Saturday July 21

This morning we were out in search of whales and birds as we were joined by our friends from the Seacoast Chapter of New Hampshire Audubon.  Lots of Wilson's Storm Petrels were seen, a few Shearwaters, and a couple of Northern Gannets were picturesque against the calm ocean conditions today.  As for the whales they were equally enjoyable.  Our first stop was on a pod of 40 Atlantic white-sided dolphins.  These whales were creating quite the ruckus splashing, and sometimes soaring, through the water!

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Jumping through the ocean swell!

A special treat to start the day as we were even more lucky as we passed another small group (around 10-12) before even getting to Jeffreys Ledge. 


We also got a chance to take a quick look at a Blue shark before it realized a large boat was "creeping up" towards it.  We love trying to sneak up on sharks as usually as soon as they realize we are close, with a couple swishes of their tails they swim down into the depths of the ocean. 

Dorsal fin (left) and part of the tail (right) of a Blue shark

Once on the Ledge we came upon another species.  It was a Humpback whale.  This animal's dorsal fin looked familiar but it wasn't until it went on a deeper dive did we realize exactly who it was.  Another addition for the 2012 season.  Welcome back to Jeffreys Ledge Patches!  As seems to be the case recently, we found another visitor that has once again made itself known to us here on the Ledge.

Patches' dorsal fin (above) and tail (below)

This afternoon we heard reports from our friends on a few of the other whale watching boats of a Fin whale inshore of Jeffreys Ledge.  We decided to head that way, only to get side-tracked for a bit when we came across a few very cooperative Harbor porpoise (many times we never even stop to try to take a look at these whales as they are EXTREMELY skittish around boats!) and our familiar lack-of-dorsal fin Minke whale.  We spent some time with both of these species before continuing on.  Once in the area we waited, and waited, and our passengers may have started to think we were waiting for nothing when suddenly a spout was seen out in the distance.  The Fin whale was still nearby.  One look at this whale and we all smiled to see that Ladder was once again in our area! 

Ladder surfacing for a breath of air

Ladder's ladder

We got some very nice looks at this whale before pressing on to explore a bit more before heading for home.  As we traveled along, out in the distance we saw a spout.  By the time we made our way into the area we realized there were two spouts.  Two more Fin whales were in the area.  These two whales were swimming along together and being such the massive creatures they are, we got some incredible looks as they swam in synchrony around the area.  We were even able to identify one of the whales as #0837, a whale first sighted on Jeffreys Ledge in 2008 and a whale that has also been seen already this season on the Ledge.

#0837

Fin whale #2 of our pair

Before heading home we even got the chance to see another Minke whale and even another Fin whale swim in towards the area from further offshore.  An extremely nice way to end the trip being surrounded by multiple species.

Rainbow-blow and dorsal fin from one of our Fin whales

Friday July 20

While both our whale watching trips were very different from each other today there was one common bond between all that we saw today...whales doing a great job holding their breath.  This morning we waited anywhere from 12-17 minutes before whales showed themselves again with this afternoon being very similar; around 10-14 minutes dive times.  Recently whales have only been spending a few minutes under the water so when we got the chance to spend time with multiple animals today the much more average dive intervals seemed to last longer than they actually were!  Most of the whales we see out on Jeffreys Ledge average holding their breath for 8-10 minutes at a time so while yes, there were a few instances today where our whales were in the depths of the ocean much longer than anticipated, they still were just doing what they do.

This morning our patience most definitely paid off as what we originally had thought to be a Fin whale in the area ultimately turned out to be a pair of Humpback whales.  While both whales were spending a bit of time under the surface of the ocean when they eventually returned up for air both whales were traveling together and staying up for many a breath.  All these breaths gave us the opportunity to "catch up" to their present location and allowed us to get some great views of both of these whales as they meandered out in the open water.  After a closer inspection at these whales tail's we identified them as two 4 year olds!  We were watching Kickoff and Obelus.  Both of these Humpback whales have been seen on Jeffreys Ledge in the past years but today was the first time either one of these mammals was seen on the Ledge!  We love visitors to our area! 

Obelus

Kickoff

Kickoff was just given a name last week (July 11 to be exact!) and are happy to call this animal by it's official name as prior to "Kickoff" we had been referring to it as Fundy's 2008 calf.  Great to have both these whales in the area today.

Our morning trip wasn't over just yet as just before heading for home we came across another species.  It was a Fin whale. 

One massively large Fin whale just barely making a ripple as it surfaces for a breath of air

This whale rolled over under the water while we spent time watching it as you could see a massive green mass in the water, the underside/belly of this whale!  As this Fin whale went on a deeper dive the dorsal fin was so distinctive it didn't take long to get an ID on it.  It was #0331!  This whale was first seen in the Gulf of Maine in 1982 and first spotted specifically on Jeffreys Ledge in 2003.  What a great find!

#0331

Our afternoon adventures first brought us to a Minke whale before coming across a another species.

Minke whale

Our next whale was a Humpback whale.  This was the same animal we have been seeing over the past week or so and were starting to get a bit concerned as each and every time we were encountering this animal it was very relaxed.  Almost too relaxed.  No raises of a tail, no deeper dives, just disappearing underneath the surface. 

Seal's marked up body and dorsal fin

While this animal definitely has some scars/markings along its back we were very happy to see this animal raise it tail and verifying that no "extra weight" (aka. line of any sort) was preventing this whale from having the capability of accomplishing such a behavior. 

Finally getting the chance to see the underside, or any part for that matter, of Seal's tail!

We were just thrilled to see this whale's clean tail but Seal apparently had just one more surprise in store.  This whale went from sleeping to trashing it's back half of it's body high into the air!  This whale did a combination of a tail breach and lob-tail all in one!  What we thought was going to turn into a high-fluking dive turned into a lob-tail smack on the water's surface.  It was quite the sight and a nice ending to a wonderful day on the water.

A slow high raise of Seal's tail and back half of body (above) turned into a quick motion of it's tail about to smack it back on the surface (below)

Thursday July 19

We were once again treated to some very nice sightings today during both of our whale watches.  This morning our Minke whales and 2 Fin whales were being a bit elusive as we were barely able to get looks at any of them before they vanished under the sea.  Eventually we ended up spending time with a Humpback whale. 

Very interesting back and dorsal fin from this Humpback whale

We are still not quite sure who this whale is as even though we have spotted it a few times over the course of this past week we have yet to see its tail.  This animal does have quite a bit of scarring and marks along its body so we know eventually we will determine it's identity but until then we will look forward to spotting it once again.


We also got the chance to spend time with a pair of Humpback whales before heading home.  It was Boomerang and her calf.  Boomerang was first seen in 1991, making this whale at least 21 years old, and I do believe this is her first calf! 

Boomerang and her calf

Boomerang's calf's tail!

We can now confirm Boomerang is a female and were elated to get the chance to spend time with her and her first offspring!

On our ride in, even though we were out of time, we ventured over to a couple more Humpback whales to snap a few photos to obtain identification shots of these mammals.  To our delight it was Valley and Dice swimming through the ocean together.  Dice was last seen on Jeffreys Ledge in 2009 and of course enjoyed the fact that this animal has returned to the area once again to find some food.

Dice

Our afternoon trip took us to the same area from this morning.  Interestingly enough almost all the whales we saw this afternoon were none of the same whales we had spent time with this morning!  Only Valley and Dice were "repeats" but they were no longer associated with each other.  Actually during the time we spent in the area we had a few different pairings of whales.  First we spent time with Geometry (thanks Orla for the ID!) and Mudskipper. 

Geometry

All the whales were spending a bit of time under the water so when we saw the pair return up to the surface out in the distance we thought, "Geez these whales are on the move!"  Once we made our way over and watched the pair go on a deeper dive we realized these were not the same whales we had been watching.  There was another pair of Humpback whales in the area!  It was Badge and Flamingo meandering around together.

Badge and Flamingo continue traveling together as they surface for some air

Badge

We had it this time.  So there were two pairs of whales.  Moments later we saw another spout but wait it was a different dorsal fin than any of the others we had seen!  Low and behold there was another Humpback whale.  Valley was near by.  At one point our two pairs (Geometry with Mudskipper and Flamingo with Badge) as well as Valley were all at the surface giving us a chance to watch all these whales swim around.

Valley on her way into the depths of the ocean

With quite the chaotic excitement  and a little bit more time left in our trip we left our 5 whales and moved to a few more spouts we had been keeping an eye out on in the distance.  Two more Humpback whales were in the area.  But alas the next whale to surface wasn't a Humpback whale.  A Fin whale suddenly made itself known.  It was Dingle, a very well-known Fin whale that certainly likes to spend time on Jeffreys Ledge.  As quickly as Dingle had surfaced it disappeared and there we sat awaiting for the next spout to be seen. 

Dingle as it passes us by!

Soon the pair of Humpback whales had resurfaced.  Even at an angle we captured enough photographic "evidence" to be able to identify these two whales as Dice and Doric. 

Dice

Whales continue to move in and move out of the area as we seem to constantly be seeing a mixture of first-time whale sightings for the season along with some repeat visitors to the area.  Such a plethora of excitement as we see what Jeffreys Ledge has in store for us tomorrow.

Wednesday July 18

A "typical" day (which is never typical when searching for wild animals!) usually involves searching the horizon for shiny black backs and dorsal fins above the surface.  This is often times tell-tale sign of whales.  Well while we certainly had no problem finding those shiny black backs all day today we certainly didn't see many of those triangular shaped dorsal fins!

Our morning started with a whale inshore of Jeffreys Ledge.  Being that it had surfaced not terribly far from the boat there was clearly enough body to know there was a good-sized whale nearby but never saw a dorsal fin.  Odd, but not completely unusual.  Only after this whale's next surfacing did we even realize what species we were watching.  A Minke whale was near by, a type of whale that normally has a pointed dorsal fin, was very much without.  A quick zoom in from a photo and a look at the other side of this animal clearly explained the reasoning behind our unusual looking mammal. 

The right side of our Minke whale (swimming from left to right)

The left side of our Minke whale (swimming from right to left)

At some point this whale not only lost its dorsal fin, but now has quite the "reminder" that is at least visible to us humans here on the surface of the ocean.  The white scarring surrounding a pinkish area looks to be the result of quite the altercation with line of some sort.  As depressing as it was to see the result of human-related activity to this whale, it was still swimming!  This whale has survived through what can only be imagined as quite an "experience," to say the least, and while still bares the scar/wound of its occurrence this whale still lives on.  Unfortunately, this was only the start to our "non-dorsal whale" day.

Further offshore we came across a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins that were just milling about the area.  This group of 8-10 whales gave our passengers some very nice looks as they weren't moving in quick motions which can sometimes be the case when we come across this type of whale.  A few more looks and we were off again towards Jeffreys Ledge.

Dolphins

We next stopped on a couple more Minke whales before seeing a Fin whale and Humpback whale surface near each other.  The Fin whale disappear almost as soon as it was seen so we stayed with the Humpback whale.  This animal too was lacking a dorsal fin!  The indentation and scar near the area indicates that at one point in time this whale did have a dorsal fin but for whatever reason now lacks it. 

No dorsal fin from this whale either!

The ocean was so calm that as this whale slowly swam through the water we could track it by its flippers even before it came up for a breath of air.  Eventually this whale dove and based on this whale's unique pigmentation pattern we knew it was Kohoutek!  Another new addition to the 2012 Humpback whales seen on Jeffreys Ledge.  It has been a couple years since seeing this whale around and enjoyed spending time with it this morning.

Kohoutek

We were just about to alter course and go exploring when out in the distance there was a massive splash!  Another occurred moments later making it a very easy decision to go investigate just what was creating such the activity.  The jumping ceased but then the lob-tailing began and even from a distance we knew exactly who was behind the aerial activity.  It was Valley the Humpback whale.  Though she stopped (yep, Valley is an adult female!) jumping seeing such an enormous whale launch herself out of the water is a sight.  As we made our way into the area she apparently wasn't quite done with the active behaviors though. 

Humpback whale lob-tailing out in the distance

Valley kept rolling on her side, and upside down, slapping her flippers on the water. 

More rolling from Valley!

To see a 15ft white flipper above the surface is incredible but to HEAR the sound that is created as this 1-ton flipper lands back on the water is indescribable.  So impressive to see and be near.

Valley's large flipper and belly with lines (pleats) that help to provide more surface area inside this whale's mouth when feeding

Valley

After a quick downpour on our ride in this morning, we ventured out for our afternoon trip behind all the rain and enjoyed the cooler temperatures.  Our first stop was a group, a very large group, of whales!  There were 150 Atlantic white-sided dolphins swimming around. 

Another pod of dolphins!

Everywhere you looked these whales were at the surface.  Close, far, and in every direction, this pod was spotted!  This was by far the largest grouping of dolphins we have gotten the chance to see this season.  Not only was it a treat to see dolphins in general but a group so numerous was a great start to the afternoon.

The unique coloration pattern and reason for the name Atlantic white-sided dolphins

We then pressed on to where a few other whale watching boats were in the vicinity of more whale activity.  By the time we arrived into the area many of the boats were enjoying some last looks before having to head home so we hung back allowing the boats, and most importantly the whales, plenty of space before we eased our way into the area.  Our first looks ended up being a Fin whale in the area. 

Fin whale

This whale also seemed to surface and disappear all at the same time so we moved on to a few other spouts just beyond the area.  Two Humpback whales were swimming along together.  It was Valley and Kohoutek.  Two whales that had been seen earlier in the day on their own were now associated together. 

Valley's rounded dorsal fin in the background as Kohoutek also swims nearby

Valley (above) and Kohoutek (below)

The two were quite relaxed as they both "hovered" on the surface catching a quick nap before waking up and going on a deeper dive.  Just before leaving the area and after another quick rest at the surface Kohoutek rolled over and started flipper slapping as Valley surfaced in close proximity.  More bright white flippers!

Valley's back and Kohoutek's flipper!

In a few minutes these two whales went on deeper dives and so we made our way over to the other pair of Humpback whales we saw spouting.  These two whales had the most noticeable dorsal fins we had seen all day (minus the dolphins!).  One was so hooked you almost didn't even need to see the black and white pattern of the underside of this whale's tail.  It was Nile! 

Nile's very hooked-shaped dorsal fin

Nile was seen a handful of times last season and we are excited to have this whale spend some time on the Ledge once again this year.  Swimming in tandem with Nile was Barb.  As we spent time in the area we spotted a couple of Minke whales in the distance and then saw Kohoutek surface just beyond the pair.  Suddenly everything started to circle the area.

Barb following suit behind Nile as these two whales turn in towards the boat!

  Birds were all around, the whales were circling, and the fish finder was picking up lots of bait!  Looks like it was time to eat! 

Lots of food being picked up on our fish finder throughout the water column ranging from just below the ocean's surface towards the bottom 179ft down!

Both Nile and Barb continued to circle around together surfacing just behind one another while Kohoutek continued to surface just a bit further away.  Valley had decided to venture off in a different direction and so we spent our last remaining time with the whales closer to us.

Kohoutek surfaces swimming in one direction as Barb (in the foreground) surfaces going in the other direction!

These wild whales are sure keeping us enthralled as to their whereabouts and activities while out on Jeffreys Ledge.  We shall see what tomorrow brings!