Fall whale watching continues to be awesome! Today, after
trying to look at some less-than-cooperative whales, we found a very obliging
ocean sunfish, and then came upon a pile of whales, both toothed and baleen!
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| Ocean sunfish |
A pod of around 75 Atlantic white sided
dolphins were hanging out with a trio of humpbacks!
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| Humpback trio |
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| Atlantic white sided dolphins |
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| Atlantic white sided dolphins |
It is so amazing to have so much
action all in one spot! We sometimes see dolphins near fin whales but it’s
pretty rare to have them with humpbacks! Our trio included 3 adult females (Owl, Jabiru
and Fan). Owl, as she is known to do, surfaced close to the boat several times,
bringing her 2 friends with her. At one
point we were downwind of the group and were privileged to be showered by
humpback whale breath!
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| Fan |
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| Jabiru |
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| Owl |
As the dolphins
swam around the boat (lots of calves in this group!!), we waited for the humpback
to return. Before we knew it, a 4th humpback joined the group! This
was a whale named “A+” for the distinct marking on the right side of its tail. I’m
not sure if A+ is male or female.
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| See the "A+" on the lower right side? |
Then a 5th humpback appeared on
the outskirts of the group. This whale hasn’t been identified yet. We decided to check out some of the other
blows we saw nearby before heading for home. These blows were at least 3
different fin whales, the 2nd largest species of whale!
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| Fin whale with Isles of Shoals and Portsmouth in the background |
Awesome day!
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