Wednesday, August 8, 2018

When we left the harbor this morning we were surrounded by thick hazy fog. Just like whales we can't control the weather and luckily the visibility continued to improve as we searched for whale life today. This morning we saw 12 minke whales, 4 humpback whales, Bolshoi the fin whale and 10-15 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. There was never a shortage of minke whales to be seen throughout the entire day! We spent some time watching our humpback whales, two mother-calf pairs, mostly resting at the surface.

Spoon's large flipper in the air as she slowly rolled on her side with her calf close by

These whales were so mellow allowing for some incredible looks at Spoon with her 2018 calf and Jabiru with her 2018 calf.

Spoon

Bolshoi the fin whale was on the move through the area and after a bit of searching we were excited to find our small pod of toothed-whales!

Fin whale surfacing

Dolphins!

This afternoon the moving boat helped to keep us cool as we ventured offshore. We first spent time with a pod of 250 Atlantic white-sided dolphins.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins (above and below)

We also had 4 fin whales. Some of these massive whales were on the move while others circled around.

Afternoon fin whale

Fin whale dorsal fin

Throughout the trip we saw at least 15 minke whales. We also saw Spoon, Jabiru and their respective calves which at one point were all together! This association was brief and soon the pairs split from each other, each going off in their own directions. Spoon's calf got a big wiggly as we were fortunate to witness some breaching, lob-tailing and flipper slapping, mainly from Spoon's calf this afternoon.

Spoon's calf!

Too big of a lens on for this breach!

Lob-tailing behavior

Flippers

Spoon's calf (left) and Spoon (right)

Perhaps the ultimate shock of the day was when Spoon herself breached clear out of the water! She is one large female and I imagine that took A LOT of energy. Unfortunately, that memory will live on in our minds for I did not capture that incredible feat with the camera.