While August may be winding down, marine life sightings in the Jeffreys Ledge area continue to be plentiful. The start of another week was totally turtle-ly awesome. 😁 On Monday morning, we spent time with four humpback whales darting around us.
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| Humpback whale spout |
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| Diving humpback whale |
The whales constantly changed directions, occasionally making bubble clouds and giving our heads plenty of turns as they surfaced and even breached a couple of times. Identified whales included Zodiac, Satula, and Dross. We also saw an ocean sunfish and a leatherback sea turtle. So cool!
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| Ocean sunfish |
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| Lunch time!!! This leatherback sea turtle is chowing down on its favorite food - lion's mane jellyfish! |
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| We have been super fortunate to come across numerous leatherback sea turtles this season 💚 |
On Monday afternoon, we came across a group of four humpback whales. That wasn't it. They were associated with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! So much to be in awe of as they all gracefully moved through the water together.
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| Such beauty in wildlife! |
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| Humpback whales with dolphins nearby |
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| Can you spot the dolphin fluke?? 😍 |
We also found another humpback whale before wrapping up the day. Individuals included Orion, Fan, Owl, Spoon, and Victim.
Marvelous moments out in the Gulf of Maine continued on Tuesday. In the morning, we started the trip with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. They were busy scooting around, creating plenty of whitewater when they surfaced.
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| Dolphin on the move! |
Out on Jeffreys Ledge, we spent time with three humpback whales, with a few more out in the distance. Pinball, Dross, and Crinkle were also busy scooting through the water, as both Pinball and Dross breached multiple times shortly after passing by one another.
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Humpback whales
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| Pinball breaching |
We also checked out one of the many ocean sunfish we sighted during our travels.
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| Ocean sunfish |
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| We also had a feathery hitchhiker during our travels home! |
On Tuesday afternoon, we started our trip with an ocean sunfish just outside the harbor.
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| Another trip, another ocean sunfish sighting! |
Offshore, we spent time with five humpback whales, including a trio and a pair! Once again, shenanigans were in effect as we were lucky to watch Spoon breach shortly after Fan started tail breaching.
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| Spoon mid-breach! |
Whales can start and stop behaviors in the blink of an eye. How fortunate to witness such unexpected moments. Individuals included Fan, Orion, Spoon, Victim, and Owl.
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| Pair of humpback whales |
Perhaps the most unexpected part of the trip was when a gaggle of Wilson's storm petrels became obsessed with following two of our whales, feverishly feeding in their footprints. It was mesmerizing. The day finished off with a few Atlantic white-sided dolphins and a few ocean sunfish along the way.
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Wilson's storm petrels (above and below)
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| Can you find the whale behind all the petrels? |
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So fascinating
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