Glassy calm seas greeted us this morning as we left Rye
Harbor in search of whales. On our way out, we did something we rarely do- pass
by whales! Several small pods of elusive harbor porpoises and a few minke
whales were spotted close to shore. We rarely pass by whales but we had a
report of more whales a little further out that we wanted to make sure we had
time to see. Our gamble paid off this time!
Our first stop was not on a whale though. It was a big ocean sunfish! Sunfish have been rare this summer so we were
happy to find this one.
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| Ocean Sunfish |
As we watched the sunfish, we saw a blow in the distance. We came upon several humpback whales including Hornbill, Pinball and her calf, and Shuffleboard. Owl was out in the distance as well! A minke whale approached us briefly, and a fin whale was cruising around in the distance. Amazing morning!
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| Pinball |
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| Hornbill |
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| Minke whale |
Then we ventured on to find a huge pod of Atlantic white
sided dolphins! This was one of the most active pods I have ever seen! Dolphins
were charging around, chasing fish, leaping into the air, and swimming by the
boat. Gulls and gannets were abound trying to catch some of the same fish the
dolphins were feeding on. The pod was around 200 animals. Amazing!
This afternoon, most of the smaller whales (including the
dolphins and porpoises) were not to be found, but we did see 5 humpback whales
and a minke whale! Owl was nearby this
time, showing off her distinctive scar.
Pinball and her calf were quite sweet,
diving in synchronicity.
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