July 7 Prince of Whales

Awesome day in spite of the overcast skies and drizzle!

On our way out to the ledge, we came across a fin whale (#9709) who was making her way quickly to the south. We caught a few looks at her and we continued on, passing by a couple of nice (but smelly) minke whales as well! Yes, that foul odor you smelled as we passed by the minke was its breath! Sometimes whales stink :)

Fin whale 9709 surfacing

Fin whale 9709

On the ledge we found a new humpback whale for the season and one who has never been seen by BOS researchers on Jeffreys Ledge! This was Dyad, a 25 year old female humpback whale who last calved in 2009. Dyad was on a mission, charging all around and likely trying to catch some lunch.

Humpback whale, Dyad

Dyad, the humpback whale

As we watched Dyad, we spotted a couple more small spouts in the distance but they were coming closer to us. To my happy surprise, this was a mom/calf fin whale pair!! As we tried to see who the mom was, a little minke whale kept popping up close by. Soon we saw the fin whale calf surface and turned to come toward us! We were treated to an amazingly close look at the calf, coming up right alongside the boat, with its mom (#9904) right next to it! If it was sunny, the underwater view would have been absolutely incredible! Still the looks were really nice!

Fin whale mom, 9904, surfacing close by!

Fin whale calf checking us out!

Fin whale calf

We saw 9904 and her calf exactly 2 weeks ago. Who knows where they have been since then! As I mentioned, 9904 was first seen in 1999 and this is her 3rd calf that we have had the pleasure to see her raise. Have I mentioned that baby fin whales are one of my favorite things to see on a whale watch?? 
Have a great weekend!

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