Happy Labor Day weekend! How are we already into September? We had two trips on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning we first checked out a fin whale spending only a few minutes below the surface at a time. A fin whale, such a big mammal.
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Fin whale (above and below)
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Our next marine sighting was a leatherback sea turtle. What a season it has been for sighting the largest of the sea turtles.
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Hello leatherback!
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Congratulations to Nicole, one of our Blue Ocean Society interns, who finally saw her first sea turtle! The morning trip wrapped up with humpback whales Owl and Nile.
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Morning humpback whales
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On Saturday afternoon we started the trip with a leatherback sea turtle. One day and two sea turtles! How cool is that? What a way to start!
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Afternoon sea turtle sighting!
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We then saw four humpback whales. Nile was associated with Chromosome, Owl was still circling around and a yet-to-be identified whale was out in the distance.
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Chromosome and Nile
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Nile
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Owl
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Sunday morning was just what we enjoy. There was a crisp horizon and calm seas. Only minutes after leaving the harbor we had an ocean sunfish. This fish was unfazed by our presence, as they tend to be, so we got great looks before heading offshore.
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Incoming ocean sunfish
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Out towards the ledge humpback whales Owl, Nile and Chromosome were still around and now all together! At one point we even had a fin whale surface nearby.
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Diving whales
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Owl
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Fin whale swimming by
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On our afternoon trip these three humpback whales were sighted again but this time Nile and Chromosome were together and Owl was off on her own.
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Whale spout
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Owl
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How quickly these associations can fizzle. But alas, before leaving the area all three were back together again!
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All three humpback whales together again!
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Labor Day Monday was breezy and as the day wore on it just got more breezy. Before the ocean really got exciting we came across as spout, ultimately two! Pinball the humpback whale was back. What a fantastic surprise. We last saw this whale over a month ago. Wow. Such a fun find.
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Such a pleasant surprise of a pigmentation pattern. Hello again Pinball!
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We also briefly saw Osprey the humpback whale surface in the area. Our next trip is on Wednesday as we settle into our fall schedule. Stay tuned as we transition into our fall whale watching routine.
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Pinball just below the waves
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Humpback whale swimming by
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