In the morning, we found several fin whales early on, and then a pod of dolphins, and later a young humpback whale. This humpback, Anvil's 2009 calf, was feeding and frequently surfacing with its mouth full of food. A few times it came up really close, and we got amazing looks!
Check out the baleen between the upper and lower jaws!
Anvil's 2009 calf has already been the victim of an entanglement- note the white scars and fresh wound on the edge of the flukesOn our trip back to Newburyport, we came across several huge fin whales and lots of bait fish and krill. These whales were seemingly mellow in spite of all the food around. Little did we know....
On our afternoon trip, we found these same fin whales only 8 miles off shore! They were no longer acting mellow. These whales were hungry! We began with 3 fin whales- a mom and her calf, plus another adult. Sometimes these whales were feeding side by side, other times alone. The calf is still too young to eat the fish and krill but was keeping up with Mom while she was consuming part of the 1-2 tons of food she needed to catch today.
This was honestly the best looks at feeding fin whales I have ever had in my 16 years of watching whales, both here and on the west coast. Fin whales amaze and inspire me on a daily basis and today was extraordinary. The frequency and proximity of these giant open mouths were unlike anything I have experienced. Check out these images!
On our afternoon trip, we found these same fin whales only 8 miles off shore! They were no longer acting mellow. These whales were hungry! We began with 3 fin whales- a mom and her calf, plus another adult. Sometimes these whales were feeding side by side, other times alone. The calf is still too young to eat the fish and krill but was keeping up with Mom while she was consuming part of the 1-2 tons of food she needed to catch today.
This was honestly the best looks at feeding fin whales I have ever had in my 16 years of watching whales, both here and on the west coast. Fin whales amaze and inspire me on a daily basis and today was extraordinary. The frequency and proximity of these giant open mouths were unlike anything I have experienced. Check out these images!
fin whale on its side, mouth open, right side down
Mom/calf fin whale, side by side
Ventral view of a fin whale, right side down, lunging at the surface, mouth open! Those ventral pleats are what allows the whale to consume all the food it does. Note the hairy baleen inside the upper jaw!
Another great view of a fin whale on its side- pleats extended, and flipper in the air!Leaving these whales, we reluctantly continued on. Not sure of what we would find next, we were completely surprised to find 2 North Atlantic right whales in our path! Right whales are highly endangered, and only ~425 exist today (historic populations were 10,000-50,000). It has been said that if no further actions are taken to protect right whales, that this population could be extinct within our lifetime. We all felt extremely lucky to witness 2 of these survivors slowly swimming south. We kept our distance but watched them for a couple of surfacings before heading for home.
A truly wonderful day on the water with our whale friends. I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do, watching whales for most of the year, and love being able to share these experiences with you!
A truly wonderful day on the water with our whale friends. I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do, watching whales for most of the year, and love being able to share these experiences with you!
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