August 27 - Prince of Whales- Newburyport

After 4 days of being tied to the dock, we were antsy to get back out on the water. We had no idea what we would see, as our sightings vary from day to day anyway, and now with 4 days passed, who knew what would be out there!

We were excited to find some dolphins to start our trip. These animals were quite active and we all were treated to excellent looks at them!

Dolphins surfing in our wake

A minke whale surfaced just to the west of the dolphins but we decided to continue to the east in search of more whales.

Soon we found a couple of blows that turned into at least 9 sei whales!!! Sei whales (pronounced SAY) are rare to our area though we normally do see them for a handful of sightings each year. Sei whale are typically found further offshore but will follow their prey (copepods and krill) inshore. Seeing just one or two is really amazing, but everywhere we looked we kept seeing more!

We found 2 pairs of sei whales and then a trio! What a special treat!

As we headed towards the south, a fin whale surfaced. I was happy to see this familiar species as they have been a bit scarce lately. Fin whales have always been my favorite. We have so much to learn about this species- every sighting is a chance for us to learn more! This whale doesn't appear to be one we have seen before so it is likely a new addition to out catalog!

Fin whale chevron and dorsal fin

On our way home, we passed a couple more sei whales but didn't have time to stop. But then...we found something that we just couldn't resist! An ocean sunfish (Mola mola) popped up close by and we spent a few minutes with this fish- the largest species of bony fish in the world!! This was only our second sunfish sighting of the year and conditions were perfect to view this animal! It actually seemed just as curious about us as we were about it!

Ocean sunfish (Mola mola)

On our way up the Merrimack River, we were welcomed home by many harbor seals who have recently moved back home after their summer further north off the Maine coastline.

All in all, an excellent day on the water! Thanks to all of you who joined us and for all of your insightful and thoughtful questions! Let us know what you thought about the trip!



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