What a day. Each trip out to search for whales is a special experience in its own right but, sometimes even we are taken aback from the day. This morning our first sighting of the day was two extremely rare whales. A pair of highly endangered North Atlantic Right whales were inshore of Jeffreys Ledge. Many thanks our passengers for being patient during our sighting of such a special species. Soon we were off towards the Ledge to see what else the ocean had in store for us. Who knew we would then find such a familiar whale! A Humpback whale was out on the horizon and as we approached we were thrilled to see what tail came high into the sky.
 |
| Humpback whale tail |
It was Pinball! Another day and another
Blue Ocean Society adopt-a-whale found! Wow.
 |
| So great to see you Pinball! |
This afternoon we started watching marine life only a few miles from Rye Harbor. We got a few quick looks at an Ocean Sunfish before we headed offshore to search for more life.
 |
| Ocean Sunfish swimming just below the ocean waves |
In total we had 4 Minke whales, got looks at 2, including some of the best looks you probably could get from one of our sightings. One of our Minke whales continually surfaced so close to the boat.
 |
| Minke whale surfacing next to us (above and below!) |
We were literally sitting there in the middle of the ocean, engines shut off, and this whale seemed to want nothing more than to stay right next to us.
 |
| Dorsal fin of our curious Minke whale |
At one point this whale rolled over as a eerie light-colored glow moved down the side of the boat all the way to the stern as many people got a chance to see this whale maneuvering around us. Absolutely incredible. We eventually left our curious Minke whale and ended our day with Pinball the Humpback whale.
 |
| Hello again Pinball |
 |
| Humpback whale spout |
Nature certainly has a way of being amazing no matter where you happen to find yourself on any given day.
I was lucky enough to be on the morning trip to see the Northern Right Whales. What an incredible gift!
ReplyDeleteI love that I can view pictures of the whale watches on your blog so I don't have to mess with a camera on the trip and can immerse myself fully in the experience. I was wondering if you are able to share the pictures of the Right Whales we saw, or if they can only be shared with the NE Aquarium? Thanks again for a great trip!
So glad you got the rare opportunity to be witness to such a special sighting Cassandra! All the photos I took of our right whales get passed along to the NE Aquarium so they can identify and continue to monitor their population. Since these whales are so protected we only share our images with the Aquarium so they get the first-hand sighting information and images of any/all sightings we may have over the course of a season. If you are ever interested in checking out the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog (it's a public site) it is fun to see what researchers capture to help monitor their population by many permitted folks along the east coast. http://rwcatalog.neaq.org/Terms.aspx
DeleteSo glad you had a wonderful day, see you again on another adventure!