Tuesday on the Prince of Whales

Finback whale

Another fabulous day on the water! We found 10 whales today- 2 minkes, 2 finbacks (still to be identified) and 6 humpbacks! The weather was great and was perfect for getting away from the heat on land.

The humpbacks were mostly all doing variations of bubble feeding. Only Tornado, the first humpback we saw, was moving steadily to the southeast. Quote was the next humpback- she was bubble feeding but was surfacing with her mouth closed. Mudskipper Mudskipper feeding

was next- this whale hardly ever lifts its tail but we recognize that big round dorsal fin. Solas then appeared, and this whale was using a new technique of bubble feeding- it would surface quickly without breathing, dive straight down, flick its tail to stun the fish, and then blow the bubble cloud around the fish!

Mudskipper's dorsal fin

The highlight of the trip for me was watching Tripod and Sword. I haven't seen Sword on Jeffreys Ledge since 1997, though other associate scientists saw him in 2007.

Tripod and Sword

Also during the trip, we were able to see some active research in action. The NOAA ship, Nancy Foster and the Stellwagen Bank Research Vessel, Auk, were in the area applying suction cup tags to some humpback whales. These "D-tags" record an immense amount of data which can then be uploaded and shows us exactly what the whales are doing underwater! The tags don't hurt the whale, since they are applied with a suction cup, and fall off within 24 hours.

NOAA ship with humback feeding

Thanks to all of our local visitors, as well as the groups from Tennesee and Texas! We hope to see you again soon!




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