Saturday September 7

Jeffreys Ledge had no shortage of whales today. Both trips included Humpback whales, Minke whales, and even one of the second largest animals in the world this afternoon!

Our morning trip started off with a few Humpback whales moving around. We got the chance to spend time with Pepper just moseying around the area before spotting Patches out in the distance.

A nice way to start the day with a "rainbow-blow" from Pepper

Neither of these Humpback whales were moving in any particular direction quickly which allowed for some great whale gazing to start the day with today.

Pepper

Patches

Soon we were seeing more spouts in the distance. There were two other Humpback whales in the area! Turned out it was Chablis and Piña. This duo had been seen with each other during yesterday's trip; what fun to see both whales still on Jeffreys Ledge.

Piña in the foreground moving in synchrony with Chablis

Piña

For the most part these two whales spent most of their time napping at the surface but we were fortunate enough to see Chablis flipper slap at one point. Boy oh boy are those flippers large! 

Chablis rolling over while Piña continues to be close by

Chablis' flipper!

After leaving this pair and doing some more searching we ended up getting the chance to watch a Minke whale swim right along side us. This whale was just coasting nearby giving us some great looks as we ended up seeing 5 Minke whales in total this morning.

Minke on the move

This afternoon we were shocked to learn a Fin whale had been seen recently. This whale was on the move, and not just in any direction, directly to the West (straight in towards land)! We were lucky to grab a couple good looks at this enormous species before it ventured off in the direction we had been coming from.

Fin whale in the area (above and below)

Once again further offshore we ended up spending time with the same 4 Humpback whales we had seen during our morning travels. However, this time 3 of the 4 were all swimming in tandem! 

Piña and Pepper

Pepper, Chablis and Piña were side by side. Seeing two whales maneuver through the water together is impressive, seeing three is even more amazing. 

Humpback whale trio: Pepper, Chablis and Piña

Piña napping at the surface while Chablis brings its large flipper high above the water (and brings some other human onlookers into the area)

Chablis

With some nice time spent with this group we knew it was time for us to proceed on and let the whales continue with their movements in a different direction. We headed over to an area where we had originally seen a spout, prior to heading to the trio, and came across a lone Humpback whale; Patches!

Patches

This whale was still nearby but was instead content in moving around on its own. While in the area with Patches we ended up having a few different Minke whales surface nearby as well. We ultimately ended up seeing 7 Minke whales during the entire afternoon trip as these whales continued to dart around the area as we explored Jeffreys Ledge today. On our way home we were privy to one last look at a couple of Humpback whales as our travels crossed paths with their movements. The trio had split apart as we watched Piña and Chablis move off together.

Chablis' tail and Piña as we passed by this now duo on the way home

Whales together, separate, napping, flipper slapping, or just plain old breathing is still a spectacular way to witness some incredible wildlife. Thanks to all the whales for allowing us to watch you just go about your day today!