Rainy, gray day on the ledge today. But we managed to find three species of whales! We began with a huge fin whale that was not wanting to be looked at. It was moving quickly and staying down for a long time. But as we waited, a minke popped up nearby!

Minke whale

As we headed off shore, we spotted several blows. But then the rain started so our looks at a humpback and distant fin whale were quick. The humpback whale was a young one- the 2008 calf of Quote. Hopefully this whale will be named this fall.

Quote's 2008 calf

As the thunder and rain surrounded the boat, we decided to turn the boat for home. Another minke whale was seen in our wake on the way in. Thanks to all of our hardy passengers, enduring the rain and wind!


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July 18 Granite State

Check out our "resident" sea anenome that lives in Rye Harbor! This animal is attached to one of the posts at the dock and only likes to be spotted by us at SUPER low tides!


Yep, it is true, we are fascinated by all types of marine life. Ok, now onto the whales...

The weather cooperated quite nicely today as even though we ended up going through the rain, it was on the ride in, and so we were able to spend the morning watching the whales with the overcast sky. Regardless of if we had encountered rain earlier or not, it also always helps that the whales are already swimming in a vast amount of water so even if it does rain, they don't mind!

Our trips started with not one, two, or even three Fin whales, but at least 5 of the second largest animals in the world in one general area!

One of the handful of Fin whales sighted

It was a bit tricky when we first arrived in the area as at first we had to figure out where the animals were, how many of them there were, and which ones we were looking at. We ended up getting some really nice looks at the majority of them in the area as some whales would surface, different ones were diving, and all seemed to be circling around! Thanks to a nice pass by one of our animals we were even able to verify that it was a whale in our catalog. It was #9709, an adult female!

#9709

Amongst the other whales swimming around we also got some nice looks at a pair staying close to each other. Check out one of the whales as it went on a deeper dive. This whale looked like it was ready to "fluke" like a Humpback whale. Look at just how much bulk of whale is still beyond its dorsal fin!
Our next sighting included another Fin whale in the area as we travelled to some other regions around Jeffreys Ledge this morning as well as another species. We found a Humpback whale. This animal was quite relaxed and wasn't surfacing far from where it was diving allowing all our passengers to get some nice looks. This whale is Zio, a whale born in 2007, and so named due to the letters Z-I-O found on its unique tail pattern.

Can you spot the Z, I, and O found on this whale's tail?
Hint: It is on the right side of the tail

On our ride home we also passed by another Humpback whale that wasn't taking long dives at all. We ended up getting a quick identifying shot as this whale went down for a dive just as we were passing through. Looks like the 2010 calf of Shuttle is still around!

Shuttle's 2010 calf

Thanks to all our passengers today who braved the forecast and joined us on board. Really nice whales, lots of fresh sea air, and a little fresh water "rinse" on our way in is not a bad way to start your day!

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July 17 Granite State

Another lovely day to spend 20+ miles from land, allowing all of us to cool down and enjoy the cooler temperatures that typically occur when you spend time out on the open ocean. This morning we ended up with 4 different species of baleen whales, a "Grand Slam" of baleen species! We saw Minke whales, a couple of Fin whales, two Humpback whales, and a RIGHT WHALE! Wasn't expecting that this morning!

After watching a Minke whale swim in our wake (I know, this is not normal! Apparently this whale was pretending to be a dolphin perhaps?!?!? Who knows...), we came upon Hornbill the Humpback whale. Less that one day later this animal had moved 7 miles from its previous known location, showcasing once again how easily these animals can shift their location in their continuous search for food. With some nice looks at Hornbill we moved on to another spout we were seeing in the not so far distance. It was a Fin whale and at first this whale was on the move. During the first two surfacings this whale was steadily swimming at a pretty good speed. Suddenly, for the 3rd surfacing of this whale, it was out behind us. This whale had slowed down and changed direction. We were able to get some very nice looks at such a large species before continuing further offshore.

Our next stop was Chickadee the Humpback whale. This animal was definitely not traveling as it mostly circled the area and came up filtering salt water many times.

Above: Chickadee filtering out lots of water from its mouth
Below: Chickadee's unique pattern of its tail

Catching food, taking a breath or two of air, and diving back down into the depths of the ocean was what this whale continued to do for the majority of our time spent watching Chickadee. What a great treat to get a chance to watch these animals actively feed near Jeffreys Ledge.

Look at all that salt water spilling out of Chickadee's mouth as this whale actively forces the water out of its mouth while trapping lots of food inside!

With a bit more time to explore we decided to go check out some other areas we haven't searched recently and see if anything else was lurking in the waters offshore. Little did we know what we were about to see next...

We found a Right whale! With less that 500 of these animals left in their ENTIRE population, to see one is such a phenomenal occurrence. As soon as we realized what was out in the distance, we watched from quite the distance as the distinct v-shaped blow arouse from this whale! What a special sighting. To be in the presence of such a critically endangered species is captivating even without knowing what you really are looking at out in the distance. Definitely special.

This afternoon we ended up starting in an area where we saw two separate pairs of Fin whales. 4 of these animals in the area, and all 4 wanted nothing to do with us! We eased into the area where two of them dove and saw nothing. So we decided to make our way over to the other pair we had seen in the distance. Nothing. Just as nature would have it, just when you think you are going to get the chance to see such large whales in action, you get a different surprise; nothing. With these animals definitely holding their breath for VERY long periods of time or if they had decided to speed out of the area (they are called the "greyhound of the sea" for a reason!) we didn't know but we did know it was time to move on. Our patience paid of as it did not take long for us to come across another single Fin whale.

It was #0915, a whale we had sighted just yesterday morning! This animal provided quite the show as this whale started to filter tons of salt water out of its mouth, almost during every surfacing! Watching one of the 2nd largest animals in the world emerge from the depths of the ocean with its mouth bulging at the seams with food and water inside is incredible! My photos don't at all do this whale justice but for those of you who witnessed it, it was amazing!

Above: The top portion of Fin whale #0915 head as it filters out water from its mouth!
Below: The dorsal fin of #0915

Our next stop was towards a whale we had reports from our friends on the Atlantic Queen but in route we came across different activity. We found a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! There were at least 80 of these whales swimming all around the boat. They were cruising through the water demonstrating just how quickly they can swim and gave all of us from great look in every which direction!

These whales were barely captured at the edge of a photo as they jumped through the air

Our trip ended with Hornbill the Humpback whale. Hornbill is notorious (as we have been fortunate enough to see this whale many times over the years!) to be a bit challenging to watch. Sometimes this whale will spend long periods of time under the water and not showcase its tail, something so many folks hope to see when going whale watching in the first place. Such is the case when dealing with wild animals; we can never force a whale to do anything. We are just lucky to see such creatures in their natural habitat going on with their daily activities. Regardless, it was always a pleasure to see any whale and Hornbill is no exception. This whale was not spending much time under the water and not moving long distances either and we got some great looks at this whale, and its tail, multiple times!

Hornbill

Another unexpected and gorgeous day today! Thanks to everyone who joined us today as both of our trips included many returning familiar faces on board!

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July 16 Granite State

A slight delay in posting from this weekend's trips but what a great weekend it has been! Our morning trip had quite the plethora of sightings as we saw lots of whales and even a shark! We ended up seeing 7 different Fin whales, including #0622 and #0915 cruising around through the area.

Fin whale #0622 going on a deep dive

We also had the opportunity to see 4 other Fin whales swimming through the water together! You kept seeing spout, spout, spout, spout from all these whales as they surfaced for a few good breaths before watching all four of them arch their backs steeply and synchronized their dive times together. Wow. Turned out that wasn't the only group of whales we saw.

We also ended up spending time with a trio of Humpback whales. It was Mudskipper, her calf, and Chickadee.

Chickadee, Mudskipper's tail, and Mudskipper's calf all in a row

All three whales were also timing their surfacings and diving behaviors together, coming up and circling in all different direction. What a sight to see a large adult female swimming alongside her "tiny" calf and a potential juvenile animal.

Above: Mudskipper and her calf
Below: Chickadee and Mudskipper going down on deep dives!

Our travels also took us past a Blue Shark, which we tried to feed it hot dog bites but turned out it wasn't a big fan (oh well, maybe next time!) as well as a few other Humpback whales including Quote's 2008 calf and even a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! What a great way to end our morning trip!

Above: Quote's 2008 calf
Below: PERFECT conditions for watching Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

The afternoon trip provided its own memorable moments when we started out with another shark, one of the 2nd largest sharks in the world, a Basking Shark! This fish swam just off our port side and with it being so close to the surface of the water you could really get a sense of just how large this fish was! We pressed on in search of some marine mammals and ended up seeing 2 Minke whales, 2 Fin whales, and 2 Humpback whales after that! We knew our Humpback whales as both Chickadee and Hornbill graced us with their presence for all of our passengers to see.

Chickadee was busy circling and surfacing with lots of water filtering out of its mouth. Looks like we caught the right time to watch this animal do some deeper feeding this afternoon!

Chickadee

As always a great day on the water with some wonderful passengers. We had family, friends, Birthday celebrations, and lots of first time whale watchers of all ages! Thanks to everyone who spent the day with us on our adventures to Jeffreys Ledge. What a beautiful and wonderful day!


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July 17 Prince of Whales

Lovey afternoon of whale watching today! We found 3 species of whales, including minkes, finbacks and a humpback! Quite the variety!

We began by watching a curious minke whale. This 25-foot whale was surfacing frequently. As we waited for it to reappear, some diligent passengers on the bow were pointing straight down, under the boat! I looked over the rail to see this minke whale swimming along-side us and then it went under the boat! On the opposite side, it took some time to check us out before peeling off to find some more food. Quite the awesome minke viewing!

Minke whale, close to the boat!

We then saw a spout in the distance- a fin whale! This whale was moving though- taking long dives and heading south. We got a few glimpses of it in the distance before we decided to move along and head further offshore.

Soon, another blow was spotted. As we moved into the area, we found a humpback whale. This particular whale was Hornbill- one of our recent frequent visitors to the area!

Humpback whale named Hornbill, first seen in 1977

As Hornbill went down on feeding dives, we were entertained by the 2 or so minke whale in the area. At one point the minke whale was surfacing, and then before we knew it, the humpback whale surfaced in the same spot!

On our way home we spotted another blow. This was another fin whale, and it was also down for 10+ minute dives and traveling so we never got too close to it.
All in all a beautiful, and cooler, day on the Ledge! Thanks to all of our wonderful passengers for your great questions and enthusiasm! And congratulations to our lucky raffle winner, Ilijana, who took home a whale adoption!






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Saturday, July 17 Atlantic Queen Trip

Another beautiful day on the ocean!  It took us a bit longer to find whales today, but our patience was rewarded with excellent looks at a fin whale and a humpback, with a few minkes around also!

After searching for a while, we came upon a fin whale, who just happened to come up right next to us at one point, affording us great looks at the white jaw patch on its lower right jaw, and swirly gray chevron marking:

Then, we heard from our friends on the Prince of Whales that they were watching Hornbill, a whale first seen in 1977!  So we took a quick cruise and got some great looks at Hornbill. He spent lots of time just under the surface, leaving trails of flukeprints and building up the suspense until he lifted his huge flukes from the water!

Hornbill and a trail of flukeprints

Hornbill's distinctive tail pattern

There were also a few minkes around - we saw two during the trip, and got a quick glimpse at one on the way home. Thanks to everyone who joined us today, and congratulations to Peg from Portsmouth, who won our raffle - enjoy your adoption of Satula!

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July 16 Prince of Whales

Today was a day of oddities on the ledge!
We began our morning trip with a very nice, and familiar, fin whale, #9709. She is a female, first documented by BOS researches in 1997- 4 years before BOS was founded! (It makes sense if you don't think about it)

Fin whale #9709

After that, we found a pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins. These guys were feeding when we arrived and quickly decided that the boat was more fun- leaping in the waves behind our boat. I managed to get a photo one of these dolphins completely out of the water- again- they are called "white-sided" dolphins...Can you tell what is wrong about the photo below?

Atlantic white sided dolphin??

The pod was certainly the AWSD species, but this individual looks different-it has no white side, nor tan stripe along the tail stock- maybe a genetic mutation or a hybrid with another species?? Odd...

Next with the help of our friends on the Granite State, we watched a trio of humpback whales- a mother/calf pair with an escort! The mom was Mudskipper, a first-time mother, and the escort was 5-year-old Chickadee.

Chickadee and Mudskipper

Chickadee, with Mudskipper behind her

We saw another fin whale in the area with the humpback whales, and then headed for home, stopping only briefly to see the dolphins again.

On the afternoon trip, we started with a fin whale again. This whale has not been identified yet.

Fin whale

As we were waiting for a humpback to surface, a friendly minke popped up. Here is another odd whale- this 25-foot whale has an odd-looking upper jaw. Usually the nose area is very pointed. This one seems a bit bulbous.

Minke whale

As it surfaced close by, we could follow it along by watching the white patches on the flippers glow under water.

The humpback we were watching has yet to be identified. It was a bit wiggly and hard to keep track of but we managed to get a couple looks:

The unusual part of this whale was its flukes- they seem up-turned and not flat like most humpback whales we see.

Humpback whale, Hornbill, the male first seen in 1977, was also in the area and was behaving surprisingly well (he has a reputation for being "uncooperative").

All in all a very nice day with perfect weather and great passengers! Congrats to our whale adoption raffle winners on both trips today!




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