This morning our passengers and an excited group of kids from Exeter Parks and Recreation watched some activity of all sorts. A few Fin whales in the area provided an excellent chance to see these graceful animals cruising through the water so effortlessly even though they are the 2nd largest animal in the world. 
A couple of them were circling the area, surfacing often, so everyone all around the boat could get a chance to see the white lower jaw and distinct chevron patterns of our Fin whales. It was nice to identify one of these whales as 0354, a Fin whale who has made an appearance a few times so far this season.
A couple of them were circling the area, surfacing often, so everyone all around the boat could get a chance to see the white lower jaw and distinct chevron patterns of our Fin whales. It was nice to identify one of these whales as 0354, a Fin whale who has made an appearance a few times so far this season.Another highlight from the morning trip was seeing a Humpback whale, Trident, actively corralling food. It is fun to stare at a bubble cloud knowing the animal, in theory, should be surfacing right through the middle or nearby the large cloud at any moment. 
Plus it is a great marker for all our passengers to have a definite spot in the large ocean to focus on and get some incredible looks at these whales doing what they do. To our surprise we also found the Humpback Flask back in the area circling around as well.
Plus it is a great marker for all our passengers to have a definite spot in the large ocean to focus on and get some incredible looks at these whales doing what they do. To our surprise we also found the Humpback Flask back in the area circling around as well. For our passengers and crew alike perhaps one of the coolest things we saw today was a particular feeding frenzy from multiple species. We came into an area that had a handful of birds including Greater Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Seagulls, and Wilson's Storm Petrels going after a definite school of herring. Not only were there birds but there were at least 5 Bluefin Tuna attacking the same school of fish! 
These bait fish were getting pushed up to the surface in an attempt to avoid the Tuna from below and then getting attacked from the shearwaters from above. Needless to say there wasn't much hope for these fish. The tuna were charging through the water, the birds were diving left and right, the fish were swimming in all directions, it was pure chaos and thrilling to sit by and watch! Perhaps the biggest surprise for all of us was as we were all witnessing this incredible display of nature a Minke surfaced right in the middle of the activity. Surprise! Nothing like animals of all sizes engaging in such a display. Absolutely incredible!
These bait fish were getting pushed up to the surface in an attempt to avoid the Tuna from below and then getting attacked from the shearwaters from above. Needless to say there wasn't much hope for these fish. The tuna were charging through the water, the birds were diving left and right, the fish were swimming in all directions, it was pure chaos and thrilling to sit by and watch! Perhaps the biggest surprise for all of us was as we were all witnessing this incredible display of nature a Minke surfaced right in the middle of the activity. Surprise! Nothing like animals of all sizes engaging in such a display. Absolutely incredible!Our afternoon trip was just as exciting. We found some of the same animals still in the area including a few Fin whales, a Minke whales and a very exciting surprise for all of our passengers and crew. Turns out we came across a Humpback whale, Clipper, a female who was last seen by our Blue Ocean Society affiliates last year. The big surprise though was that she had a calf with her!!! 
Not only were we thrilled to learn this whale is healthy and back on Jeffrey's but she has made it through another pregnancy with another calf.
Not only were we thrilled to learn this whale is healthy and back on Jeffrey's but she has made it through another pregnancy with another calf.Clipper was taking pretty short dive intervals and the calf was spending a lot of time at the surface charging around, rolling side to side, and circling in all directions. We even got a great look as this calf got a bit curious about the boat and decided to swim down the entire length of the starboard side of the boat just underneath the surface of the water. Even as a calf these whales are quite massive and it was great to see the calf's entire body just under the water while Clipper surfaced right next to us keeping an eye on her offspring.
Today was a great adventure, as all whale watches tend to be, and look forward to what is in store for us this weekend.
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