Four species of whales made for a great "Grand Slam" of whales today
aboard the Granite State. First stop: dolphins. This group of Atlantic
white-sided dolphins were all spread out allowing for everyone on
board, as well as boats in the area, to have plenty of opportunities to
check out these fun whales to watch. Once again no matter where you
happened to be around the boat these whales were everywhere.
|
Dolphins surfaced all around the boat |
As we ventured further offshore our Captain began spotting whales
from miles away. The incredible crisp/clear horizon was the perfect
backdrop to spot whale spouts from forever away. With all the spouts
being seen we knew we had to make our way over to check out the area.
The closer we got, the more blows appeared. We quickly realized we had 6
Fin whales close by! All these whales were constantly circling
around. Due to the fact that we were in an area where there were lots
of whales with no rhyme or reason to these animal's surfacings we knew
it was safer for the whales if we just stayed put and let the whales
move around as they so desired. We wanted to make sure we were not
cutting off the natural travel pattern of any of these wild animals so
instead of attempting to make our way to each whale before diving
further down in the ocean, we ended up just moseying around looking at
whatever decided to surface close by. What fun it was to look in so
many directions around the boat as all six whales continued coming up in
so many different locations around us.
|
Just a few of the many Fin whales seen today (above and below!)
|
As we continued to spend time with all these second-largest
living animals on the planet we knew there was still another species of
whale a few miles away. Reports of a Humpback whale had been made known
and after a few of the other boats in the area had gotten the chance to
spend time with and move on from that whale we knew we could make our
way to another species of whale to show our passengers. After
travelling a few miles we saw the tell-tale sign of a Humpback whale: a
tail rose high above the surface. As we made our way to this animal,
with a single look at it's dorsal fin, we knew in an instant who was in
the area. Crystal once again was making itself known.
|
Another day of Crystal still on Jeffreys Ledge! |
This whale spent the entire time we watched it circle in extremely
tight circles producing remnants of bubble clouds and also filtering out
lots of salt water. All these activities meant one thing: Crystal was
doing some feeding. So much food was being picked up on our fish finder
that one time Crystal himself swam far below the boat, close to a good
amount of food, we were passing over.
|
Our
fish finder screen in split in half (left vs. right) to pick up the
same water at different intensities. Note in the 165ft of ocean water
we were floating over the large "blob" of red/yellow color on the left
is all food in the water and a 40+ ft whale (small "blob" on the right
portion of the screen) is Crystal. Kind of puts into perspective just
how much food was in the water. |
With the addition of a scattering of Minke whales throughout
our day we knew another great day was had out on the ledge. As always
it was a pleasure seeing our passengers experience the excitement and
giddiness we too feel when we get the chance to spend time with such
incredibly amazing mammals known as whales and share in the pure awe of
their habitat. Familiar faces, newly seasoned whale-spotters, and
visitors from all around the globe made for a wonderful experience
during our travels today!
|
Crystal's tail with the pink sky in the background |
No comments:
Post a Comment