After watching a Minke whale swim in our wake (I know, this is not normal! Apparently this whale was pretending to be a dolphin perhaps?!?!? Who knows...), we came upon Hornbill the Humpback whale.
Less that one day later this animal had moved 7 miles from its previous known location, showcasing once again how easily these animals can shift their location in their continuous search for food. With some nice looks at Hornbill we moved on to another spout we were seeing in the not so far distance. It was a Fin whale and at first this whale was on the move. During the first two surfacings this whale was steadily swimming at a pretty good speed. Suddenly, for the 3rd surfacing of this whale, it was out behind us. This whale had slowed down and changed direction. We were able to get some very nice looks at such a large species before continuing further offshore.Our next stop was Chickadee the Humpback whale. This animal was definitely not traveling as it mostly circled the area and came up filtering salt water many times.
Above: Chickadee filtering out lots of water from its mouth
Below: Chickadee's unique pattern of its tail
Catching food, taking a breath or two of air, and diving back down into the depths of the ocean was what this whale continued to do for the majority of our time spent watching Chickadee. What a great treat to get a chance to watch these animals actively feed near Jeffreys Ledge.
Look at all that salt water spilling out of Chickadee's mouth as this whale actively forces the water out of its mouth while trapping lots of food inside!
We found a Right whale! With less that 500 of these animals left in their ENTIRE population, to see one is such a phenomenal occurrence. As soon as we realized what was out in the distance, we watched from quite the distance as the distinct v-shaped blow arouse from this whale! What a special sighting. To be in the presence of such a critically endangered species is captivating even without knowing what you really are looking at out in the distance. Definitely special.
This afternoon we ended up starting in an area where we saw two separate pairs of Fin whales. 4 of these animals in the area, and all 4 wanted nothing to do with us! We eased into the area where two of them dove and saw nothing. So we decided to make our way over to the other pair we had seen in the distance. Nothing. Just as nature would have it, just when you think you are going to get the chance to see such large whales in action, you get a different surprise; nothing. With these animals definitely holding their breath for VERY long periods of time or if they had decided to speed out of the area (they are called the "greyhound of the sea" for a reason!) we didn't know but we did know it was time to move on. Our patience paid of as it did not take long for us to come across another single Fin whale.
It was #0915, a whale we had sighted just yesterday morning! This animal provided quite the show as this whale started to filter tons of salt water out of its mouth, almost during every surfacing! Watching one of the 2nd largest animals in the world emerge from the depths of the ocean with its mouth bulging at the seams with food and water inside is incredible! My photos don't at all do this whale justice but for those of you who witnessed it, it was amazing!
Above: The top portion of Fin whale #0915 head as it filters out water from its mouth!
Below: The dorsal fin of #0915
Our next stop was towards a whale we had reports from our friends on the Atlantic Queen but in route we came across different activity. We found a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins!
There were at least 80 of these whales swimming all around the boat. They were cruising through the water demonstrating just how quickly they can swim and gave all of us from great look in every which direction!
These whales were barely captured at the edge of a photo as they jumped through the air
Our trip ended with Hornbill the Humpback whale. Hornbill is notorious (as we have been fortunate enough to see this whale many times over the years!) to be a bit challenging to watch. Sometimes this whale will spend long periods of time under the water and not showcase its tail, something so many folks hope to see when going whale watching in the first place. Such is the case when dealing with wild animals; we can never force a whale to do anything. We are just lucky to see such creatures in their natural habitat going on with their daily activities. Regardless, it was always a pleasure to see any whale and Hornbill is no exception. This whale was not spending much time under the water and not moving long distances either and we got some great looks at this whale, and its tail, multiple times!
Hornbill
Another unexpected and gorgeous day today! Thanks to everyone who joined us today as both of our trips included many returning familiar faces on board!
Keep in touch!Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment