June 27 Granite State

This morning we spent time with a pair of Fin whales.  While both creatures were spending on average about 11 minutes under the surface of the water each time they would resurface, not only would they still be together, they were barely moving around.  These whales were being a bit sneaky as sometimes they would surface just high enough to take a breath of air but not enough to see their dorsal fins.  Unfortunately even when you did see the two whales dorsal fin's it was still difficult to determine exactly which of the two whales was at the surface as both whales at first glance appeared to be very similar looking.  However, after a little bit of a closer inspection you can see just the slightest differences that make each of these animals unique from one another.

First Fin whale of the pair

A closer look at our first Fin whale's dorsal fin. Note the slight indentation on the back portion of this whale's dorsal fin

 Versus:

Second Fin whale of our morning pair

A slightly broader dorsal fin with a small bend at the tip of the fin itself

With a bit of wave action, the whales seemed to be behaving better than the ocean!  We were able to get some incredible looks as these enormous mammals would cruise down either side of the boat crashing through the waves as they came up to get some big breaths of air.  I guess when you are one of the second largest animals on Earth the Fin whales just push the waves aside as opposed to being pushed aside by the waves!

Fin whale charging through the waves!

A small portion of the white lower jaw and even the chevron  pattern (silver/gray area along the side of this whale) as it swims with ease against the wind/waves!

This afternoon we went searching for our morning pair but had no luck.  Looks like those two animals had ventured off to other areas of the ocean, maybe together or maybe seperately, but they were gone and instead found a different Fin whale that had moved into the area!  This animal had such an interesting dorsal fin that it didn't take long for our crew to match this whale to our Blue Ocean Society Fin Whale Catalog.  It was #0811.  This whale was first sighted on Jeffreys Ledge in 2008 and had been most recently seen in 2010 until today.  Another familiar fin has returned to the Ledge, always a fun sight to see!

Fin whale #0811

A zoomed in look at Fin whale's #0811 dorsal fin.  This fin is completely different looking than the two Fin whales we spent time with this morning and one of the main features we use to tell each Fin whale apart from another!

With a few other Fin whales and some great looks at some of the Minke whales in the area we headed for home.  Thanks to all our passengers who took a bit of a "wild ride" this morning and to all our very inquisitive younger passengers this afternoon.  Some great questions were asked by some very young brains and we sure enjoyed the enthusiasm and eagerness to learn as much as possible about all aspects of whales during our trip!

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Prince of Whales June 27 2012

We had a bit of a bumpy ride today heading out to the ledge, but soon after we left the dock the sun started to peak out.  The whales made us work quite hard today, we work hard everyday for our whales but sometimes they have other plans in mind.  We serached for quite a while when our captain saw a spout about 2 miles ahead, with wide eyes we were looking once more.  We ended up finding a very busy Fin whale, but this whale was not alone, it had some friends in tow, Atlantic White Sided Dolphin.

Though the pod was quite small only 4 in the pod, 2 adults and 2 calves, it was still wondereful to see them.  This was our first sighting of dolphin this season. 

We often see Fin whales with dolphin, why?  we don't really know but the size comparison is quite amazing a 70 ft whale next to a 9ft whale, pretty cool.  Congratulations to Connor who won our faffle today and to all our patient passengers.







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Tuesday, June 26th, Granite State

With grey skies looming in Rye harbor, we were unsure of what to expect when we left the dock in search of whales.  After passing the Isles of  Shoals, we headed towards a shouthern area of Jeffrey's Ledge and found several whales throughout our travels.  We started with not 1, but 2 very nice Minke whales and thought they were a great way to start our trip.  Shortly after spending time with our Minke whales, we saw an exhalation from a larger whale not to far away from where we were.  In the interest of time, we decided to see if we could spend time with the larger whale and I'm glad we did!  It turned out to be a very large Fin whale and it wasn't long before we realized who it was.  I'm happy to report that Dingle has returned to Jeffrey's Ledge, for yet another feeding season!  Today was the first time we have documented that Dingle has returned and it was great to share the happy news with all our passengers. 

Dingle seemed to be travelling in several different directions every time the whale would return to the surface and it didn't take long to figure out why. Photographed below is our fish finder. It does not help us find whales, but it does track bait fish and other food items underneath the surface of the water and there was a whole lot of food in this particular area.

The more time we spent in the area, the more whales we started to see. Before long, we had found 6 different Minke whales, and 3 different Fin whales. The food was plentiful and the whales were taking full advantage. What a great way to spend our day. As we headed for home, our course took us through some rain showers, but everyone did great. Thank you to all our passengers for joining us today and for helping us tract a familiar friend who has retunred to the Ledge for another feeding season.

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June 24 Granite State

For the fourth day in a row we have spent time with some familiar whales.  While we often get the chance to see animals we recognize in the field and continue to see them over the course of a few consecutive days we've come to realize an interesting trait that has been reoccurring during our recent whale watches.  Today we got the chance to spend time with Halfmoon the Humpback whale during both of our trips. 

Halfmoon

Whales tend to move around constantly as they search for food so sometimes we are lucky enough to see the same animal in the same general location during our morning and afternoon trips, and sometimes these animals do a bit of travelling and end up on other parts of Jeffreys Ledge as the day progresses.  These behaviors are quite normal and sometimes even expected as we venture out throughout the day.  However, for the 4th day in a row we have not only gotten the chance to see Halfmoon we have also been seeing Fjord the Fin whale in relatively close proximity to each other. 

Fjord

While spending time with these two whales over the course of the past few days they have never crossed paths but instead have tended to be within a few miles of each other.  Again, this is not crazily unusual as both Fin whales and Humpback whales feed on the exact same food.  It simply makes sense that if one type of whale is around it is very much possible another type can be close by. 

The real zinger of all this is that both animals have been up, down, and all around different portions of Jeffreys Ledge over the past 4 days.  One morning both are seen in one particular region, 24hrs later a completely different region, and the trend seems to be continuing each and every day.  While this may not seem to be all that exciting of news, we have been finding it quite intriguing.  Honestly it could be completely coincidental seeing these two animals day in and day out on different section of the Ledge but regardless we continue to chuckle as each time we end up seeing one, the other never seems to be too far away.  So thanks again to Halfmoon and Fjord for allowing our passengers to get some great looks at these two large adult whales (Fjord is at least 31 years old while Halfmoon is at least 33 years old!) and to all our passengers, many of whom are repeat whale-spotting pros, and our first time crowds, for another beautiful day spent watching such incredibly intriguing mammals.

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June 24 on the Atlantic Queen

It was a beautiful day on the water today - calm seas and nice cool breezes! It was a good thing, as we had a ways to go to find whales, but our patience paid off!

After cruising all over Jeffreys Ledge, we made our way down to southern Jeffreys, where we thought there might be a fin whale or two. We were surprised to find Half Moon, a humpback who has been around Jeffreys Ledge quite a bit since the end of May, and who was named for the crescent-shaped scar on the edge of his fluke.  We got some great looks at this 34-year old whale from both sides of the boat.

We then heard from the Granite State that they had a fin whale, conveniently on our way home. We went a few miles toward Rye and found Fjord, one of our adoptable whales, who has also been in the area a lot since May.  It's always exciting to see one of our adoptable whales, who are usually picked for our adoption program since they are frequent visitors to our area!

After some looks at Fjord, we headed home. Sounds like there's lots of rain in store for tomorrow - sometimes storms seem to stir things up in the Gulf of Maine - maybe it'll bring the prey a bit closer to Rye later in the week!

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June 24 Prince of Whales, Newburyport

For those of you who are members or follow us, you may have just read our latest newsletter with my article about when is the best time to see whales. I mentioned that seeing a few fin whales side by side would be my ideal trip, and that I realized that wasn't everyone's ideal. Today was a day that I was in whale heaven even though I'm pretty sure not everyone on board agreed.

So what did we see to make me so excited?? A fin whale mother with her new calf!!!!!  And to make it even better, it was a whale I knew AND we got excellent ID photos of her calf. Awesome!!

So here is how it all went down... We were trying to look at a couple of minke whales that were being less than cooperative. Our captain claimed he saw a "very low-profile fin whale" up ahead. We go there and saw nothing for the longest time...just some distant minkes that were hard to get good looks at. Finally, the fin whale came up. I snapped a few shots but the whale was still a good 1/4 mile away. When I stopped talking long enough to zoom in on my photos, I recognized this whale immediately: #9904! I was thrilled she was back in the area as we see her nearly annually. We know she is a female because she showed up with calves in 2005 and 2008.

#9904 was only surfacing for a couple breaths before sinking below the surface. Her movements weren't consistent. Then she surfaced and from a distance it looked like she had 2 dorsal fins. Hmmm....Another breath, and we could see she had a friend along side her. But this friend was really small- her calf!!  Yay, #9904 is a mom again! So that was pretty cool. We got some distant looks but neither mom nor calf were spending much time at the surface, until it was time for us to leave. THEN, she decided to do what she is famous for and cut right across our bow! As she was approaching, we cut our engines to make it more quiet for not only us but also for her and the calf. The pair stayed up for 6 breaths, approaching us! We were finally able to get some fantastic shots of both mom and calf, and based on the shots of the calf, we will now be able to ID it in future years when it returns on its own!

#9904 and her calf just behind her!

Check out the calf's awesome chevron markings!

#9904 and calf going down

Such a phenomenal sighting!  Then to top it off, we encountered fin whale, Fjord, on our way home! He was busy traveling to the north and we were out of time so we didn't stay long, but it is always great to see one of our adoptable whales!

Fjord seen close to Cape Ann

So no, the whales were not breaching or lifting their tails in the air, but this was an incredible trip for an avid whale researcher who is so excited to add another member to the endangered fin whale family!


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June 23 Granite State

It was another beautiful morning on Jeffreys Ledge today.  The whales and weather were working hand in hand as the ocean looked like a lake and the whales were out and about!  Our trip started with a couple Minke whales perusing the area and after a few looks we knew we had to keep going and utilize the gorgeous conditions we were surrounded by to search for more marine life.

Minke whale

Next stop a Fin whale.  Can you guess who it was???  Low and behold we had found Fjord once again.  This animal was in a completely different location than where we had seen it just yesterday, but there it was moving through the area. 

Hello again Fjord!

What a pleasant surprise.  With some nice looks at such a familiar Fin whale we were off again to see what else was lurking on Jeffreys Ledge.

One familiar whale lead to another.  It was Halfmoon the Humpback whale.  Another animal we had seen less than 24hrs before in a section of Jeffreys Ledge miles away!  Halfmoon kept us keyed in on its movements as this whale created a few bubble clouds (something we have been seeing from this animal multiple days in a row no matter where on the Ledge we keep seeing this whale) all while meandering around the ocean for a bit.

Halfmoon

More Minke whales topped off this morning's adventure and before we knew it we were off again for our afternoon trip.  Sea conditions were still enjoyable as a light sea breeze picked up, cooling everyone down a few degrees as we ventured offshore.

Our first whales this afternoon were Pinball the Humpback whale and her calf.  Both animals were slowly moving around as we got some great looks as these two whales effortlessly swam in synchrony together. 

Pinball

With such great quality time spent with these two mammals we decided to move on to other areas of Jeffreys Ledge to search for more life.  Apparently Pinball and her calf had other plans...

With a flick of her tail, Pinball creates quite the saltwater disturbance

Pinball's calf showcasing the underside of it's tail for us

Within minutes of us leaving suddenly a frantic of activity occurred on the upper deck.  Our passengers informed us a whale was breaching out behind us.  With a quick turn of the head (and boat!) we all soon saw that Pinball's calf was jumping clear out of the water!  While the calf decided to go "aerial" Mom had her own plans as she started rolling over bringing her massive flippers above the surface and smacking them on the water! 

Half of Pinball's tail (left) and her large white flipper (right)

Pinball's calf breaches

What a sight.  Clearly we headed back to the area and got the chance to see these two whales continue to flipper slap the water (Pinball) and jump out of the salty sea multiple times (Pinball's calf). 

The behaviors of these two whales changed in a matter of moments and we had no idea how long any of it would last.  The thrill of all whales is the unpredicted nature these massive creatures exhibit and understanding the full luck and appreciation of any such movements these animals make.  Our time had been very much enjoyable before this pair started becoming active, making the whole experience that much more special as I hope you realize it was all luck to see such remarkable moments to begin with.

Many thanks to Pinball and her calf for permanently embedding quite the memory into so many of our passengers today as we also got to add to this trip 2 Fin whales and a couple of Minke whales as well into our afternoon outing.

Pinball's calf

Before making it back to the harbor we did get a nice fresh water rinse as the rain came down but had stopped before we even got back to the harbor.  Fact is, this was just the icing on the cake with all that we experienced today.  Nothing like Mother Nature showing her beauty is all kinds of ways today on the water.

Rainbow at Rye Harbor

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