July 27, 2022

 

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

This morning, just as we were leaving the harbor, we saw several plastic bags in the water. Whenever we can, we take the time to remove debris (mostly balloons and bags) from the ocean so that it can’t harm wildlife. After the first 2 bags, we saw a third. To our surprise, this bag wasn’t empty but instead was full of extra-dead mackerel. As smelly as it was, we couldn’t leave the plastic in the ocean, hauled it onboard quickly, and secured it for later disposal. The things we do for whales… 

Moving on, we were surprised to find the humpback whale, Satula, relatively close to shore, just past the Isles of Shoals! Although it was great to see him so soon on the trip, the closeness to shore also means that he has the potential to encounter more fishing gear which is a known threat to whales. At one point, he dove, barely missing a buoy marking fishing gear. Satula managed to avoid the gear, thankfully.

Satula close to shore

Satula diving near fishing gear

Satula diving close to fishing buoy

Soon after, we found an active pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! This group was busy, likely feeding on a school of fish. They would all surface together and dive together, spending a minute or two underwater. A harbor seal was in the area, too!

Our trip home passed by some harbor porpoises and our route took us through the Isles of Shoals, where we saw several grey seals, and many seabirds, including eider ducks, cormorants and black guillemots. 

Common eiders

Black Guillamots

  

The afternoon trip also found the humpback whale, Satula! We spent some time with him before heading further out. 

We found two different fin whales, both of which were awesome finds. The first was FWC# 0324- a whale identified by Allied Whale off Bar Harbor, Maine! We often don’t see this individual, making for a special sighting!

The second fin whale was not the easiest to get looks at but eventually, we did and identified it as BOS# 0813- a uniquely double-notched whale that we first saw in the area 14 years ago!

An ocean sunfish cooperated nicely for our viewing pleasure, giving us all a great look at this interesting fish!

 

The variety of the day was magnificent!