Granite State Whale Watch: September 2018

Sunday, September 30, 2018

It was a beautiful day today which provided the perfect backdrop for our fin-tastic sightings. During our travels we saw two minke whales, at least eight humpback whales, three harbor seals and a pod of 6-8 common dolphins! Not a bad way to wrap up the month of September that's for sure.

Minke whale

Diving whales (above and below)

Harbor seal

Northern fulmar flew by the boat at one point!

Many of our humpback whales were associated with others; forming and dissolving these bonds as we watched them swim around.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. There are two whales simultaneously diving!

Trio of humpback whales

A few of the familiar whales in the area included Valley, Nile, Fan and Sword. Sword had a few surprises for us while watching it for all of a sudden it breached clear out of the water and that was only the beginning. Another whale started to breach out in the distance while Sword continued close by.

Sword breaching close by while out in the distance...

...another whale started to breach!

When not breaching Sword continuously flipper-slapped for the remaining time we watched it.

Could the ocean be any more beautiful while Sword flipper-slaps???

More flipper-slapping

Impressive breach!

As if all that activity wasn't enough we ended the day with a small pod of, uncommonly seen, common dolphins! What a special treat!

Subsurface common dolphin

Saturday, September 29, 2018

The weather has been less than ideal this week so we were itching to get back on the open ocean. Today, Two Roads Brewery Company hosted a trip to benefit the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation and it was a successful trip for sure. We found two minke whales and nine humpback whales offshore. More whales were around we just didn't have a chance to get to them all. Occasionally, some whales were active whether creating white water randomly at the surface, breaching in some fashion or just rolling over now and then.

Distant view of Hornbill tail breaching

Spoon's calf (right) lunging through the water as another whale surfaces close by

We had pairs moving around, a group of four, and for a short time, five humpback whales associated with each other.

Two whales associated with each other

Group of four humpback whales

Some of the known whales we watched today included Daffodil, Decimal, Slingshot, Spoon, Spoon's 2018 calf, Tic Tac, Hornbill and Clamp. A great day for a great cause!

Spoon

Hornbill

Clamp showcasing her flexible tail

Sunday, September 23, 2018

The skies were clear and the seas calm for our first fall whale watch! Today we saw three humpback whales, two minke whales and a couple of seals.

Minke whale

Harbor seal

Our first humpback whale of the day was on the move. This whale was traveling along and unfortunately never raised its tail; a whale on a mission.

First humpback whale of the trip

We then watched a few minke whales circle around us while a couple of seals popped up here and there. The day wrapped up with pair of humpback whales, Chromosome and Tornado, slowly maneuvering around together.

Pair of humpback whales

Tornado

With fall officially here cooler temperatures are not far behind so layers will be key out on the open ocean. We are not whale watching tomorrow (9/24) due to strong winds so until next time!

Diving whale

Saturday, September 22, 2018

It has been a very windy week so we were ready to go whale watching. We did a bit of searching today as whales were void in areas they have recently been. Don't be shocked by this. Whales are wild animals and move where and when they want to. We must react to their unknown movements and ultimately ended up seeing some new and still familiar whales during our travels. We saw 12 humpback whales, two ocean sunfish and a pod of 50 Atlantic white-sided dolphins.

Pair of humpback whales

Whale tail

Ocean sunfish subsurface

Dolphin on the move

We were able to identify some of the whales seen including Chromosome, Owl, Tornado, Valley, Ravine, Tear and Fan. Using the unique black and white pigmentation patterns on the underside of humpback whale tails allows us to determine each individual in the area. Look below to see how different these pigments can be!

Owl's tail pattern

Valley's unique pigmentation

Fan's almost all white tail

We returned to a beautiful moon rise in the harbor on this Autumnal Equinox

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Today the ocean was calm and the skies were clear; perfect conditions for spotting wildlife! During our trip we saw multiple seals, four minke whales, seven humpback whales and an ocean sunfish.

Napping harbor seal

Whale tail

Ocean sunfish

Some whales were busy circling around the area, others napping or even flipper-slapping sporadically.

Humpback whale flipper-slapping in flat calm seas

Trio of humpback whales at the surface

Of the whales we spent time with today we were able to identify Owl, Tear, Daffodil and Spell. So many creatures to look at in their natural habitat!

Owl

Humpback whale snout poking out above the surface

White flipper from one whale while another swims nearby

Saturday, September 15, 2018

The fog lingered around again today but conditions were much more manageable to search for and find whales! In total we saw nine humpback whales, three minke whales, at least 30 Atlantic white-sided dolphins and three harbor seals.

Dolphins zipping through the water

Pair of humpback whales

Harbor seal surfacing near the boat

Most of our whales were being mellow but one, Shuffleboard, showcased impressive aerial activities. This whale breached multiple times and when it was not breaching had plenty of energy to flipper-slap instead.