September 9, 2020

Today's whale watch started out foggy but then cleared just in time for us to find whales! Several fin whales were circling around and one even lunged at the surface!

A new humpback whale was also sighted. We are still searching our files to determine who this whale is!

And we can't forget the shy blue shark! Great day!

September 5-7, 2020

Happy Labor Day weekend! How are we already into September? We had two trips on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning we first checked out a fin whale spending only a few minutes below the surface at a time. A fin whale, such a big mammal.

Fin whale (above and below)

Our next marine sighting was a leatherback sea turtle. What a season it has been for sighting the largest of the sea turtles.

Hello leatherback!

Congratulations to Nicole, one of our Blue Ocean Society interns, who finally saw her first sea turtle! The morning trip wrapped up with humpback whales Owl and Nile.

Morning humpback whales

On Saturday afternoon we started the trip with a leatherback sea turtle. One day and two sea turtles! How cool is that? What a way to start!

Afternoon sea turtle sighting!

We then saw four humpback whales. Nile was associated with Chromosome, Owl was still circling around and a yet-to-be identified whale was out in the distance.

Chromosome and Nile

Nile

Owl

Sunday morning was just what we enjoy. There was a crisp horizon and calm seas. Only minutes after leaving the harbor we had an ocean sunfish. This fish was unfazed by our presence, as they tend to be, so we got great looks before heading offshore.

Incoming ocean sunfish

Out towards the ledge humpback whales Owl, Nile and Chromosome were still around and now all together! At one point we even had a fin whale surface nearby.

Diving whales

Owl

Fin whale swimming by

On our afternoon trip these three humpback whales were sighted again but this time Nile and Chromosome were together and Owl was off on her own.

Whale spout

Owl

How quickly these associations can fizzle. But alas, before leaving the area all three were back together again!

All three humpback whales together again!

Labor Day Monday was breezy and as the day wore on it just got more breezy. Before the ocean really got exciting we came across as spout, ultimately two! Pinball the humpback whale was back. What a fantastic surprise. We last saw this whale over a month ago. Wow. Such a fun find.

Such a pleasant surprise of a pigmentation pattern. Hello again Pinball!

We also briefly saw Osprey the humpback whale surface in the area. Our next trip is on Wednesday as we settle into our fall schedule. Stay tuned as we transition into our fall whale watching routine.

Pinball just below the waves

Humpback whale swimming by

September 3-4, 2020

arThursday, September 3rd was an overcast, slightly rainy day, but that didn't stop us from finding whales! The first sighting was a pair of humpback whales, Nile and Chromosome! 

Nile, the humpback whale

Chromosome is a new visitor for us this year, although very familiar with his distinctive markings! 

One humpback whale diving

Two humpback whales diving!

Nearby, another pair of humpback whales were seen. These were Owl and Fern! Before we knew it, Fern joined up with Nile and Chromosome and Owl took off by herself.

Three humpback whales breathing!

Owl, the humpback whale

Owl diving

Not far away, a pod of about 75 Atlantic white sided dolphins showed up, and we even got some looks at some other species of marine life including a blue shark, an ocean sunfish and a lion's mane jelly!  The bird life included great shearwaters, Cory's shearwaters and Wilson's storm petrels! Very diverse day!

Friday, September 4th was bight and sunny with relatively calm seas. We got a call from one of our friends aboard Good Bones who alerted us to a few humpbacks where they were fishing.  Upon arrival, we found the humpback whale, Nile, surfacing every few minutes. 

Nearby, we spotted a pair of humpback whales, Chromosome and Fern! These two were blowing small bubble clouds and surfacing ever couple minutes!

 

In the distance, we saw another blow which turned out to be a trio of humpback whales: Owl, and a mother with her calf! At first all three were together. Then Owl left the pair but stayed in the area.  The mom and calf were moving around quite a bit.

Humpback mom and calf

Humpback whale, Owl

 While they were down, our mate spotted a leatherback sea turtle!!! These have been seen a few times this summer but are generally very rare to see in our area!

Leatherback sea turtle!

We went back to the pair of humpbacks, but now they were sleeping. A minke whale swam by and they didn't even seem to notice. The calf was at the surface for quite some time, with mom checking in now and then. We never did see her tail, but the calf decided to surface tail-first several times!!  

Humpback whale calf

Such a cool sighting! We had incredible lighting and could see almost the entire calf just below the surface.

On our trek home, our captain spotted some dolphins. At first it didn't look like too many, but as we spent time with this pod, it turned out to be a much larger pod than we first thought. About 100 common dolphins were in the area!!! This was super awesome for 2 reasons. First, common dolphins are not common in our area! They are an offshore species, often seen several hundred miles from shore. Second, common dolphins are usually quite fast and are seen racing around at high speeds. This pod was really mellow and seemingly curious about our boat! With the calm conditions and good lighting, we were treated to some amazing looks at these little "toothed whales"!

Such a great start to the holiday weekend! I can't wait to see what the rest of the weekend has in store for us! 

August 31 - September 2, 2020

Monday morning the trip began with a bit of a ruckus at the surface as a blue shark was feverishly chasing after a small fish. It was so focused with its task at hand, it wasn't drastically bothered by us nearby.

Blue shark creating white water

We then got fin-tastic looks at a large fin whale. My last sighting of a fin whale was August 1. A whole month these whales have been eluding us. What a welcomed-back sight!

Incoming massive fin whale!

On Tuesday, just before getting to Jeffreys Ledge, we came across humpback whales Valley and her 2020 calf. Valley herself was spending most of her time below the waterline while her calf remained at the surface. A few times Valley's calf would lazily roll on its side.

Valley and her calf

Valley's calf swimming into the waves

On our travels home we ended up crossing paths with a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This tight-knit group spent the majority of the time so close to us. So many great looks at some of the calves in this nursery pod.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Adorable dolphin!

We found ourselves in a lumpy ocean on Wednesday from leftover energy the wind had created the day before. Thanks to our intern Nicole who spotted Owl the humpback whale as we ventured offshore. Owl was circling around and created a few bubble clouds. Even a minke whale popped up while in the area. Owl is one of Blue Ocean Society's adoptable whales and always an enjoyable whale to see spending time in the Jeffreys Ledge region.

Owl (above and below)