Wow! What a perfect day on the ocean, with more species variety than I've seen in awhile.
We started out with a very active pod of 60-80 Atlantic white-sided dolphins - some were slapping their tails on the water, in what might be a feeding maneuver. These toothed whales seemed to be actively pursuing something!
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| Atlantic white-sided dolphins |
Then we moved into sei whale zone - we ended up finding ourselves surrounded by 5 sei whales, with more in the distance! We got terrific looks at these whales, and saw their distinctive, curved dorsal fins and even got to see a good part of the whales' heads as they cruised quickly up to the surface.
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| The curved, pointed dorsal fin of a sei whale |
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| Two sei whales together! |
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| Sei whale, showing its mouth |
Amid all these activity, a juvenile humpback swam by! This whale proved that humpbacks aren't always the most cooperative species we see - we got one quick look at this whale and then it dove, never to be seen again.
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| The distinctive "knuckles" on the humpback's tail stock |
We headed offshore to what we thought might be another humpback, and this whale turned out to be one of the rarest large whales in the world - a North Atlantic right whale!
What a day to be on the water - it was especially memorable as my parents and daughter were onboard, along with a crowd that had lots of great questions. Thanks to all who joined us today!
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