Minkes and Fins

Minke whales were everywhere this weekend! I just came off a successful trip on the Atlantic Queen. We got about 20 miles out and found ourselves in what looked like a pod of minkes (baleen whales aren't usually found in pods like toothed whales) - there were there were 4-5 at once, in all directions, circling around as they fed just below the water surface.

I got some of the most amazing looks at minkes that I ever have - several times they circled around the bow and we got to see their "minke mittens," the white band on each of their flippers. Honestly, sometimes it's hard to watch minkes, as they surface a few times and then will often disappear - they are so quick, it's hard to follow along. So to have this many whales, all in the same area, moving so slowly, was really amazing!

Here are a few shots of the minkes. One of them had a nasty scar, which looks like it might be the result of a boat strike.

Whale with scar

Minke whale, showing blowholes and "mittens"

Can you spot the marine debris in this photo? In the lower right corner, there is a piece of rope. One of our current research projects involves mapping the locations of marine debris along with the locations of whale sightings to see how often the two intersect.

Yesterday, there were several minkes around as well, and we also spent some time with our old friend "Dingle," who we've been tracking since 2003. There's a previous post about Dingle, as we saw this whale not too long ago.

Above: Dingle's back and dorsal fin. Below: Beautiful chevron and blaze pattern on Dingle's right side.

It's very strange that we had so many humpbacks early in the season, and they seem to have disappeared overnight. However, as we saw this weekend, there's still plenty of life around!