Friday AM: We traveled out to southern Jeffrey's with varying levels of fog. We began with a splash in the distance, which was likely a whale, but we could not relocate it after the fog rolled in. There were lots of Wilson's storm petrels zipping around. We got two fleeting looks at a small group of harbor porpoises…maybe six or so individuals. They disappeared as fast as they appeared. We traveled on and came upon a minke whale who gave us a couple of quick looks. We then had a blow in the distance that was actually two blows- a mother and calf humpback! The mother was a known whale named Valley. We were able to watch this pair and got some great looks. On the way back to Rye, the captain spotted a basking shark that was very cooperative and gave us some unhurried looks.
Friday PM: We headed back out to southern Jeffrey's for
the afternoon trip. Again the fog level varied throughout. In the harbor, we
saw a bald eagle. Other birds on the trip out included Wilson's storm petrels,
a sooty shearwater and a Manx shearwater.
It took some searching, but we were able to relocate Valley and her
calf. This pair gave us some amazing looks. The calf even came near the boat
for a close approach before heading back with mom. We appreciated the size and
behavior differences between the mother and calf. A few times, the calf seemed
to dive right in synchrony with its mother, while at other times, it stayed
shallower. After leaving this great pair, the captain found a minke whale just
a few miles from the harbor. This turned out to be an easily identified minke
because of its scarring and lack of a dorsal fin. The minke whale was
identified as Finke (short for Finless Minke). We got two quick looks at Finke
before it disappeared, and the fog rolled in even thicker. As we pulled into
the harbor, we saw two bald eagles!
Valley and calf in the fog 
Valley and calf 
Valley's calf 
Basking Shark
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