Monday, August 6, 2018

We were required to do some searching on both of our trips today. Those silly whales like to use their tails and move about so we must follow suit and find their new spots! This morning we saw at least 10 minke whales, a fin whale and a small pod of 8-10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins.

Minke whale

Sleek, and sometimes sneaky, fin whale

Fin whale

Atlantic white-sided dolphin just beyond the Isles of Shoals

This afternoon we saw four minke whales (some remaining below the water for much longer periods of times than others) and two fin whales. Our fin whales were busy circling around the area and even though they were moving independently from each other they were never too far away, allowing for some fin-tastic looks!

Afternoon fin whale

Second fin whale in the area

Some of the bird activity was so close to the boat! Here, a great shearwater and a few Wilson's storm petrels go after some food.

Up-close look at a Wilson's storm petrel

Sunday, August 5, 2018

This morning our trip started off Salisbury, Massachusetts. A humpback whale was swimming along the coast which at times was VERY close to land! After a few looks we went further offshore and hope the whale did the same too!

Humpback whale just off the coast!

We also saw six minke whales, four fin whales (including a pair) and Pinball the humpback whale.

Minke whale

Fin whale Crow

Fin whale swimming in association with Crow

Pinball

This afternoon we started the trip with a pod of 50-60 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This pod was probably busy feeding, staying very close to each other and constantly zipping in every which direction.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins (above and below)

Dolphin!

After a lot of searching we ended up wrapping up the trip with two minke whales and a few seals.

Minke whale

Harbor seal

Saturday, August 4, 2018

We only had a morning trip today. Our sightings included a pod of 50-60 Atlantic white-sided dolphins, three minke whales, Bolshoi the fin whale, a distant look at a tail-breaching humpback whale and second pod of 20-25 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Our dolphins swam all around the boat and are always a enjoyable sight for all ages!

Another day, more Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

Atlantic white-sided dolphin

Bolshoi was napping, only surfacing occasionally, and not making much of any movement. Before the rain began we even found another smaller pod of dolphins to wrap up our trip with.

Bolshoi

Our second pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins

More dolphins!

Friday, August 3, 2018

Dolphins tend to be infrequent whales we sight during our trips but that was far from the case today. This morning we saw 4 large groups of Atlantic white-sided dolphins ranging from 50-120+ individuals per group!

Atlantic white-sided dolphins from our morning trip (above and below)

This afternoon we saw 3 pods of these toothed-whales with well over 150 of them! What a dolphin kind of day! And if you are a fan of birds, it was paradise! Soooooooo many shearwaters, mainly greats and a few cory's, were constantly flying around these toothed-whales, doing their best to consume any scraps missed by the whales!

Great shearwater

Great shearwater photo-bombing this Atlantic white-sided dolphin!

This morning we also saw 4 minke whales, 8 fin whales, a lion's mane jellyfish and two humpback whales. We found two pairs of fin whales including Crow and #0354 on the move together.

Crow

Fin whale

There were sporadic sightings of whales in all different directions around the boat. After seeing our multiple large pods of dolphins we ended the morning with a pair of humpback whales. Tear was one of these whales. The other one never showed its unique tail pattern and instead just steadily traveled along.

Humpback whale

This afternoon we saw Hornbill the humpback whale, multiple distant fin whales, 3 minke whales and humpback whale pair Jabiru and her 2018 calf, on top of all the dolphins mentioned earlier in this post! So much life to experience!

Hornbill

Great shearwater captured head-on as these birds continued to surround our sightings of dolphins this afternoon

Afternoon sighting of dolphins (above and below)

Jabiru and her calf

Thursday, August 2, 2018

This morning the fog was pretty heavy as we prepared the Granite State for the whale watch. Fortunately, the wind blew the fog away before we departed! We found a pod of over 200 Atlantic white sided dolphins! These small "toothed whales" were everywhere, giving us all great looks.

Then we found a humpback whale named Hornbill who was near another whale that we couldn't get close enough to to identify. Hornbill was staying down for a while, and in the mean time we saw a couple of minke whales as we waited. 

Hornbill

Yet another humpback was around but also not all that cooperative...wild animals.....what shall we do.....  But then we found a pair of humpback whales who were spending a lot of time at the surface.  Pinball, a humpback whale born in 1989 was hanging out with the 8 year old Pleats. 

Pinball

Pinball

Great looks at both, and a harbor seal before heading home.

This afternoon, we found a small pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins just after seeing a handful of harbor porpoises. 

Continuing on, we found 2 pairs of humpback whales. Bounce and Diablo were blowing bubbles to catch their prey, while Pinball and Pleats were not too far away.

Pinball by Thatcher Island

Pleats

Pinball

Harbor porpoises and more harbor seals were spotted briefly during both trips!

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

How is it already August? Time flies when you spend your days searching for and watching whales! This morning we saw at least 10 minke whales, 7 fin whales and 3 humpback whales. At one point we were surrounded by 5 fin whales with spouts appearing in all directions around us.

Fin whale spout

Our first fin whale of the trip

Fin whale #0354

Our humpback whales this morning included Pitcher, Abrasion and Ebony. Pitcher was occasionally being active at the surface lunging through bubble clouds, tail-lobing and flipper slapping. Abrasion even got in at the fun for a moment and was flipper slapping out in the distance too!

Pitcher

Ebony

Pitcher lob-tailing

Flipper

This afternoon we started the trip with Hornbill the humpback whale steadily traveling along.

Hornbill swimming through the waves

Hornbill

We were also fortunate to spend time with a group of 100 Atlantic white-sided dolphins spread out all around the boat.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

At one point, right in the middle of all the dolphin action, a harbor seal popped up close to the boat. It checked us out, we checked it out and then off it went!

Harbor seal

Before heading for home we also saw a pair of fin whales moving around the area. Every trip always provides its own experiences!

Fin whale spout with land so close beyond!