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Sunday, October 7, 2018

Sunday, October 7, 2018


How time flies. Today was our final trip for the 2018 season. Our sightings included two minke whales, checking out two of the four humpback whales in the area, seeing 6-8 harbor seals, getting a brief look at a blue shark and spending time with a pod of 8-10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Such a variety of marine life to enjoy wrapping up another year.
Harbor seal swimming by
Hornbill the humpback whale
Two humpback whales passing by one another
Dolphin
It may be the last trip of the season but we have never seen this before... a wood duck swimming around offshore!?!?!?
Did you know we had a 100% success rate of whale sightings this season? We go on A LOT of trips and aim to strive for a perfect season. While we know there were a few trips we had to turn around early for, during all of our full trips we saw whales, a feat that can be tough to accomplish. So thank you whales for providing so many spectacular memories this season. We must equally thank all of our passengers for scanning the horizon, helping spot whales and experiencing these magnificent wild mammals. We are so thankful for those of you that return year after year, sharing your enthusiasm with other surrounding passengers. To the first-timers and the awe in your eyes witnessing these creatures closeup. To those that appreciate all that the world holds and the natural beauty surrounding us. To the young and "not so young" and all those in between thank you for joining us this year. We appreciate you choosing us and hope to see you all again in the future.
The clouds looked liked waves today!
Humpback whale diving

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Today was a wonderful start to the final weekend of the season. Our trip began with a pod of 40 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This group was just moseying around so we got some great looks at these toothed-whales before heading further offshore.
Our dolphins were in such a tight-knit group!
Atlantic white-sided dolphins
We then spent time with 4 of the 7 humpback whales in the area, saw a plethora of seals and even a minke whale surfaced occasionally.
Spoon in the foreground while Jabiru surfaces just beyond
Spoon flipper-slapping
Seal
Some whales were holding their breath longer than others but once at the surface, viewing these wild animals were spot on!
Hornbill
Spoon and her calf
Jabiru
Bird life was equally as plentiful with northern gannets, shearwaters, and even a couple of northern fulmars! Our fingers are crossed our final trip will hold just as many special moments tomorrow!

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Yesterday, after spending some time with sleepy Spoon and her calf, we began to investigate other blows in the area. As soon as we started to move away from the pair, the calf breached twice!! A little later on, Spoon and her calf moved into the area with 3 other humpback whales including Hornbill! The calf breached yet again while Spoon began flipper-slapping over and over! Hornbill was moving around a bit, changing directions constantly. Our fish finder showed LOTS of bait fish around us. Minke whales were in the area and even a sleeping harbor seal was seen. Harbor porpoises were spotted briefly on the way to and from the whales. Activity continues into the fall!!

Monday, October 1, 2018

Monday, October 1, 2018

The cool northeast breeze reminded us it is October, but our passengers were prepared in coats and hats and even the raindrops held off until the last few miles from home. The whales, of course, were unfazed by it all. Today we spent time with a trio of humpback whales consisting of Valley, Nile and Sword.
Valley
Nile and Valley
We even had a surprise surfacing of another pair of humpback whales as Grommet and Geometry were moseying through the area.
Geometry
Other humpback whales were scattered around the region and we even had a harbor seal swim by the boat at one point.
Harbor seal
We are down to our last week of whale watching for the season soaking in everything Jeffreys Ledge continues to share!
Diving whale

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Sunday, September 30, 2018

It was a beautiful day today which provided the perfect backdrop for our fin-tastic sightings. During our travels we saw two minke whales, at least eight humpback whales, three harbor seals and a pod of 6-8 common dolphins! Not a bad way to wrap up the month of September that's for sure.
Minke whale
Diving whales (above and below)

Harbor seal
Northern fulmar flew by the boat at one point!
Many of our humpback whales were associated with others; forming and dissolving these bonds as we watched them swim around.
Your eyes are not deceiving you. There are two whales simultaneously diving!
Trio of humpback whales
A few of the familiar whales in the area included Valley, Nile, Fan and Sword. Sword had a few surprises for us while watching it for all of a sudden it breached clear out of the water and that was only the beginning. Another whale started to breach out in the distance while Sword continued close by.
Sword breaching close by while out in the distance...
...another whale started to breach!
When not breaching Sword continuously flipper-slapped for the remaining time we watched it.
Could the ocean be any more beautiful while Sword flipper-slaps???
More flipper-slapping
Impressive breach!
As if all that activity wasn't enough we ended the day with a small pod of, uncommonly seen, common dolphins! What a special treat!
Subsurface common dolphin

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Saturday, September 29, 2018

The weather has been less than ideal this week so we were itching to get back on the open ocean. Today, Two Roads Brewery Company hosted a trip to benefit the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation and it was a successful trip for sure. We found two minke whales and nine humpback whales offshore. More whales were around we just didn't have a chance to get to them all. Occasionally, some whales were active whether creating white water randomly at the surface, breaching in some fashion or just rolling over now and then.
Distant view of Hornbill tail breaching
Spoon's calf (right) lunging through the water as another whale surfaces close by
We had pairs moving around, a group of four, and for a short time, five humpback whales associated with each other.
Two whales associated with each other
Group of four humpback whales
Some of the known whales we watched today included Daffodil, Decimal, Slingshot, Spoon, Spoon's 2018 calf, Tic Tac, Hornbill and Clamp.  A great day for a great cause!
Spoon
Hornbill
Clamp showcasing her flexible tail

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Sunday, September 23, 2018

The skies were clear and the seas calm for our first fall whale watch! Today we saw three humpback whales, two minke whales and a couple of seals.
Minke whale
Harbor seal
Our first humpback whale of the day was on the move. This whale was traveling along and unfortunately never raised its tail; a whale on a mission.
First humpback whale of the trip
We then watched a few minke whales circle around us while a couple of seals popped up here and there. The day wrapped up with pair of humpback whales, Chromosome and Tornado, slowly maneuvering around together.
Pair of humpback whales
Tornado
With fall officially here cooler temperatures are not far behind so layers will be key out on the open ocean. We are not whale watching tomorrow (9/24) due to strong winds so until next time!
Diving whale

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Saturday, September 22, 2018

It has been a very windy week so we were ready to go whale watching. We did a bit of searching today as whales were void in areas they have recently been. Don't be shocked by this. Whales are wild animals and move where and when they want to. We must react to their unknown movements and ultimately ended up seeing some new and still familiar whales during our travels. We saw 12 humpback whales, two ocean sunfish and a pod of 50 Atlantic white-sided dolphins.
Pair of humpback whales
Whale tail
Ocean sunfish subsurface
Dolphin on the move
We were able to identify some of the whales seen including Chromosome, Owl, Tornado, Valley, Ravine, Tear and Fan. Using the unique black and white pigmentation patterns on the underside of humpback whale tails allows us to determine each individual in the area. Look below to see how different these pigments can be!
Owl's tail pattern
Valley's unique pigmentation


Fan's almost all white tail
We returned to a beautiful moon rise in the harbor on this Autumnal Equinox