Blue Ocean Society's Whale Sightings

Greetings! Thanks for visiting our blog. Our staff and interns will be posting their experiences here working on whale watch boats in NH and MA.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Saturday's Starfish Trip

My first blog post - Hope I don't mess this up! Great day on the "Starfish" yesterday afternoon - the 1st whale watch of the season for the vessel out of Hampton Beach, NH. 2 humpbacks, 2 minke whales and a feeding fin whale. Of the 5, it was the humpback Satula who stole the show with lots of close to boat behavior, beautiful fluke shots, and a tail breach for our enjoyment. We spent most of our Saturday afternoon with this massive whale, enjoying the awesome whether out on the Ledge.

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Saturday, July 2, 2011

July 2 Prince of Whales

What an amazing day! This morning when our captain informed us that he wanted to explore, I was a bit hesitant. We have been having excellent trips recently in one particular area so why venture out to the unknown? Well, research is all about knowing where whales are, and where whale are not. I was very happy that our exploring paid off and we found awesome whales and experienced some very cool behaviors!

We started out with a mellow fin whale feeding happily on krill amongst a flock of gulls. This whale was happy to surface now and then, here and there, just coming up for a few breaths before sinking on a dive to eat some more.

Fin whale

We ventured a little further and found a very nice, yet small, humpback whale. This was the 2009 calf of a whale named Siphon, and it was very hungry! The krill were jumping out of the water trying to escape its massive jaws to no avail.

Humpback whale side-lunging through a mass of krill

We could look down into the calm seas and actually see the light green flashes of the flippers well below the surface as this whale corralled the fish and krill and repeatedly came up very close to our boat with its mouth wide open and pink chin pleats fully expanded!

Can you see the eye?

We also found a very interesting fin whale that seemed to have the right fluke tip bent up since it was poking out above the surface when the whale dove. A tiny minke whale was also seen scooting around though it was a bit elusive.

The afternoon trip was a bit similar to the morning in that we saw the same humpback whale and a few fin whales and a minke.

Siphon's 2009 calf (hopefully to be named this fall) was in the area again and still feeding.

Siphon's 2009 calf
A few fin whales were seen in the distance so we moved to there. One particular fin whale appeared to be "sleeping", moving slowly below the surface and taking a breath every couple minutes. We got absolutely amazing looks at this whale. It was hanging just below the surface and we could see its entire length as it just hung out along-side our boat. These were some of the BEST looks at a fin whale I have EVER had!! Beautiful! We watched the tail slowly move up and down as the whale slowly propelled itself. That huge fluke came within inches of the surface. My photos do not do this whale justice at all- trust me when I say we could really see the entire whale!

Fin whale blow
Fin whale blow holes, and look for the flukes near the bottom of this image


Several other fin whale were in the area and we are expecting to ID these individuals soon. We also found the humpback whale again on our way home, and also came across another fin whale and a minke whale that gave us a very nice close approach!

Perfect day for whale watching with several whales of various species and calm seas and sunny skies! Happy Fourth of July Weekend!!


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July 2 Granite State

Today was another beautiful day to spend out on the ocean. This morning we had a "Grand Slam" of whale species, 4 to be exact, plus the added bonus of a few harbor seals throughout our travels. Our first stop of the day was a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. While heading to the area to spend some time with these whales we actually saw a large splash in the water. It was from a larger whale, a Humpback whale, tossing its tail out of the water! The whale had been under the water as we originally passed through the area and had spotted this animal from all the above-water activity it was doing. We didn't know which way to look as we had dolphins ahead of us and quite the active Humpback off our starboard side. The Humpback whale only smacked its tail on the surface of the water a couple time before ceasing this behavior and so we decided to check out the dolphins first and then make our way over to the larger whale.

The dolphins were relatively mellow as most of them were just effortlessly changing direction and maneuvering through the water. A few of them jumped out of the water as they used the pressure waves from the boat to gain momentum and sky-rocket into the air. This pod consisted of around 20-30 whales and after getting some nice looks we headed back to the area where we had seen the Humpback whale.

Turns out it was Nile again. This whale has been seen many times over the past few days by our Blue Ocean affiliated vessels and having her in the area this morning was a nice way to get some great looks at such a large Humpback whale. With a few other whale watching boats in the area they passed along the news of more whales around giving all of us the chance to spend time with the whales nearby! We got a quick look at a Fin whale before heading over to a pair of Humpback whales. It was a mother and her calf!


The dorsal fins of both the mother and calf Humpback whale pair

The mother Mudskipper is 11 years old and this is the first year this whale has been documented having given born to a calf this past winter!

The unique pattern of Mudskipper's tail

What a special treat to watch a first time mother swim around with her very first offspring!!! Congratulations Mudskipper!An extra special treat of seeing part of the unique pattern found on the calf's tail as this whale rolled around the surface of the water at one point. Check out the size difference (below) between Mudskipper and her calf!



Our morning trip ended with a few more sightings including Satula and Flicker, 2 more Humpback whales. We even ended up finding Flicker thanks to its large flippers it was lifting and slapping back down on the water out in the distance.


Even with so many boats around, the whales and all the vessels in the area, had plenty of space to maneuver and give these creatures all the space they needed this morning.


A deeper dive from the Humpback whale named Flicker


We headed back out to the same area this afternoon and came across multiple Humpback whales as well. We got some great looks at both Satula and Nile, both who even created a few bubble clouds nearby as we spent time in the area.

Above: Nile going on a deeper dive. Below: Satula coming up for a breath of air
Unfortunately we also got to experience some of the downsides of watching whales in the open ocean. With lots of private boats out in the ocean over the summer months, unfortunately some of them are unaware of how to "watch whales" properly. There are restrictions for all vessels, large and small, as to how close you can approach a whale of any size. One boat however, whether knowing these restrictions or not, definitely was not observing them. Multiple times this vessel literally got so close to the whale one of the passengers on board kept putting their hand towards the water, appearing to want to get a chance to touch the whale. The vessel even went so far as to motor up to the whale (the engines continuously running and thus a HUGE threat to the propellers coming in contact with this whale!!!) and float just moments from where this whale just surfaced! Many thanks to one of the other whale watching companies in the area for coming to "keep an eye" on this vessel as we needed to start heading for home. We all care about the whales and do our part to help make sure these creatures continue to swim freely and safely throughout the time we spend watching such majestic beings. While the "rules of the road" out on the open ocean are slightly different than that you find on land, it is still important to know and recognize all of the regulations when it comes to ocean life. With so many other boats sighted out around the whales today, private and commercial alike, we all need to do our part to share this environment with everything that calls the ocean home. There is plenty enough ocean to go around so please respect all of the world's wildlife and give all creatures space. The whales, and all of us, thank you!


Thanks for spending the day with us today as we had folks celebrating anniversaries, first timers to the whales here in the Gulf of Maine, and even a four-legged furry (and very well-behaved) friend who joined us today. It was a pleasure having everyone on board!

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Friday, July 1, 2011

July 1 Granite State

Happy July and happy start to a holiday weekend! We had quite the trips today, each very different, and yet quite incredible in their own ways. The ocean was about as beautiful as it could get with calm seas and gentle breezes and the day just got better from there.

This morning we started out with Hornbill, a Humpback whale, that we got word of thanks to the early morning charter fishing vessels on Jeffreys Ledge. While spending some time with this animal out in the distance we saw some splashing and we knew we needed to investigate. It was a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! There were around 20-30 animals in this group and a great treat as folks got some great views of these mammals swimming all around the boat. It wasn't long until there was another spout from a whale just beyond the dolphins. Having enjoyed our time with the dolphins we pressed on and came upon another Humpback whale, Satula. Now this might by silly but the highlight of the time spent with Satula was when this whale pooped! How often can people say they saw whale poop? Well there it was just as Satula went down for a dive and it was brown, an indication this whale not only had recently been eating (the more you eat, the more you need to get rid of excess waste!) but this whale had been feasting on small school fish, most likely herring! Did you know depending on the color of the defecation one can determine what kind of food the whale has been eating? Brown = schooling fish and red = krill.

With such great conditions we decided to do some searching and see if Jeffreys Ledge had anything else in store for us this morning. Little did we know the day wasn't done. Our next stop was a very large Basking shark which everyone got really great looks at as this fish swam right alongside the boat. Being the second largest shark in the world it is always quite impressive to be able to see the entire length of one of these creatures only feet from you! We then came into an area where we found a pair of Humpback whales, Literal and Ivory's 2009 calf swimming around together.


The almost all white tail of Ivory's 2009 calf

This pair was slowly maneuvering through the water and again allowed for some great passes right alongside the boat. With a bit more time to spare we decided to press on from this pair of whales and go searching a little while longer.

We ended up finding yet another species of marine life, a Fin whale. This whale was spending lots of time under the water and out in the distance there was something else going on; more splashing! We found another pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This particular group was quite a bit larger than our previous pod, consisting of around 80+ whales. To make things even more interesting this pod was heading straight towards a pair of Fin whales!

Our pair of Fin whales. Above, Fin whale #0520 and below, the very uniquely marked back of our second Fin whale

Soon the dolphins were associating with the Fin whales. Small and large mammals interspersing the area together, while not being a rare occurrence, it is something we do not get a chance to see all that often. The surprises weren't over yet. Just as we were about to leave one of the Fin whales decided to leave a nice patch of processed food at the surface; more whale poop! The color of defecation left behind this Fin whale was red. And what does that mean? This whale had recently been enjoying a whole lot of krill during its last meal! In the end we had dolphins and Fin whales around the boat it was hard to decide where to look. What a wonderful way to end our trip!

The afternoon conditions remained the same and with such great visibility we were off again towards Jeffreys Ledge. Our first sighting of the day was another Basking shark and this fish was so unaffected by our presence we again got some amazing looks as this shark swam by the entire length of our port side. What a sight!

Our first mammal of the afternoon was a single Humpback whale doing some deeper feeding as this whale was circling the area and coming up with mouthfuls of salt water and fish in its mouth.


The lower jaw of this Humpback is bellowed out as this whale is ridding itself of all the salt water in its mouth and trapping all the food inside thanks to the hundreds of baleen plates these whales use as a filtering device!

Perhaps one of the most interesting thing about wildlife is that everything to an extent is unpredictable. We hadn't seen this whale this morning and the whales we had spent time with this morning were not making themselves known. Were they still in the area, had they moved on to other areas of Jeffreys Ledge in search of different concentrations of food, where had this particular whale been this morning? Whatever the answers we were excited to come upon this whale as it continued on with its daily activities.

The day wasn't quite over as with a bit more time we were off again looking for more life. We made our way to an area where whales had been reported by our other whale watching families out in the Gulf of Maine and figured we would "swing through" on our way home. Well we ended up staying put for a while as we ended up over lots of bait in the water and multiple species actively feeding nearby!


What our fish finder on board looked like. The screen itself is split in half but as we sat with the engines off we were in 220ft of water and almost the entire column of water directly underneath us was completely engulfed with food!!! The more food in the water the darker, or more red, the area!

Nile the Humpback whale and a large Fin whale suddenly started to zig and zag around the area.


Nile

Nile started to show remnants of bubble clouds, a feeding mechanism, used by Humpback whales to corral fish. Then, the Fin whale began to lunge through the water with its mouth wide open! These whales were definitely taking advantage of the plentiful food in the water.

The flipper of our Fin whale as it was rolling around and lunging through the water!

You could actually look into the water and see small red creatures underneath the surface. The area was chalk full of krill and probably other fish eating the krill! Within moments we had both large whales rolling over on their sides, mouths wide open, scooping up as much food as possible.
Our fin whale creating quite the disturbance as it charges after some food!

At one point both the Fin whale and the Humpback whale were circling the same particular area surfacing one right after another. What a spectacle! Then out of the blue a third species of whale made itself known. Right in the middle of things a Minke surfaced close by. Looks like all the animals nearby wanted to get in on the food!

The unfortunate result of a whale and a boat propeller coming in contact with each other. Thankfully this Minke whale survived the ordeal.

It was another great end to the trip and a wonderful end to the day! As is always the case with wildlife sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time; today seemed like one of those days.

Thanks to all our passengers who joined us today, especially so many of you who were first time whale watchers, both young and "wise," and visitors from all over the country.

What will tomorrow bring? Only the whales know that for a fact, but we can't wait to find out for ourselves. Hope to see you out there in search of such massive cetaceans!


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July 1 aboard The Atlantic Queen

Mother Nature was in a fine mood today, it could not have been better for whale watching. We left Rye Harbor heading to the same spot we were in yesterday. The word must have gotten out about alot of food in that particular area. We had a good handful of humpback whales all in close proximity to each other. We had Diablo, Satula, Nile and a my favorite of the day a mom calf pair. This pair was my first for the season, always a site to see. The size difference alone is quite amazing. We hope to have a definite ID on the mom soon, keep up with our blog to find out.

July 1 Prince of Whales

This must be the week of Satula, one of our adoptable humpback whales! He was seen again today!
Satula

We next found a beautiful mother/calf pair diving in sync but not showing us their tails. Based on the fin of the mother, I think this might be Mudskipper, a humpback whale we saw a lot of back in 2009.

Mother/calf humpback whales

As we moved back near Satula we found Nile feeding on krill! The pink krill were jumping out of the water as we got closer- trying to escape the mouth of their predators.

These two images show Nile feeding near the surface with water pouring out of her mouth, being filtered by her baleen.
Nile, with the Nile River-like marking on her left fluke

On our way home, we had just a few minutes to spare to stop and watch Diablo, another humpback whale who we saw several times last summer with a calf! Her 2010 calf is now on its own and Diablo seemed to be doing some feeding as well.

Diablo's all black flukes

Today was a really beautiful day on Jeffreys Ledge! Hope you all have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

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Atlantic Queen June 30









Humpback whales were the flavor of the day! We had several whales in the area and one Minke whale who popped up a few quick times. Our first stop was a juvenile humpback that gave us some nice looks, this whale was very busy searching for some food, we left that animal to allow it to continue on its journey. We saw Satula again today, being a very big male you can hear him from a good distance exhaling and then his very deep and growling inhale, very cool! Later we talked to our friends on The Prince of Whales who lead us to Nile a beautiful female and Hornbill. In the photo you can see the bubble clouds humpback whales use to trap and startle fish. Looks like a great weekend for weather and whales, come out and see!