Mother Nature has really been putting a wrench in our fall schedule this season. All last week conditions did not allow for whale watching so it wasn't until Sunday we FINALLY got back to what we aim to do; go searching for whales! At long last not only were conditions conducive, they were beautiful! Calm seas and a crystal-clear horizon; perfect. The first stop on marine life was near the Isles of Shoals when we checked out an ocean sunfish.
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| Ocean sunfish |
Further offshore we had a tight group of 50-60 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Ultimately, we saw three different pods of dolphins during our trip but the other pods were less than a dozen each.
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| So impressive to watch dolphins maneuver in-sync with each other! |
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| Atlantic white-sided dolphins |
We then patiently tried to watch a pair of fin whales. These whales were spending a good amount of time under the water but when you are in 500ft of ocean, that's a long way to get to the bottom of the ocean and back up again! In total, four fin whales were in the area.
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| Fin whale |
The day wrapped up with three humpback whales. Most of our time was spent with a pair who were spending only minutes underneath the surface and plenty of time near the boat. All three whales turned out to be new visitors to the area this season: Smudge, Squeegee and Paddleboard!
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| Pair of humpback whales (above and below) |
The weather on Monday was equally as spectacular. Such a stunning day to go look for wildlife. We started the day with three humpback whales. It was Smudge, Squeegee and Paddleboard again!
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| Squeegee the humpback whale |
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| Two humpback whales at the surface |
But not surprisingly, these whales were not in the same area they had been in the day before. Fish move, whales move, the ocean moves, most things move :) After some great looks at these mammals we came across a pod of 50 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Always a crowd-pleasing sighting.
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| Atlantic white-sided dolphins (above and below) |
The day ended with a large ocean sunfish. A nice couple of days after such miserable ocean conditions last week!
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| Ocean sunfish |
We had a wonderful time on the watch today! Thank you all for sharing what you know about whales and other marine life and for helping us find them! I think everyone enjoyed a spectacular day out of Rye Beach today.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have a nice trip!
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