Wednesday on the Atlantic Queen Out of Rye

The right side of one of the fin whales, showing its prominent marble-like chevron marking

Another great day on the water, with warm weather and sea conditions that were a tad choppy, but pretty nice overall! Still plenty of whales around. We started with a number of fin whales in the area, and one of our first ones gave us great looks alongside the port side of the boat. We could see its bright white lower jaw and it's swirly gray chevron. It's always humbling for me to see these huge animals so close!

One of the fin whales might be one that we saw in in our first year of research, 1996! This whale had a distinctively hooked dorsal fin with a notch in its back edge, likely the result of an entanglement at some point.

There were also several humpbacks around. It's late and I wanted to get this post up tonight, so here's the whales and a little about them. If you have any questions, please email them or post them in the comments section. Thanks for coming onboard today! We had a great, very enthusiastic crowd and I enjoyed speaking with and having lengthy conversations with many of you!

Leukos, a female first seen in 1980
Leukos is Greek for "light, bright, brilliant" - that makes sense with Leukos' bright white tail!

Filament, a female born in 1989
In botany, the filament is the stalk that bears the anther, the usually roundish, fuzzy, small part that bears the pollen. Filament is also a word for a finely spun thread. Her name likely came from the large black line on the left side of her fluke, combined with the other finer lines. This is one of my favorite whales. I just love the contrast in her tail.

Hornbill, likely a male, first seen in 1977
Hornbills are a type of birds with a huge, usually curved bill, usually with a bony projection on top. Honestly, after seeing this whale many times, I still don't quite get why this whale was named that, but maybe you do?

Raccoon
A male(?) with a striking tail pattern who was first seen in 1985. Presumably the white patches resemble a raccoon's "mask"

Freckles
A 23-year old female. Freckles does have a few "freckles" on her tail, but also a dorsal fin that has lots of round barnacle scars on it, which makes it appear freckled.

Hope you enjoyed the trip and we see you again soon!

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