The whales are remaining close to shore this weekend! This morning we found several pods of harbor porpoises darting about on our way out. Soon we came upon a minke whale with distinctive dorsal fin. This whale has been seen earlier this summer!
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| Minke |
As we were watching the minke, we got a call from a fishing boat nearby. They had an ocean sunfish right next to them! Ocean sunfish aren't great for catching but they are fun for watching! We pulled up right next to it and with the calm seas, got some great views of this interesting looking fish!
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| Ocean Sunfish |
As we searched for more marine life, we soon spotted a fin whale. But before we knew it, we had 3 fin whales in the same area! One of these was one that we had seen in 2012. Another has been a new regular this season. And the third was Fjord, one of our favorites! These whales were pretty busy, cruising this way and that, and one even lunged at the surface (chasing down fish) a couple times making an impressive splash!
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| This fin whale's unique marking |
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| Fin whale "Fjord" |
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| Fin whale charging at the surface |
A fourth fin whale (Dingle!) was seen a little further away, as was another minke whale! The activity seemed endless!
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| Fin whale "Dingle" |
In the afternoon, we decided to take the inshore route to where the whales had been earlier. We did spot a fin whale pretty close to land, but this whale was elusive to say the least. We'd see one blow, and then it was gone. Just when we decided to not wait for it anymore, it would pop back up, but just long enough to tease us. Silly whales. We headed up towards the Isles of Shoals where we found a couple more fin whales near each other. These were being much more cooperative for our purposes and the beautiful backdrop of the islands made for a very scenic sighting!
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| Fin whale with Isles of Shoals |
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| Fin whale near White Island |
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| Fin whale's tall spout |
A minke appeared during our travels as well as did some more harbor porpoises! And finally this afternoon the sun came out making for a very comfortable ride back in to Rye.
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