July 13-14, 2026

Monday was all about humpback whales. On both trips, we were treated to a few feeding bouts. Some surprising, some predictable. All incredible. In the morning, we spent time with five different humpback whales - Kraken, Quote, Grommet, Fan, and Scylla. 

Hungry hungry humpback!

Kraken the humpback whale, please meet the fishing vessel named Kraken (seriously, that's the name of this vessel)! 😲

It has been very interesting in the past few days to see which whales are being seen, which whales are associated (briefly) with whom, and yet still be surprised to see new visitors regularly.

Pair of humpback whales

In the afternoon, the sightings continued. We first started with Quote the humpback whale. 

Quote diving after a bubble cloud

We then came across a new visitor to the area this season. This whale is not yet named but has been matched to GOM (Gulf of Maine)-2434. So cool! 

Whale spout

While Tuesday had plenty of exciting looks at humpback whales, perhaps the most impressive sights were from the fin whales. On both trips, we spotted three fin whales and four humpback whales. 

Fin whale moving through the water

Want to know something even more fascinating? Most of the whales we saw were different between the morning and the afternoon! LOVE the fluidity of wildlife's movements, even in a few hours. On Tuesday morning, the trip started with a pair of fin whales. But wait. A third one surfaced, briefly formed a trio of fin whales, before separating again. Such valuable data was collected and witnessed. Awesome. We then spent time with humpback whales Pinball, Pitcher, Chromosome, and GOM-2434 (identified but not yet named). 

Chromosome

Feeding sessions continued, and catching a glimpse of these whales in action was nothing short of spectacular.

Whale + fish = oh my!

Look at that vertical lunging whale!

On Tuesday afternoon's trip, we were watching a pair of fin whales when, in reality, it was a trio of them! 

Fin whale chevron

However, this grouping included mostly different individuals from the ones we had sighted during the morning's trip. How do we know? Each fin whale has a unique dorsal fin and chevron pattern, which are used to individually identify them. 

Fin whale chevron

It gets better. We watched one of these fin whales bring its tail to the surface. This RARELY happens for fin whales. What a sight! 

Fin whale with its fluke at the surface; CRAZY AWESOME!

The rest of the trip was spent watching humpback whales, including Grommet, Quote, Spoon, and Pitcher. These whales were busy moving and eating. Exactly what they should be doing on their feeding grounds, and impressive when these behaviors occur near the surface!

Humpback whale diving

Lunge-feeding humpback whale