October 2nd on the Granite State

With whales quite inshore of Jeffreys Ledge today we were fortunate enough to get a chance to spend time with just about everything that appeared to be in the area today. Chatting via radio with our friends on the Prince of Whales we both shared the wealth of so many sightings and may have very similar posts from today's adventure!

Today was all about the Humpback whale. We had a total of 9 whales, 7 of them being known females! Many of the whales we sighted today have been seen over the years on Jeffreys Ledge and are some of our favorite Humpbacks for all of us crew.

Spoon above and Chromosome below as these 2 Humpback whales were associated with each other. Spoon is an adult female and Chromosome may be a male since this whale is considered an adult (at least 19yrs old) and has never been seen with a calf

The dorsal fins of Trident (above) and Nile (below) both known females and moving through the water together

Owl the Humpback whale and her prominent scars from a previous ship strike during her life. Fortunately she was able to survive the ordeal as she has continued to be a mom, including this year! She had her last calf in 2008.

Some of the whales we sighted today have had sighting few and far between over the years on Jeffreys Ledge and so we were pleasantly surprised to encounter a few of them.

Victim, Spar and Pinball all resting at the surface

Spar's fluke

Victim's fluke. Notice this whale is missing half of the right side of its tail

Pinball raising her tail high above the water. Pinball is a "regular" to Jeffreys Ledge but she hasn't been seen since July 31; just over 2 months! Nice to see you again Pinball!

Not only were most of our whales known females today, all the whales sighted were associated with at least one other individual, and many of them were "logging." Logging is a term used to indicate when whales are sleeping, or resting, at the surface. The whale will remain almost stationary on, or just under, the surface of the water while it shuts down half of its brain for periods at a time. To see multiple whales, weighing well over 20tons, hovering just at the surface of the water is quite the sight to see!

Just as we thought our day was over and we were about to head back towards Rye Harbor there was splashing out in the distance. There were dolphins nearby! Off we went as we ended up coming across a pod of 40 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. What a special treat to end an already incredible day!Today we were lucky enough to have cooperative weather and especially whales as we thank all of you who joined us today for such a eventful day!




Keep in touch!Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter