We headed out in flat conditions Friday morning and found our 1st of 4 humpback whales. This 1st whale was foraging and making 6-7 minute dives. We got some good looks and practice for what to look for to find whales. Moving on, we came upon another humpback. This whale was an identified whale named Clamp, an adult female. Clamp gave us a couple of unhurried looks and even made a slow-motion wobble of her fluke as she dove once.
While Clamp was below the surface, the flat conditions allowed us to find a basking shark. The basking shark was a treat, and we could easily see its wide-based dorsal fin and the immense length of the world's second-largest filter-feeding shark. Leaving Clamp, we searched and found a pair of juvenile humpbacks and a minke whale. One of the humpbacks had a distinctively scarred dorsal fin and tail stock. These whales were making foraging dives and surfacing together.
Leaving this pair, we continued on in flattening conditions and had a quick look at the world's 2nd largest animal, a fin whale. Waiting for that whale to return to the surface, we had 2 additional looks basking sharks!
A great day on the water with lots of unhurried looks at a variety of marine life.
Friday afternoon, we headed out to look for a report of a pair of blows to the north. We saw a few pelagic birds-Wilson's Storm Petrels and a couple of Fulmars as we looked for these whales. We did not find the pair of blows but did have 4 minke whales and a finback whale. We got a nice look at one of the minkes and the fin whale. The similarity of the body shape of these two whales was apparent, as was the significant difference in size. Minke whales are the smallest baleen whales we see, while fin whales are the largest.
Both trips were successful today and showcased the variety of conditions and marine life in the Gulf of Maine.
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