August 6 on the Granite State

It may have been a bit cloudy this morning but with smooth seas we were excited to head offshore for another day of whale watching. On our journey out we passed by a Blue shark and 2 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. While we attempted to relocated our dolphins, we were unsuccessful, as it is pretty unusual to see only TWO of these whales swimming through the water together. It is much more common to find these dolphins with at least a few more of their species (usually 5-10) so we gave it a few minutes before pressing on towards the portion of Jeffreys Ledge where whales have continued to be sighted.

It was not until we passed the edge of Jeffreys Ledge, on the Ledge, and then over to the far side of the Ledge that we had whales. It has been pretty typical for us over the recent weeks to be making our way to the eastern side of Jeffreys Ledge in order to find whale activity. While this means a bit more travel time on the boat, the whales are doing a great job of continuing to spend time in this part of the ocean!

This morning we ended up spending time with three different Fin whales. The interesting part about our sighting was that two of our three Fin whales were associated with each other; spending time surfacing and traveling through the water together. However, it was not always the same two who were paired up. We first watched a pair surface nearby as we saw out in the distance another animal that appeared to be heading into the area. All three went down on deeper dives and the next time they resurfaced they had changed "partners!" One whale moved further away while the second whale from the original pair was now surfacing with the 3rd Fin whale that had moved into the area. It wasn't until we looked back through our photographs that we were able to realize the "change up" that had just occurred before our very eyes.

Two of our Fin whales (our second pairing of whales) with their uniquely shaped dorsal fins

Potentially identified as Fin whale #0802

We were able to compare the dorsal fins of all three Fin whales in the area in order to make sense of the situation! Amazing how in just a few short minutes, while these whales were under the water, they maneuvered in a way that was completely different that what all of us on board had just watched moments ago.

Our afternoon trip, while still ending up in the same area as our morning whale watch, we were yet again surprised at what had moved into the area. Our first stop for whales was a group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This pod had around 10 individuals including a couple of recently born dolphins. These whales will give birth in the spring and a newborn Atlanitc white-sided dolphin measures 3ft in length. While these whales are constantly growing, when spotted next to some of the larger adults in the group, they appear even smaller than there actual size!

The rest of our time out on Jeffreys Ledge was spent with a Humpback whale named Mars. This whale first sighted in 1979 (and much older than any of our camp kids we had on board today!) was circling all around the area, surfacing on all sides of the boat, at all different intervals. This whale kept all of us on our toes as we anticipated just where and when this whale would resurface. We were able to get a very nice last look as Mars raised her tail and showcased her unique black and white pigmentation pattern for everyone to see.

Another day and two completely different trips to report from the same area of Jeffreys Ledge. Any guesses on what tomorrow with bring? I have no idea but I look forward to finding out. Hopefully you will be doing the same!

Thanks for those who joined us today as we had both camp groups and the general public sprinkled around the boat ready and waiting for a whale to surface. Thanks to the whales we were rewarded with some incredible looks at these wild animals today!

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