Our crew is passionate about whales and that really shows in
our trips. We don’t just show you whales, but we also pride ourselves in
telling you the history of the whales we are seeing. This week we identified a humpback whale
based simply on the way it lifted its flukes. Another humpback was ID’ed from a
mile away just based on the shape of its flukes and one simply on the shape of
its dorsal fin. Granite State Whale Watch crew are true experts with decades of
experience in the local waters.
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| Interns take a break for some muffins! |
Thursday, Aug 6, we found a pod of about 50 Atlantic white
sided dolphins.
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| Atlantic white sided dolphin |
Several minke whales were cruising through the area as well. One minke whale decided to check us out!
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| Minke whale coming by! |
Then we found 2 humpback whales, Valley and her calf, who
were new visitors to the area this year.
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| Valley and calf |
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| Valley's calf charging by |
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| Valley's calf |
Thursday afternoon, we passed by some minke whales before encountering
a pair of adult humpback whales, Spoon and Jabiru. These two were mostly sleeping while we idled
next to them.
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| Sleepy humpbacks |
A little further away, we found 2 more humpbacks: Valley and
her 2020 calf again!
We passed a seal and then a pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins.
Friday morning, we passed by a few minke whales and seals
before finding 2 humpback whales, Spoon and Jabiru sleeping again!
Not far away, humpbacks Valley and her calf were also
spotted along with a small group of Atlantic white sided dolphins!
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| Humpback whales and dolphins |
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| Mikaela collecting data |
Friday afternoon, we found an ocean sunfish within meters of
the harbor!! Passing by another ocean sunfish, a couple of minke whales and
seals, we finally encountered some humpback whales. Quote, first seen in the 1980’s was seen from
about a mile away. Her unique tail shape
and marking make for an easy ID.
Valley and her calf were also seen not far away. And before
we knew it, Quote joined up with Valley and her calf.
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| Valley and calf |
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| Valley's heart shaped blow |
Minke whales, harbor porpoises and seals were also seen on
our trek back to the harbor!
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