May 27, 2019

Our Spring Bird Trip was a success with exciting feathery friends scattered throughout the day. Oystercatchers, Northern fulmars, Wilson's storm petrels, a Blue jay (yes offshore!) and a Bay-breasted warbler were some of the highlights. We also saw a few whales too, including Pinball and her calf!

Pinball and her calf

Pinball in the fog

Thanks to NH Audubon and for the constant efforts by all on board today. Weather permitting (as always) we will be whale watching again next weekend. Have a great week!

May 25-26, 2019

Happy Memorial Day weekend! The weather was on our side (mostly) this holiday weekend and whales were to be found. There was a decent swell on Saturday and even bigger swells today but the wind was minimal offshore and searching for whale activity was very conducive. We saw plenty of harbor porpoise, a scattering of minke whales, fin whales, humpback whales and even pods of Atlantic white-sided dolphins throughout the weekend.

All weekend long remnants of bubble clouds were seen from humpback whales. Taken May 25, 2019

Atlantic white-sided dolphin. May 26, 2019

On Sunday, we even had a bonus sighting of a basking shark to check out!

Can you find the basking shark? May 26, 2019

Comet the fin whale was sighted and identified humpback whales included Sedge, Hornbill, Picket, Equation and Gondolier.

Comet the fin whale! May 26, 2019

Sedge the humpback whale. May 25, 2019

May 23, 2019

Our annual school trip with Indian River was today. We were treated by a great group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins which were initially associated with a humpback whale.

Dolphins

Eventually the two types of whales split. The dolphins continued on their zippy way while we spent time with Lacey the humpback whale circling around the area.

Humpback whale diving

As the holiday weekend approaches our next public trips are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at 11am. Layer up and see you then!

May 18-19, 2019

We were treated to many familiar sights during our trip on Saturday. We saw 2 minke whales, 5 humpback whales and two fin whales during our travels to Jeffreys Ledge.

Humpback whale

Fin whale spout

We checked out a trio of mostly-napping humpback whales (Valley, Bungee and Spoon) while Hornbill and Owl were independently moseying around nearby. Then ended the day with a great look at one of the fin whales passing by.

Two of the three humpback whales

Welcome back Owl!

Fin whale

On Sunday, we were planning on heading back to the same area where whales had been the day before. The ocean however, had its own plan. The wind and waves were working against us, the rain was not providing much joy, and ultimately we knew this is not what whale watching is all about. So we headed for home, and with the wind and waves at our back, had a much more pleasant ride in. We look forward to having our passengers join us on a less windy and less wavy day in the future.

Opening weekend, 2019!

Happy Mother's Day! We had a nice opening weekend filled with whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and seabirds! Saturday was the first day of whale watching for us after a very long winter! We were more than excited (as were many of our guests on board) to head out to Jeffreys Ledge to see what was out there. After a little searching, we found a humpback whale feeding using bubble clouds to concentrate her prey. Also in the area, but really hard to see, were dozens of northern gannets, dolphins, porpoises and even a very stealthy sei whale!

Today, Mother's Day, started out glassy-calm, allowing for us to spot several pods of harbor porpoises, a couple of harbor seals, some Atlantic white sided dolphins and a minke whale before the winds picked up a touch. Further off shore, we found a humpback whale who was enjoying staying under water for 12+ minutes at a time. Eventually, after a lot of patience, we were able to get close enough to identify this whale. It was good ol' NAHWC 0050!! Welcome back!