Monday morning's conditions left little to be desired as we were doing all of our searching with a flat, calm, glassy ocean surface, so any disturbance we see saw was very likely some sort of marine life! We were met with relative quiet until we got out onto the ledge. There, we began our trip with a humpback whale, Owl!
Owl diving
As we were watching Owl, another humpback waaaay out in the distance breached and began flipper slapping at the surface. By the time we made it over to that whale, who we identified as Ditto. It had very much mellowed out as we approached and even began napping right next to the boat. There was another blow on the horizon, so we headed over in that direction. We saw lots of tiny splashes at the surface, and occasionally were given glimpses as to what was causing it, lots and lots of baitfish!
Mackerel
As we approached the whale we had been searching for, something seemed a little off. We had our suspicions as to why that was, but couldn't say for certain until that suspicion was confirmed...
Fin whale mother
Fin whale calf
A mother/calf pair of fin whales! Definitely a rare sighting for us on the Granite State. We are very lucky it we get to see one, maybe two, fin whale mother and calf pairs throughout an entire season. These whales were initially alternating their dives and surfacing's, but we eventually got looks at both of them travelling side by side. We eventually waved goodbye to these whales and made our way over to one last whale before we made our turn for home. Another humpback whale.
Humpback whale lunging
This turned out to be a whale known as Yurt. It was lunging at all of the bait that we had been seeing just beneath the surface! Finally, it was time for us to continue on towards home.
Monday afternoon began with us venturing back out to where we had found success on the morning trip. We mean it when we say every trip is very different, because almost all new whales had moved into this area after only a few hours. Our sightings started with looks at a humpback whale, Quote.
Quote diving
Quote, along with the other two humpbacks that we were able to get looks at, Owl and Spika, were all blowing bubble clouds and feeding on baitfish just beneath the surface. Occasionally, these whales would lunge vertically at the surface, giving us excellent looks at these feeding displays. At one point, Owl turned in towards us, so we shut our engines off and let her pass on by.
Owl diving towards boat
Eventually, Owl and Spika paired up to work together and feed, while Quote began moving a bit further out of the area. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Rye Harbor!
Tuesday morning began with everyone ready to escape the heat on land! Much needed reprieve was found as it was quite a bit chillier offshore. We were headed to where we had found luck with whales the day before, but quickly made a turn elsewhere as we had received reports of whales a bit further south. Once there, we first got looks at a humpback whale that I'm just expecting to make an appearance on all of our whales watches at this point, Owl!
Owl at the surface
Owl was doing quite a bit of travelling, but as we followed her we could see other blows off in the distance, so we left Owl to continue on with her day. Our next stop was with a very surface active humpback, a whale named Cupid! This whale was initially feeding near the surface, but eventually switched up that behavior in favor of another, tail lobbing!
Cupid feeding
Cupid smacking its tail repeatedly at surface
All good things must come to an end though, and Cupid eventually resumed more normal behaviors. Our trip wasn't over yet though. Before all was said and done, we got to spend time with a trio of humpbacks, Chromosome, Tripod, and Whirlwind. These whales were doing some travelling, but every now and again stopping to feed near the surface.
Humpbacks feeding in the distance
Now we were really out of time, so back to land we went!
I thought the morning heat was bad. Tuesday afternoon proved me wrong as we were all dying to get out of the harbor and make our way offshore. Thankfully again, offshore conditions were much more comfortable. We decided to switch up where we did our whale watching in the afternoon and moved back up north a ways from where we had been that morning. As we approached the ledge we saw a single distant spout. Closer inspection revealed it to be Quote the humpback! As we watched Quote, my heart practically stopped when two loud exhales rang out right next to the boat. From seemingly nowhere at all, we were joined by humpback whales, Valley and Fan.
Valley and Fan next to boat
These whales eventually went down on deeper dives. Off in the distance, there was a fourth humpback we had been seeing, and I was pretty certain who it was. Considering recent trips, it only made sense that we also run into our regular humpback, Owl, once again.
Owl diving
We spent quite a bit more time with Owl, as well as our pair of humpbacks, Valley and Fan, before it was time for us to continue on towards home. Not long after making our way out of the area, we got eyes on a large fin at the surface and stopped for looks at a basking shark!
Basking shark dorsal fin
These sharks never seem to be bothered by our presence so we got some truly excellent looks at this animal before eventually continuing on towards home. Our sightings ended with a second basking shark that actually breached right next to the boat. An amazing way to end our day!
No comments:
Post a Comment