August 31 Granite State

We were fortunate enough to see 6 Minke whales on each of our trips today. Some whales were being a bit more cooperative than others but that can be very much expected for we go looking for wildlife (not tame or trained life). 

One of our Minke whales from this morning (above and below)

With a handful of our whales spending more time on the surface than others we were able to get some very nice looks at these mammals.

A few of our afternoon Minke whales (above and below)

We were also lucky enough to catch a few looks at a couple of other marine creatures roaming around Jeffreys Ledge today. This morning we came across a lone Atlantic white-sided dolphin. It is pretty uncommon to see this type of toothed-whale swimming along on its own. They need to swim in groups for one because they work together to help corral food they are chasing after which allows them to ultimately catch their prey. 

Getting some really good looks at a single dolphin this morning

Not only was this whale by itself it was also behaving oddly. Each time it surfaced it would spy-hop. This behavior involves bring the majority of a whale's head vertically above the waterline basically as a way to almost check out the world above the ocean. While we occasionally see this behavior from whales to see it occur every time this whale surfaced was very strange. We did not see anything visibly wrong with this animal (no line noted anywhere we could see on this whale's body or any visible injuries) so we can only hope this whale eventually met back up with a pod after leaving the area.  

Thinking good thoughts that this whale eventually met up with some other dolphin friends!

This afternoon we had an unexpected visitor to the area while we were watching one of our many Minke whales. A harbor seal surfaced close by and did not seem to be fazed by us in the least! 

Harbor seal looking at us looking at it!

It rested for a little before looking over at us, proceeded to swim around for a bit, and eventually disappeared from the ocean's surface. While we were a bit further offshore than what is typically an area to spot seals, they occasional venture further offshore before ultimately turning around and heading back towards land/islands. 

Seal swimming on through the waves

Some nice looks at all of our whales and a few extra surprises made for another successful journey to Jeffreys Ledge today!

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