September 14 Prince of Whales

What a difference 2 days can make!! Our last trip out, Wednesday, was glassy calm with seven humpbacks- mostly all adults- and one fin whale, one minke whale, a few harbor porpoises and a group of common dolphins! Today, we went back to that same area and found a small group of dolphins on the way, but then saw three humpback whales which were all new whales that hadn't been seen by us yet this season! We also had at least a half dozen fin whales all around and mixed in with the humpbacks! Watching the same piece of ocean change so much so quickly is one of the reasons we do what we do. We never know what or who we will find out there!

After getting a brief look at the dolphins, who were busy and didn't want much to do with us, we saw a few spouts in the distance. Our first whale was a young humpback who has yet to be named and is currently just known as the 2009 calf of Clipper. Clipper herself as been seen prior this season but this was our first look at her offspring since it was a calf back in 2009! This young humpback should be named in the upcoming year. As we waited for it to resurface, we got quite the surprise when it showed up right next to us!

Clipper's 2009 calf, surfacing close by!

Clipper's 2009 calf- yet to be named.

Soon we moved off to catch a few looks at a huge fin whale in the area.None of the fin whales from today have been identified yet but we hope to work on that later on.

First fin whale of the day!

Soon, another humpback whale came into the area. This one was a 5-year old named Ticker. Ticker must have been taking lessons from Clipper's calf since it too decided to check us out and surfaced closely!

Ticker, filtering water from its mouth.

Ticker's nearly all-black flukes.

A couple more fin whales were seen though they were a bit difficult to get good looks at. Seems all the whales were busy feeding today and not spending all that much time of the surface.

Fin whale

 Another humpback whale was seen. This one appeared small, and we still aren't sure who it is. 

Third humpback whale

A pair of fin whales, and yet another single fin whale came to the surface on our way home. It really is amazing to see so many new whales in the area that we have not seen all summer! I wonder what tomorrow will bring??  Thanks to everyone who joined us today!

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