Tuesday June 17

Low and behold another day out on Jeffreys Ledge had us surprised once again today. This morning we saw a Minke whale, a sleeping Grey seal, and 3 Fin whales.

Grey seal taking a nap!

Not only did we get some great looks at everything we saw but our 3 Fin whales were new visitors to the area for the season.

New whale for the season: Fin whale #0808

All three of these whales were in the same area moving around in all different directions. As is the case for Fin whales in general, each of these whales were distinctly different from one another in their own ways.

Another first Fin whale sighting for the season, Fin whale #0902

Unfortunately most of our morning whales had predominant scarring visible. While this is a great way to tell one whale apart from another these scars are a direct result of human-related activities.

The right and left sides of this Fin whale (above and below) are definitely full of noticeable scars

Entanglements in fishing gear and ships strikes from vessels of all sizes are threats all whales have to deal with each and every day. Luckily all of these whales survived through their incidents but it is definitely a problem for whales everywhere.

This afternoon we ventured back offshore and ended up seeing completely different whales than the ones we had seen in the morning. Instead we were looking at a few familiar fins. Both of our Fin whales this afternoon have been seen over the past few days out on the Ledge.

#9618 still spending time in our area

The scarring seen on this whale helps us to know it is one of the same whales we have seen on some of our recent trips

It is always good to find some of the exact same animals spending multiple days on the Ledge. They must be finding enough food to keep them around. Great for us and great for the whales!