The weather has definitely been touch and go as we have entered our fall whale watching schedule, but Friday presented us with the most amazingly gorgeous sea conditions as we made our way offshore, and we intended to make the most of it! Our trip began with brief looks at a very mobile ocean sunfish as it was moving at a very brisk pace at the surface. We pressed further offshore, eventually coming across a very small rounded shape at the surface, which turned out to be an endangered KEMP'S RIDLEY SEA TURTLE resting along the surface!!!
Kemp's Ridley turtle
Coming up for air AHHHHH!!!!
This species is that smallest of all the sea turtles on Earth, reaching lengths of 1-2ft as adults. Our crew was absolutely amazed as this turtle spent close to twenty minutes at the surface, occasionally coming up for a breath of air. What an amazing summer it has been for sea turtles! Unfortunately, we couldn't stick around forever, so we eventually moved on in search of whales. Before coming across whales however, we were able to get better views at another ocean sunfish near the surface.
Ocean Sunfish
It took a bit more searching, but finally, we were able to find whales on our whale watch. Whale sightings began with a pair of humpback whales, Grommet and Victim, as they travelled near the surface.
Pair of humpbacks
While watching them, a third humpback whale was seen spending time in the area. Before getting looks at that whale, we went to investigate some distant splashing. This splashing was revealed to be an amazingly active pod of about one hundred Atlantic white-sided dolphins!
Dolphin mom/calf
This was a very tight-knit group of dolphins that were so much fun to watch! After saying goodbye, we picked our search back up for the single humpback whale. Finally getting looks at this whale, it was a familiar friend, Satula. After spending time with this whale, it was time to head home. Such an unforgettable Friday!
No comments:
Post a Comment