Today was all about quality! We had good looks at two whales on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. The first was a finback whale, #0369. We hadn't seen this whale yet this summer, but it is a regular visitor to Jeffreys Ledge. After a few typical surfacings, #0369 surfaced again, but this time it was like a submarine rising from the sea! It came up without spouting, and rolled on its side, showing us its flipper and tail as it lunged through the surface water in an attempt to catch some food! Awesome!
After we left the finback, we headed to some inshore ledges and came across the humback whale named Mudskipper. This whale has been infamous for not lifting its tail when it goes down for a dive, but that was the only part of this whale that we didn't see today! Mudskipper was bubble feeding- blowing big patches
of bubbles to corral the fish, and then surfacing right in the bubbles with its mouth wide open! Mudskipper did this several times, and then went down for a dive. As we were anticipating another bubble cloud to rise, we had no idea what we were about to see next. Mudskipper launched its whole body out of the water in a full breach! Amazing!! This is one big humpback! Breaching is a b
ehavior that humpbacks are known for, but also one that we rarely get to see up close! We still don't know why whales breach. It could be for fun or a form of communication, or even to help with digestion! We still have so much to learn about these incredible animals!As Mudskipper moved away and our time was running short, we began our trip back into Newburyport with the giddy feeling of knowing we just experienced one of nature's most dramatic displays. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get back out there today!
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