Blue Ocean Society's Whale Sightings

Greetings! Thanks for visiting our blog. Our staff and interns will be posting their experiences here working on whale watch boats in NH and MA.

Friday, June 22, 2012

June 22 on the Atlantic Queen

Pinball's calf lobtailing, belly up!
What a great day! The temperatures were perfect, the seas were calm, and we had amazing sightings!

We got quick looks at a couple minke whales as we neared Jeffreys Ledge, and then learned from a fishing vessel that there were two other whales nearby - we headed a little further offshore to find Pinball, one of our adoptable humpbacks, and her calf! Pinball was born in 1989 and we see her almost every year, so we were excited to find them!

And it wasn't too hard to find them - the calf was very busy lobtailing (slapping its tail on the water), and could easily be seen from a distance!
The calf, belly-up lobtailing, with Pinball in front

As we approached, the calf kept lobtailing, and we realized that it was lying on its back, basically lobtailing upside-down!  This continued for a long time - and when we got closer, the calf did too, and came over and appeared to check us out while Pinball surfaced nearby.


The calf comes in closer

Pinball's distinctive fluke

As we were watching Pinball and her calf (her 6th calf, who will be named after it is seen in a subsequent year), we also spotted a couple minke whales - we had 6 minkes total for the day.
Incoming!
We got back to Rye and found nice, cool breezes. It was a perfect way to spend the day. Thanks to all the wonderful, enthusiastic passengers who joined us!

Pinball and calf
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