May 26- Prince of Whales

Today was the Prince of Whale's first whale watch of the 2012 season and it surely did not disappoint! Humpbacks, minkes and fin whales were all around us and we never even made it out to Jeffreys Ledge! Having the whales so close meant a lot more whale time and a lot less travel/waiting time!

We began our trip with a hot report from the Granite State- a whale watching boat from Rye, NH. Close to the Isles of Shoals, we found two humpback whales, Isthmus and Draco. Isthmus was flicking the water with her huge tail while Draco assisted in the feeding. Bright green patches of bubbles surfaced, and then did the whales. Minke whales were scooting around the humpbacks left and right.

A bit further out we tried to get a look at a large fin whale but that one wanted nothing to do with us. The best we got were some views of distant, tall blows.

But then we found a couple more humpbacks, with a third in the area. The two were DashDot and friend. The third has yet to be ID'ed but had an all-black tail. More minke whales were seen here.

Then, as we were running out of time, we found another pair of humpback whales. Although the larger of the 2 didn't lift its tail, I am positive, based on that huge dorsal fin, that this was Mudskipper. The smaller whale has just been ID'ed as Jabiru, a whale first seen in 2002.

What a great start to our whale watching season! Can't wait to get  back out there tomorrow and find some more whale friends!

Mudskipper

Jabiru

DashDot

DashDot and friend

Isthmus

Draco

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