July 20 Prince of Whales

Perfectly calm sea conditions on this morning's whale watch! We had a fabulous group of campers from Joppa Flatts Audubon Center. We began the morning with glassy conditions- perfect for minke whale watching! We found a minke that we had seen a few days before (the one with the rounded snout). This whale repeated surfaced near us, giving us some amazing views.

Minke whale pointed nose, coming at the boat

Minke whale with rounded snout, and white "minke mittens" showing

A bit further offshore, we found our old friend, Crow, the finback whale. Crow was first seen by BOS researchers in 1998, but his sighting history goes back to 1987 when he was sighted off New York!

Finback whale named Crow

The afternoon's trip was a bit breezy as the SW wind picked up, but that didn't stop us from finding some cool whales. First, an eagle-eyed passenger on the bow spotted a fin whale for us. This turned out to be #0821! This whale was first seen in 2008 and was seen again last summer! Looks like we may have a new "regular" on the Ledge!

Fin whale #0821's beautiful chevron

Fin whale #0821's distinct dorsal fin

As we headed offshore, we got a report from the Atlantic Queen of a mother/calf pair of humpback whales not too far away. The mother was Mudskipper, a 12 year old humpback. Humpback whales, Mudskipper and calf

We watched these two for a bit, and as the Granite State came in for a peek, we turned for home. Soon after we turned, the calf breached right behind our boat! Then, just a few seconds later, Mudskipper breached! Then the calf breached again!! Awesome!! We always hope to see a breach but in reality, they only happen now and then. Luck was on our side today!

Mudskipper's calf, breaching as we turned to leave

We waited a few more minutes to see if the activity would continue but as soon as it started, it also ended. Mudskipper surfaced near our boat, with her calf in tow, and we slowly departed the area...again.

Great day! And congrats to our winner of the humpback whale adoption!

Keep in touch!Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter