris, so we weren't seeing that impressive surface feeding.

All in all a fabulous day offshore. Lots of great views of endangered whales and lots of great people onboard the boat. What a fun and very special day for everyone onboard, even the naturalist!

Friday, September 30, 2011 (12 pm trip, Krill)

2011-10-01T19:24:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watching trip - Krill

We headed offshore with light winds out of the southwest. As we crossed over the western edge of Stellwagen Bank, we heard about a small cluster of whales on the mid part of the bank. As we moved into that area, we started to see seabirds in the area.

We had great looks at greater shearwaters and Northern gannets. Northern gannets are the largest of all the seabirds that feed in our waters, right alongside the large, baleen whales. They have a 6 foot wingspan and are quite impressive in their plumage and their feeding behavior.

As we continued to move over the bank, we picked up a finback whale that appeared to be feeding deep. Although finbacks are one of the fastest whales offshore, this animal was staying in the same general area as it was circling the bait. Even though we were missing all the great mouth-open lunging that was occurring at depth, we were able to get a lot of great looks at this animal as it surfaced close to the boat after each deep dive.

We moved on and picked up a pair of humpback whales that we also feeding in this area. We were able to identify both humpbacks and we were delighted to see Reflection and Lutris feeding together. Both Reflection and Lutris were lunging just beneath the water's surface and the lunges were quick and unpredictable.

This is not the type of feeding you typically see when humpbacks are feeding on small schooling fish. So we assumed that these animals were feeding on some type of large Euphausiid, like krill, that was a few feet beneath the surface.

As Reflection and Lutris surfaced all around the boat, we could see their ventral pleats fully expanded allowing the animals to take more food and water into the mouth and throat area. Then we watched how they would strain or push the water back out of the mouth leaving only the food behind. As the whale's fluked out, we could only imagine where they would surface next and were often delighted to see them very close to our boat.

Captain Russ did a fabulous job of anticipating where this pair would surface as they continued to feed all around the boat. At the end of our trip, this pair separated, reminding us that these types of associations in large, baleen whales are quite temporary.

Obviously, Reflection and Lutris had joined together to maximize their feeding activities. By working together, we assume that these two individuals benefitted by obtaining more plankton per lunge.

But in the life of a baleen whales, the only permanent association that exists is that of the mother and calf. Moms and their calves stay together for a year and mom takes full responsibility for raising and caring for her young. Reflection and Lutris are both adult animals. Reflection is a reproductively mature female who has had a number of calves over the years. Lutris was born in 2002 to a mother named Lava.

It is wonderful that we can identify humpback whales based on natural body markings and pigmentation patterns. No need for us to mark or tag individuals, since they come with their own personal or individualistic markings. By examining and photographing the dorsal fin and the ventral tail pattern, we can identify over 2,500 humpbacks in our Gulf of Maine population.

Not every animal is seen each season and unfortunately many have died from natural and man-made causes. But this population of humpback whales is one of the most well understood of any in the world.

We want to thank Captain John Boats for their help and support in collecting sighting data and photo-identificaiton information when offshore. This information is vital to our continued understanding of these very endangered marine mammals. Nice to know that when you join Captain John Boats offshore, you are supporting an industry, but you are also supporting research and conservation efforts in the New England area.

Thursday, September 29, 2011 (12 pm trip, Tammy)

2011-10-01T19:23:00.002-07:00

12 noon whale watching trip - Tammy

Trip canceled due to inclement weather.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 (12 pm trip, Leah)

2011-10-01T19:23:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watching trip - Leah

Today's trip proved to be quite unique. Instead of having multiple of a single species we had individuals of lot's of unique species. We started our trip with an Ocean Sunfish that was rather large but we didn't spend much time with it due to wanting to see the whales in the distance. After that we had a quick look at a sneaky basking shark, that spent it's time right under the water and due to the swell it was hard to get a clear photo of it.

Then we moved on and found a finback whale that was giving us great looks on either side of the boat. This whale crossed under the bow of our boat and I was able to get an amazing sequence of photos watching this animal dive once it crossed.

Finally to top off the trip we had a humpback whale that was determined to not let me see its tail, so I'm not exactly sure of the ID.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 (12 noon trip - Tammy)

2011-09-29T16:26:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Tammy

We left Plymouth Harbor with thick fog and limited visibility. In these conditions we often have to listen for whales, as we would be able to hear the forceful exhalation of the whale at the surface before we would be able to see the animal. We were anticipating a challenging day, but our crew and passengers were up for the task!
As we traveled across Stellwagen Bank, the sharp eyes of our passengers spotted a small dorsal fin of an ocean sunfish at the surface. We did not stop for this animal, as we had reports of whales much further east but we did record sighting information (time and GPS position) for this animal to contribute to NECWA’s ocean sunfish research.
We continued traveling east where we had another interesting sighting. This time it was a small blue shark. Several minutes later we spotted another blue shark! Blue sharks are pelagic sharks that usually inhabit deep waters and can migrate long distances. We don’t see blue sharks very often so it was fantastic to see two in one trip.

All of a sudden it seemed as if we had crossed into a different ocean and we had sunshine and unlimited visibility. This made finding whales much easier and soon we found ourselves in the company of two pairs of feeding humpback whales. The first pair included a whale named Aswan. We have not been able to identify the other whale because we never got a look at it fluke. We had amazing views of this pair lunging at the surface. We could see the ventral throat pleats expanding and water streaming out of the whales’ mouths.
The other two humpbacks included Fundy’s 2008 calf. These two whales were feeding separately at first, but then we saw them surface together as a pair. We had excellent looks at this pair as they came up right under our bow. As quickly as these whales formed a pair, they separated again. As these humpbacks parted ways, we were treated to a huge spinning head breach by Fundy’s 2008 calf! It was amazing to see this young whale completely out of the water.

While we were offshore, we heard reports from other boats of 2-3 Sei whales further to the east. Our captain decided to try and pick up these whales before we had to head home. After a short ride Capt. Jonny spotted two blows off our bow. Sei whales are large, sleek baleen whales with tall dorsal fins. They usually feed on krill, copepods and other zooplankton.
We don’t see them on the Bank often so it was exciting to get to see them! At times we couldn’t see the whales but we could follow their fluke prints as they swam just below the surface. When they did come up to breath we had fabulous views of both Sei whales. It was a wonderful way to end a great day offshore!

Monday, September 26, 2011 (12 noon trip, Krill)

2011-09-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

You don't get too many September days like this offshore. Relatively light winds out of the northwest producing rather calm seas offshore. We were treated to clear skies and good visibility as we headed across Stellwagen Bank and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

As we continued our journey east, our captain, Capt. Russ, spotted an ocean sunfish on the surface. Ocean sunfish are the heaviest bony fish in the world and they prefer warmer, more tropical waters. But many young animals are enticed to our more northern, colder waters to feed on our abundant jellyfish, ctenophores (comb jellies) and other gelatinous critters. What a treat to see this very unusual looking fish right next to the boat.

We kept moving east and picked up a small cluster of large baleen whales. We had at least 3 finback whales feeding on their on in this area and all of the feeding was deep. We also had two humpback whales that spent much of their time logging (resting) side-by-side. We were able to identify one humpback in this pair by observing its ventral tail pattern. This was Nazca and we have been seeing this individual over the past week or two.

Nazca's companion had a much white ventral tail pattern, but we were not able to identify this individual. However, we will be sending these photos to the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies as I share all the data I collect aboard Captain John Boats with this organization. By working together and compiling our sighting data collected during our whale watching trips offshore, we hope to help scientists better understand the biology and life history of these amazing animals.

As we held position for Nazca and friend, a large finback whale surfaced right off our starboard bow. Our passengers were treated to a fabulous look at this animal who must have been over 70 feet long. Finbacks are the second largest of all the baleen whales and adults can reach lengths of over 80 feet.

Typically finbacks do not lift their flukes out of the water as they prepare to dive. And although this animal was no exception, it was still an impressive sight to see this whale arch its back and slip silently beneath the waters surface.

As we headed home, once again the sharp eyes of our captain picked up another ocean sunfish. This fish was a bit larger than the first and came right over to the boat, giving our passengers a close-up view of this odd looking individual.

The fish floated more than swam right under the boat and we waited for a good 5 minutes for the animal to pop-up on the other side. But it never did so we assumed it had moved off. We slowly moved out of the area and then picked up our speed for home.

Jessica, our NECWA intern onboard the boat today, took some video of this second sunfish with her phone camera. What a great video! And we also wanted to include shots of some of our crew onboard today.

What a great team! They rock!

Saturday, September 24, 2011 (12 noon trips, Tammy and Krill)

2011-09-25T06:38:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watching trips - Tammy and Krill

Today two Captain John boats left the dock at 12 noon for whale watching trips offshore. As you read the trip reports by Tammy and Krill, you will see how very different they are even though both boats were watching whales at the same time and in the same general area. This reminds us how very different each whale watching trip can be. No two trips are the same even when they are on the same time and in the same location. How fun is that!

We like to thank our NECWA intern, Nick, for the photos of the finback mother and calf above. And the image of the marine debris at the end of Tammy's posting. Thanks Nick!

Whale watching trip aboard the Captain Rudy Thomas - Tammy

Today we had mostly cloudy skies and calm seas. We traveled across Stellwagen Bank, east of Cape Cod and although it took us quite a while to get “there”, it was well worth the wait! Our first sighting was of a finback mother and calf pair.
Finback whales are the second largest whales in the world. A sighting of a mother and calf is always special, no matter what species, but it is quite amazing to see a finback mother and calf as it’s only the second time I have seen finback mom and baby! Both whales were swimming slowly and perhaps logging (resting) just below the surface.
We had fabulous looks at these two whales on both sides of the boat as mom and her calf traveled side by side. The size difference between mother and calf was very obvious; mom was probably 70-75 feet long and although this calf is probably less than a year old, it was probably near 25-30 feet in length!
As this pair was traveling together, the calf disappeared on a dive and we even saw mom raise her flukes out of the water, a rare event for finbacks! We see humpback whales raise their flukes on almost every deep dive they take, but this was the first time I have even seen a finback whale fluke out.

We then picked up two humpback whales that were each feeding solo. We had amazing looks at both whales lunging across the surface with mouths full of water and prey. On several occasions we even saw the whales lunge mouth open and we could see the baleen hanging down from the upper jaw.
When one of the whales would lunge across the surface we had excellent looks at the ventral throat pleats (rorquals) which allow the lower jaw to expand to take in even more food and water at one time. One of the humpbacks was lunging particularly fast across the surface. This whale would unpredictably change directions as it was feeding and it was amazing to watch this whale in action.
During the trip, our NECWA intern Nick, photographed some unusual marine debris right next to the boat. There were lots of ctenophores (comb jellies) and other gelatinous critters using this trash as a home base. How unusual!
Sooner than we would have liked we have to head home, but what a great day offshore!

12 noon whale watch aboard the Tails of the Sea - Krill
We headed offshore with better visibility than what we had on yesterday's trip. As we crossed over the mid part of Stellwagen Bank, we looked for some finback and humpback whales that the fishing boats had sighted earlier in the day. Our captains have a saying that is "Whales have tails and they use them!" And boy are they right! No matter how hard we looked to the north or south, we were not able to pick up these individuals, an indication that they have moved off for more productive waters.

And so we continued to the east and crossed over the bank into an area where other whale watching boats were reporting animals. We started to pick up sightings of seabirds, like greater shearwaters, which is a good sign since these birds tend to feed right alongside the big, baleen whales.

Once in this area, we found at least 2 to 3 minke whales, 4 to 6 finback whales and 3 to 4 humpback whales. Obviously there was a lot of bait in the area that had attracted a large number of whales of different types of species. We slowed down to watch a pair of finback whales. We hoped that this pair was the mother and calf that had been reported in this area earlier in the week. As we held position, another whale surfaced just off our port side so we slowly moved towards this whales.

This turned out to be a humpback whale named Nazca that was feeding just beneath the water's surface. Nazca was doing some really quick lunges a few feet down and finishing the lunge when returning to the surface. These lunges were so rapid and unpredictable, that it made staying close to this animal difficult and challenging. But our captain, Capt. Jonny, did a great job of predicting where and when this whale was going to surface.

A few times after surfacing, Nazca would defecate producing a very red colored scat. This red color is a good indication that Nazca was indeed feeding on Krill or some other type of large Euphausiid. Many scientists collect and analyze the scat of whales and other animals to access the health and reproductive status of the animal. And many researchers are using dogs to help them find scat offshore since a dog's sense of smell is so much more developed than ours. How fun is that!
We moved over towards the Capt. Rudy Thomas and picked up two more humpback whales. These individuals were not associated, but were feeding in the same general area. And both individuals were also doing this quick lunging just beneath the water's surface.

Again, we think that all the humpback whales that were feeding in this area were focusing on Krill or some other type of large zooplankton. Crew members Ron and Rich did a plankton tow off the stern of the boat, but did not collect any significant amounts of plankton in the sample. Whatever their prey, the whales were feeding at least 10 feet beneath the surface and this made any type of visual identification impossible.

We never had time to pick up the mother and calf finback whale, but others offshore had great looks at this special pair. Each trip we do offshore is so unique in terms of sightings even when you are whale watching on separate boats but in the same area and at the same time of day. But that is what makes any type of wildlife viewing fun, challenging and sometimes frustrating. These are wild animals doing what they need to do to survive. And their lives are intricately connected to the lives of their prey, the tides, the gravitation pull of the moon and sun and so many other variables that we are not able to document when offshore.

Friday, September 23, 2011 (12 pm trip, Krill)

2011-09-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch trip - Krill

As we headed out of Plymouth Harbor, we had less than 1/4 mile visibility all around the boat. Since we locate whales mainly using visual cues such as the spout of the whale or the body of the animal at the surface, reduced visibility presents a challenge to us when finding whales any distance from the boat. But our captain, crew and her passengers were in high spirits and were up to the challenge.

We headed to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank and slowed down once we crossed over the corner. The southwest corner is the shallowest corner of the bank with water depths less than 70 feet. As we slowly criss-crossed over this area, we stopped occasionally to listen for whales and the sounds they make when they return to the surface to breath.

It may sound funny, listening for whales, but this is a tried and true technique that can be used to find whales in any type of reduced visibility. What we are listening for is the loud exhalation that whales make when they exhale the air they have kept in their bodies during a dive. That "swooshing" sound can be heard over 1/2 mile away under the right conditions and once heard, allows us to move into the area in the hopes of finally making a visual on the animal.

At the edge of the mist, we spotted a minke whale surfacing eerily in the fog, just off our starboard side. That combined with the presence of a number of seabirds gave us hope that we were in the right area for larger baleen whales like finback and humpback whales. It started to rain, on and off, which was good since rain can often eliminate fog. As long as it didn't pour, we were doing just fine.

During one of our listening stops, we finally found what we were looking for as a large finback whale surfaced off the bow. We moved slowly towards this whale and noticed that it was traveling in a circular manner. This type of swimming behavior is typically used by finbacks when they are feeding deep on some type of small schooling fish. This behavior was perfect for us and for the conditions offshore for it meant that the whale wasn't going very far each time it returned to the surface to breath.

At one point during the trip, we were holding our position for the finback whale and unexpectedly, a minke whale surfaced just off our starboard side also traveling in a circular manner. Our captain just held our position as we watched the smallest of the baleen whales surface right next to the boat. We were all thrilled to get such wonderful looks at this minke whale and could clearly see the white flipper patches on the top of each pectoral fin.

There must have been a lot of bait in this area for we ended up seeing at least 3 to 4 minke whales and one finback whale. Also in this area was a large amount of marine debris including a birthday balloon floating at the surface. Our captain and crew took a few minutes out of our whale watch to pick up this plastic. Balloons, plastic bags and other man-made items represents great hazards to whales and other marine wildlife. We thank our captain and crew for taking the time to help fix this problem making it safer for marine wildlife offshore!

As we headed home, visibility continued to improve to over 1 mile so we kept our eyes out for additional sightings. The sharp eyes of our captain found the last sighting for us today, a blue shark.

We don't see many blue sharks spending time at the surface, but this animal was moving slowly exposing its large dorsal fin and tail fin out of the water. We estimated that this shark must have been over 15 feet in length and marveled at its beauty and gracefulness as it continued to swim at the surface. And then suddenly and without warning, the shark seemed to sense our presence and quickly turned and sped away with such force that it surprised us all.

Overall, a fabulous day offshore in the fog with finback whales, minkes whales, greater shearwaters, Northern gannets and blue sharks.

Thursday, September 22, 2011 (12 pm trip, Tammy)

2011-09-24T20:37:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Tammy

Today we were lucky to spend our afternoon with two finback whales. The first whale we spotted turned out to be a whale named Loon, a large female finback. Loon was named for a natural marking on her left flank that looks like the head and neck of a type of bird, a loon. As we watched Loon, we noticed that she was surfacing in a circular pattern around our boat, indicating that she was likely feeding deep. We had beautiful, close looks at Loon when she was at the surface, especially when she came right by our bow.

After leaving Loon, we traveled further north and we picked up another finback whale. This whale was absolutely massive; it was quite humbling to be in the presence of the second largest whale in the world! We also had looks at several minke whales that were meandering through the area. Minke whales are the second smallest baleen whale in the world and it was more difficult to spot the minkes as they were quick and elusive and it was raining.

We had excellent looks at this second finback including looks at the right side of the jaw. Finback whales are asymmetrical in color; the right side of the jaw is white and the left side of the jaw is dark gray. Each finback whale also has an individually distinct pattern on the right side of the back called the blaze and the chevron. The asymmetrical coloration of the jaw may help the whale catch its prey. When we were watching Loon earlier, we only had looks at her left side, so it was nice to see the right side of this finback whale. Despite the rain we had a great day of whale watching!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 (12 pm trip, Leah)

2011-09-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Leah

Today we started our absolutely beautiful day off with Gladiator, a humpback whale who was welcoming us into Stellwagen Bank by flipper slapping. Then Gladiator would dive for varying lengths of time then come back to the surface and continue flipper slapping. I'm not really sure if Gladiator was feeding while we were watching but was definitely having fun giving us a run around the area.

After that our attention was stolen away by a breacher that was about 2 miles away and when we moved on to check out that humpback we found Lightshow, who was also going on long deep dives but was also feeding. Lightshow was mostly subsurface feeding, the only way we knew that was because of the mouth first surfacing that was occurring.There was even a small remnant of some bubbles rising to the surface and some fish trying to get out of the way of those bubbles but Lightshow kept feeding underwater. We didn't get to see any of the breaches up close but the distant sights were quite impressive.

Unfortunately, we also saw a very large amount of debris floating at the water's surface. Marine debris, especially our plastics, are one of the biggest hazards whales and other marine wildlife have to deal with. Recycling and reducing the amount of material we use in our day-to-day life is one small way we can all help reduce the amount of marine debris offshore.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 (12 noon trip - Sue)

2011-09-21T19:16:00.002-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Sue

Monday, September 19, 2011 (12 noon trip, Krill)

2011-09-21T19:16:00.001-07:00

Trip canceled due to inclement weather.

Sunday, September 18, 2011 (12 noon trip - Krill)

2011-09-21T19:15:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Krill

The word from the other whale watching boats offshore was that the whales were down the backside of the Cape. That meant for a long ride in relatively rough seas as the wind continued to pick up out of the southeast. We passed close to shore just off Race Point and in this area we noticed many large draggers and trawlers working the waters in both Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay.

But our passengers were excited to be offshore and to have the opportunity to see some very endangered whales. As we moved off the shores of Truro, we saw tall blows just off the port side of our boat. As we slowly approached, we realized that we had two animals traveling side-by-side. This pair turned out to be finback whales, the second largest of all the baleen whales and the largest whale we tend to see feeding in our productive waters offshore.

This pair appeared to be moving out of the area, but our captain, Capt. Russ, did an excellent job of getting us some great looks as they surfaced just off our port side. It was impressive to see these large, massive animals who must have been at least 65 feet in length. And to have them surface so close to the boat as we moved slowly into the wind and the waves was just breathtaking.

Finbacks are the only whale that has an asymmetry to their overall body pigmentation. The right side of the body is lighter in color than the left side and this asymmetry can be used to identify individuals. All finback whales have a unique pigmentation pattern that starts at the lower right jaw and extends over the right side of the head towards the dorsal fin. This "blaze and chevron" pattern is different for each animal and can therefore be used to identify individuals when offshore.

The dorsal fin of the finback is also quite unique and can be used to help with photo-identification. One of the finbacks had a very triangular dorsal fin with a cut out of the trailing edge. And there are spots and blotches on the flank of the animal that can also be used to identify an individual.

Photo-identification of finbacks is not as easy as that conducted on other species, especially humpback whales. Therefore, few organizations have kept up their finback catalogs which is really a shame. We don't know much about finback whales in our waters and information gleamed from photo-identification would be quite helpful. But photo-identification on any whale species is time consuming and man intensive. Easier for biologists and researchers to direct their time and resources to photo-ID of the finback's smaller cousin, the humpback whale. This species has more distinctive markings that can be used for this type of benign research.

On the last surfacing, this finback pair increased their traveling speed and headed more to the east. We had a feeling that that would be the last good look we would get from this pair, and we were right. They left us some very large fluke prints indicating where they had gone down. But we never were able to pick them up again in that area.

As we moved to the southeast towards a blow a mile off our bow, we spotted a fin moving slowly at the water's surface. We immediately turned to get a better look at this dorsal fin for we knew we had a basking shark just off the starboard side of the boat. Basking sharks are the second largest of the sharks worldwide. And this gentle giant filters copepods out of the water. What a thrill to see this animal so close to our boat.

As we waited for the basking shark to resurface, we saw a large flock of double crested cormorants flying overhead. Not unusual to see these birds in Plymouth Harbor for most of our season, but it was a bit different to see such a large flock offshore.

Saturday, September 17, 2011 (12 noon trip, Tammy)

2011-09-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

12 noon whale watch - Tammy

Today was a fantastic day of whale watching! We travelled across Stellwagen Bank searching for whales when we saw a huge splash off the port side of our boat. We kept watching and saw a second splash-this was a breaching humpback whale! As we made our way toward the whale, we hoped this active behavior would continue; however, the whale was staying down on longer dives and we did not see another breach.

Whales are wild animals in their natural environments and there is no way to predict for certain when a whale will breach. We did get several great looks at the body of this animal and its beautiful fluke on both sides of the boat.

Several other blows appeared in front of us and we continued traveling east. We then saw a very distinct “v” shaped blow indicating we likely had found a North Atlantic right whale, the most endangered large whale in the world. Under federal regulations boats are not allowed to approach the North Atlantic right whale within 500 yards, and so we kept our distance from this whale. But we did get brief looks at the body and our photographer, Alissa, was able to get a photo of the whale’s fluke, confirming the sighting of a right whale. This was an once-in-a-lifetime sighting! We don’t see right whales very often in the summer and fall and with this population’s uncertain future, this sighting was very special.

We then spotted two very tall blows which are usually produced by finback whales, the second largest whale in the world. As we moved into the area we saw a finback charge very quickly across our bow, indicating that these whales were likely sub-surface feeding. This pair of finbacks turned out to be a mother and calf pair!

T
his was the first time I’ve seen a finback mom and calf, so I was so excited to see this pair. Both mom and calf gave us close approaches. Mom traveled right under our bow and everyone on board marveled at her size; this whale was huge! Mom was spending more time below the surface, likely feeding, while we got to spend more time with the calf.

Calves usually cannot stay down as long as mom. This calf was quite curious and gave us fantastic looks on both sides of the boat. This was an amazing sighting.

On our way home, some passengers on board got quick looks at a minke whale, the second smallest baleen whale in the world. This surprise sighting gave us a four species day: a humpback whale, the showiest baleen whale; a North Atlantic Right whale, the most endangered large whale; a finback mother and calf, the second largest whale and a minke whale, the second smallest baleen whale! What a wonderful day!

Thursday, September 15, 2011 (12 pm trip, Tammy)

2011-09-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

PCCS Disentanglement Team

12 pm whale watch - Tammy

Today was a warm, sunny day with light winds. We were only 7 miles from Plymouth when we spotted our first blow from a single humpback whale. The whale took several breaths at the surface and then arched its back as it prepared for a longer dive. As the whale raised its flukes out of the water, we noticed an orange line trailing from the right fluke; this whale was entangled in gear.

Line cutting into the right leading edge of the fluke.

It appeared that the line was just draped over the right fluke and did not seem to be wrapped around other parts of the body. We immediately called the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) Disentanglement Team to report the location and details of this entanglement. The Disentanglement Team responded that they would arrive in about 30 minutes to assess the situation.

Ventral view of entanglement.

The individual(s) that report entangled whales are absolutely crucial in the disentanglement effort; it is vital that the boat stay with the entangled whale until the Disentanglement Team arrives. If the boat were to leave the entangled whale before the team arrives, it is unlikely that the whale will be relocated that same day. Our captain, Captain Jonny, did a fantastic job of staying with this whale and communicating with the Disentanglement Team. Once the Team arrived, we continued to stand-by and aid the team in quickly relocating the whale when it surfaced.

PCCS Disentanglement Team in action.

The whale, who was actually feeding earlier, was now spending more time submerged. When the whale did surface, it did so in an unpredictable manner and it only took 2 or 3 breaths, making it quite difficult for the Team to get to the whale before it dove again. After more than an hour, the Team had not disentangled the whale but they were continuing the effort and seemed to be getting closer to the animal. We were in communication with the Disentanglement Team and after confirming that they no longer needed our assistance, we left the area to spend time with another whale in the area.

Right dorsal fin of Geometry.

Ventral tail pattern of Geometry

Our second sighting was another single humpback named Geometry. We assumed that Geometry was sub-surface feeding and minutes later, our assumption was confirmed when we saw bubbles rising to the water’s surface. Geometry was using bubble nets to capture his prey and we had fabulous looks at Geometry as he surfaced inside the bubble net. Our last look at Geometry was amazing, as he surfaced right next to the boat and gave us a beautiful look at his tail as he dove beneath the waves.

UPDATE: The PCCS team worked on the entangled whale until approximately 3:30 pm on Thursday until the winds picked up and a squall moved in, making it impossible to continue the rescue effort. Photos taken of the entangled whale revealed that the line was not just draped across the fluke, but it was actually cutting into the trailing edge of the fluke and is wedged. Although the entanglement may be more complicated then it seemed initially, the entanglement is not life-threatening at this time. The PCCS team was able to identify the entangled whale as Checkmark.

We’d like to thank PCCS for their amazing efforts. A HUGE thank you to Captain Jonny and the crew of the Tails of the Sea for doing an excellent job in reporting and standing-by this whale. And THANK YOU to the passengers of the Tails of the Sea! We appreciate your patience, cooperation and enthusiasm as we stayed with this entangled whale. You all were an essential part of this disentanglement effort! Although this whale has not been rescued yet, we were the first to report this whale and our involvement today will hopefully aid in this whale’s future rescue. We (and PCCS) will be looking out for this whale whenever we are offshore. I will update the blog with any new information I receive about Checkmark.

PLEASE REPORT WHALE ENTANGLEMENTS TO 1-800-900-3622

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 (12 pm trip, Krill)

2011-09-16T05:52:00.001-07:00

12 pm whale watch trip - Krill

We had a beautiful day for whale watching offshore. Clear skies and winds out of the southwest. As we headed past Gurnet Point and east towards Stellwagen Bank, we found an active pair of humpback whales just west of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

One animal in this pair was breaching clear out of the water. Humpback whales can breach (jump) head first or tail first, often adding a spin or rotation to their movements. This whale was doing a spinning head breach for it was jumping out of the water head first and then spinning in the air before crashing back into the ocean.

The second whale was jumping out of the water tail first in a behavior called tail breaching. Here the whale throws its body out of the water fluke first, but in a more lateral motion. This gave us a chance to see the ventral tail pattern on this animal and we realized that this whale was a humpback whale named Forceps. Forceps then started to lobtail repeatedly. This really gave us a beautiful look at that unique tail (fluke) pattern.

Within minutes of the start of these active behaviors, this pair split up and moved away from each other. We stayed with Forceps for this whale started feeding just beneath the surface. Forceps feeding strategy was fast and rapid. Without warning, the whale would surface showing us expanded ventral pleats under the chin.

This is an indication that the whale just finished a lunge a few feet beneath the surface and was now in the process of straining or pushing the water out. But what the whale was feeding on, eluded our vision. We assume that Forceps was feeding on some type of large Euphausiid like Krill, but we would not see anything in the surface water.

The captain was also curious as to what the whale was feeding on and decided to conduct a plankton tow. We often conduct plankton tows when offshore and our crew members Rich and Ron got right to it. As we moved slowly to stay close to Forceps, we could see the plankton net trailing behind the boat.

On the way home, our passengers were amazed to see all the small zooplankton that we had collected near Forceps. Much of the sample was composed of copepods, the most common type of zooplankton in our area. But I doubt that Forceps was feeding on copepods. I assume that the copepods were the prey for the organisms that Forceps was feeding on. Humpback baleen is more suited for filtering small school fish and larger zooplankton species out of the water. Not something as small as a copepod.

There are large baleen whales that do indeed feed on copepods and the North Atlantic right whale is the whale that first comes to mind. And so once again, we can only surmise what is happening just a few feet beneath the water's surface, nothing more.

We were joined by the Captain Rudy Thomas out of Provincetown, a boat that collaborates with Capt. John. We waved hello to her captain and crew including their naturalist who was onboard for the trip, Leah. We had the Captain Rudy Thomas stay with Forceps while we moved off to find the second humpback that was originally with Forceps. We had never gotten a really good look at this animal's ventral tail pattern, so we were hoping to confirm an ID.

As we slowly approached this animal, we saw bubbles rising off our bow. This whale was using bubble clouds to help it concentrate the prey. As the whale rose through the bubbles, we saw water being pushed out of the animal's mouth. As with Forceps, this whale was lunge feeding just beneath the surface and beginning to strain as it came up for a breath.

This animal arched its back and lifted its fluke high out of the water. A very black tail indeed, with a distinctive band of white markings on the lower left fluke. These distinctive marks helped us to identify this whale as Geometry, a humpback whale that we have been watching offshore for the past week or two.

It was interesting to see how Geometry was using a different technique to feed on the same prey that Forceps was feeding on. A good reminder that humpback whales are unique individuals who have individualistic ways of accomplishing the same thing. We watched Geometry continue to feed using bubble clouds, but kept our eye on Forceps who was just a quarter mile away. Would these two whales join up again?

Well, in less than 20 minutes, we witnessed both whales coming together once more to feed. Geometry continued to create bubble nets, but this time, two whales surfaced in the center as they completed a lunge. Whatever tiff or rift they might have experienced at the beginning of our trip that made them separate appeared to have been mended. They were now feeding together, coordinating their movements like a pair of ballet dancers. If only we really knew what was going on. But it is fun to try and guess!

Another fabulous day offshore with two very endangered humpback whales, Forceps and Geometry. Seabirds included Northern gannets, Wilson's storm petrels, manx shearwaters and greater shearwaters.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 (12 noon trip, Sue)

2011-09-16T05:51:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch trip - Sue

Monday, September 12, 2011 (12 noon whale watch trip, Krill)

2011-09-16T05:49:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watching trip - Krill

We had light southwest winds and relatively calm seas as we headed out of Plymouth Harbor to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. Even before we arrived on the corner, one of our passengers spotted a humpback whale feeding just beneath the water's surface.

As we watched this animal lunge a few feet beneath the surface, we could see how distended the throat area was. Humpback whales are rorquals for they have a series of ventral pleat that expand when the whale feeds.

Expanding pleats allows for more water and bait to enter the mouth which acts like a big trap or bucket. The whale then closes the mouth, but keeps the jaw agape just a bit. Then the water slowly moves through the water and strains, or pushes the water back out.

Whales do not drink salt water, for it would be too taxing on the kidneys. Them marine mammals get all of their fresh water requirements from the fish or zooplankton that they eat.

Finally the humpback lifted its tail out of the water as it went on a deeper dive. That gave us a chance to see the beautiful black & white white ventral tail pattern that is distinctive to each individual humpback whales. Using this pattern we realized that we were watching a humpback whale named Forceps.

Forceps was named for the black mark on the lower right ventral fluke that looks like a pair of forceps. By naming a humpback based on a natural body marking or pigmentation pattern, it is easier to re-identify it and to remember its name.

We have over 2500 humpbacks that have been named in our waters of the western North Atlantic. Captain John Boats is part of this ongoing research program so by joining us offshore, you are supporting whale research and conservation.

We watched Forceps for a while and then decided to move on. Over the VHF radio, our captain heard reports of a finback whale and a minke whale off Race Point. As we headed that way, we saw quite a few herring gulls flying just off our port side. Many people don't like herring gulls since they often feed on human food thrown away in our dumps and in public areas. But they are beautiful birds that really should be appreciated for their many amazing traits.

As we headed south towards the tip of Cape Cod, we saw a red balloon floating down from the sky. It landed in the water just off our port side. Our captain and crew decided to pick it up since balloons and other forms of plastic are one of the biggest hazards to many different types of marine wildlife. Our crew members Ron and Rick did a great job of getting this trash out of the water. And what was fun about this balloon was that it was shaped like a lobster. How fitting for us out on the water.

Even though we scanned the waters off Race Point, we were not able to pick up the finback whale. Finbacks are the second largest of all the baleen whales and one of the fastest whales offshore. However, we were able to get some great looks at a few minke whales that were probably feeding deep in the Race Rip.

Minke whales are a sharp contrast to their larger humpback cousin. These small whales are less than 25 feet and are often "no nonsense" regarding their behaviors offshore. Very infrequently do they come over to boats to give us a close approach, but today we were treated to an amazing look at two individuals who surfaced close to our vessel.

Our captain, Capt. Russ, did an excellent job of giving the animals space so they felt comfortable with our presence and with anticipating where and when the minke whale would come up. In the end, we had some of the nicest looks at minke whales that I have had all season.

After leaving Race Point, we had a little time remaining in our whale watch today so headed back north up the west side of Stellwagen Bank. Half way up the bank, we found another humpback whale, our second for the day. This whale was feeding in a similar fashion to Forceps, but was producing a bubble net to help it concentrate the prey. We assume that both whales were feeding on some type of large zooplankton, possible a type of Euphausiid. But they were feeding deep making it impossible for us to confirm the prey type.

When this humpback fluked out, we saw a very dark tail with some white markings on the left bottom fluke. This was Geometry and we were treated to numerous good looks at his very dark ventral tail pattern. Geometry was born to a mother named Star in 1997. So Geometry is 14 years old.

We assume Geometry is sexually mature since our females humpback whales reach sexual maturing around age 6 or 7. But Geometry still seemed smallish to us in size indicating that he was still young and possibly has some growing to do.

We headed home with high spirits as we sat back and enjoyed the sunny, calm day. The ride was beautiful and the people onboard were lovely. Folks had so many great questions and comments that I wasn't finished making my rounds until we were almost back in the inner harbor. A great day offshore with humpback whales, minke whales and interesting gulls and seabirds.

Humpback whales identified include: Forceps and Geometry. Seabirds identified include: Wilson's storm petrels, Northern gannets (juveniles) and greater shearwaters.

Sunday, September 11, 2011 (12 noon whale watch, Joanne)

2011-09-16T05:48:00.001-07:00

12 noon whale watch trip - Joanne