August 8 Granite State

Minke whales and Humpback whales were scattered around on Jeffreys Ledge today!  On the way out, on the Ledge, and during our travels home we kept seeing Minke whales pop up and circle around the area.  This morning we also got a chance to spend time with three Humpback whales.  Cajun, Crystal, and Bat where moving around the area switching between circling around and slightly changing locations all morning long.

Cajun

Crystal

Bat

Bat was most visibly doing some feeding as many times this whale would surface with a remnant of a bubble cloud rising to the surface nearby. These underwater exhalations scare fish into a tight ball, as millions of bubble pass up through the school of fish, allowing the whale to open it's large mouth and capture lots of fish with each gulp of ocean water!

This afternoon we once again got the chance to see a few of the same Humpback whales we had seen in the morning as well as more Minke whales.  Crystal and Bat were still circling around and once again were able to get some incredible looks at these adult whales!

Crystal showing us it's tail a few times this afternoon

Bat (and her big body) going on a deeper dive

Bat's tail as she heads into the depths of the ocean

Our extra special treat this afternoon occurred on our ride back towards Rye Harbor when one of our passengers spotted a group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins!  These whales were definitely cruising through the water but our patience paid off as we got some great last looks at these whales. 

A "line" of whitewater as our dolphins create quite the disturbance on the surface of the ocean

These whales ended up "surfing" down the waves coming right in towards us, swimming under the bow of the boat, and continuing to move right alongside us for a much longer time then they had previously been staying at the surface.  It was a great way to end an already very nice day out on Jeffreys Ledge.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins

Our dolphins just barely under the water

Thanks to all our passengers who searched the horizon during the whole trip, asked great questions, and enjoyed spending time with some incredible wildlife throughout our travels today!

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