Price of Whales September3

Happy September! One of my favorite months,warm sun and nice cool, crisp breezes.  Our first stop of the day was with a friendly,slow moving minke whale who stayed close by darting all around.
Next was fin whale # 0622 who demonstrated how well it could hold its breath, once again patience pays off and watching whales you need to have a lot of it.

Chevron of #0622

Dorsal fin of #0622

This fin whale was the same one we spent time with on Saturday and it was acting exactly the same, long dives, but finally coming up close by.
With the keen eye of our captain he spotted more spouts in the distance and off we went.  The spouts turned out to be 2 humpback whales, my favorite!

Our 2 humpbacks swimming together

"Mogul"

We even had a "tail slash" from one of our 2 humpbacks.  Mogul's friend never really fluked for us,actually once but from a distance which makes an ID a bit more difficult.  As we headed back to Newburyport another humpback popped up once and fluked and went down, again not a good opportunity to ID.

There were also number of Harbor seals in the river, another favorite of mine!

They say it's the unofficial end of summer,its not for us!  We will continue trips until Columbus day weekend, with some week day trips also, be sure to call Newburyport Whale Watch for the upcoming schedule.

Thank you to all of our repeat customers and our new friends we met today, thank you for your patience and your support!




















Keep in touch! Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter

September 3 Granite State

Happy Labor Day everyone!  Even though for many this marks the "unofficial" end of summer for us it marks the start of our fall season!  Whales over the years have continued to keep us on our toes all the way to the end of our season (which ends mid-October!) and today was no exception.  Our trip today involved a little bit of patience which surely paid off as the trip progressed.  We once again had a few long-diving whales including a Fin whale we attempted to get looks at before heading to an area where we got reports from our friends on the Prince of Whales of a few Humpback whales and even another Fin whale around.  We headed in that direction and started with a tail breach from one of the Humpback whales.  Even with this behavior occurring out in the distance it was still a large splash as one of these whales launched the back part of its body into the air and then came crashing back down on the surface.  That was actually the most activity we ended up seeing from any of the whales in the area as 3 Humpback whales, a pair and a single animal, were moving around.  We made our way over to the pair which was steadily swimming together and yet neither one made even the smallest indication of a deeper dive.  No strong arches were seen, no tails above the surface, just a few breaths before disappearing for a while.  Luckily we made some good predictions and with a little luck on our side both whales returned back up to the surface close by for everyone to check out these mammals! 

The dorsal fins from our Humpback whale pair showing just how differently these fins can be shaped on each whale (above and below)

We then decided to press our luck with the other Humpback whale in the area.  Unfortunately we saw this whale for even less amounts of the time above the surface than our pair.  Still no fluking and on the move.  Sometimes these whales surely like to remind us all that being wild animals means these whales are on their own schedule doing whatever they want whenever they want.  We see such a small glimpse into their lives and anytime a whale is around is a treat all on its own.  We decided to maneuver our way back over to the pair of Humpback whales since the third one in the area was being less than cooperative for our purposes.  Instead of the Humpback whales though we quickly were diverted.  Splashing quickly began evident just off our starboard side!  The whole time we were in the area random splashing was being seen but, it was so brief and so sporadic we were on a waiting game.  Eventually the wait was worth it.  These dolphins were coming right in towards us.  However, they weren't white-sided dolphins at all which is typically the toothed whale species we sometimes get the chance to see during our travels.  No these whales were something much different.  A pod of Common dolphins were coming straight towards us! 

One look and we knew these weren't the type of dolphins we most commonly see.  Instead these were Common dolphins (even though they are quite uncommon to us out on Jeffreys Ledge!)

Today is only the second time the Granite State has ever gotten the chance to see this particular type of whale.  Interesting enough our first sighting was last year on September 27.  Almost one year later and we got the completely unexpected opportunity to spend time with these whales. 

Common dolphin leaping out of the water

Not only were we watching Common dolphins but there were also two young whales in this group.  Watching them dart back and forth just as easily as the larger adults was a blast.  Can you pick out the young whales in the photos that follow?

What a completely awesome, unsuspecting, find!!!  After some incredible looks at the Common dolphins we made our way back over towards the original pair of Humpback whales.  They had continued in their travel patterns but were still synchronizing their movements.  Just before leaving we even got to see one of these whale's tails giving us the opportunity to positively identify this whale as Scratch, an adult female!

Scratch

As we travelled back towards Rye Harbor our Captain spotted more splashing.  No way.  We were about to show everyone on board another type of toothed whale.  A pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins were just off course from home. 

Atlantic white-sided dolphin

So we diverted for a bit and got to see more dolphins, the type we typically see, if we are even lucky enough to see dolphins to begin with.  What an incredible way to wrap up a fantastic day!

An Atlantic white-sided dolphin half above the water being a bit playful as it constantly surfaced with "belly flop" each time it came above the waterline

Keep in touch! Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter

Atlantic Queen September 2

Another great day on the water! The highlight of the trip was a very active pod of toothed whales - Atlantic white-sided dolphins! There were many small calves in the pod, making the sighting extra special! Here are some photos:

We also got some good looks at a fin whale - second-largest species on Earth!

Thanks to all the very enthusiastic passengers who joined us today, and congratulations to Caroline, who won an adoption of Stripes!

Keep in touch! Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter

September 1 Granite State

Our whale watch started with a group of whales today.  We were treated to a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins before getting to Jeffreys Ledge this afternoon.  Initially this group was on the move charging through the waves but soon started to dart back and forth close by.  These whales were probably trying to chase down some afternoon fish food! 

Atlantic white-sided dolphins on the move

Eventually the group continued on but this time started to "ride the waves."  These whales were cruising along with the ocean movements.  Sometimes this type of whale will use the wake we create as an opportunity to give themselves a bit of a break and surf down our wake.  Today however these whales were not interested in our wake, just the constant wave-action of the ocean.  We were able to get some wonderful looks at our group before getting word from our other whale watching friends of larger whales on the ledge. 

Dolphins jumping through the wavy ocean

We made our way to where a Fin whale was reported.  Along with the fact that there was a Fin whale came the news that this whale was spending lots of time under the water.  The whole time we were in the area this whale was showcasing its amazing ability to hold its breath for all dives intervals were lasting 15 minutes in length!  Luckily we managed to get some great looks at this animal for it surfaced close by on each occasion.  Looks like Fin whale #0622 was circling around the area. 

An extremely small glimpse into the actual size of a Fin whale.  Moments later Fin whale #0622 was heading down into the depths of the ocean once again (below)

Fin whale #0622

With lots of time waiting for this animal to return back up to the surface and seeing more spouts further offshore we decided to press on and investigate some of the other whales a few miles away.  We maneuvered our way over to another species after passing a couple other Fin whales.  There happened to be a pair of Humpback whales around.  Owl and Bat were swimming around together. 

Bat and Owl

As we spent time in the area we continued to see whale spouts further offshore.  Eventually Owl and Bat surfaced in completely separate area from each other and so we let these lone animals continue on with their day and with a bit more time for exploration we headed towards some more whales. 

Bat going on a deeper dive

All in all we ended up spotting 8 Fin whales today, including #0622 and #0834, along with two other pairs of Humpback whales. 

Fin whale #0834

Low and behold we found Pinball and her calf, a very exciting pair to see as both Pinball and Owl are Blue Ocean Society Adopt-a-Whales! 

Even with only the top most portion of this whale's tail above the waterline we were thrilled to know Pinball and her calf were still spending some time around the area

Along with Pinball and her calf moving through the area we also saw out in the distance Humpback whales Springboard and Chromosome move through the area together.  Another Humpback whale was also spotted but we were out of time and needed to head home.  It was quite the day of activity even though many of our whales were spending lots of time under the water.  Even with the large lung capacities of these wild creatures it was another lively day on Jeffreys Ledge.

Keep in touch! Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter

August 31 on the Atlantic Queen

A great day today, with multiple species!

We started out with 3 minke whales just past the Isles of Shoals. These whales came so close to the boat on each side, affording great looks!

We then moved on to spend some time with a fin whale, the second-largest species on Earth!

Fin whale

We finished up the trip with a pair of humpbacks - a male named Patches, who was first sighted in 1980, and a female named Springboard, who was first sighted in 1997. She has had two calves, in 2006 and 2009.

Patches

Patches

Springboard

Springboard doing a tail rise

Also, during the trip, we spotted a blue shark, which cruised along the port side of the boat before heading beneath the water surface.

Thanks to all who joined us, and congratulations to Patrick - enjoy your adoption of Satula!

Keep in touch! Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter

Atlantic Queen September 1

"Owl" with her big scar :(

The wind was still with us today, some folks got some fresh sea water in there faces and all over there bodies, but the whales didn't care.  We stopped on a fin whale who wanted nothing to do with us.  This individual was staying down for a long time, 15 minutes!   As I have said in many posts,you need to be patient while watching whales in a very big ocean.  It did finally pay off.  Out fin whale stayed below the surface next to us, you could see it's long streamlined body glowing green in our plankton rich water.  Our captain decided to move along to a blow of another fin whale, which we never got  looks at,instead 2 humpbacks spouted and headed at us, 2 big females Owl and Bat!

Bat

"Owl's" fluke, close to boat

Thought the sea's were a bit angry today the whales still impressed.  Both Bat and Owl had there last calves in 2010, maybe mom's to be in 2013?  Only time will tell!

 

 

 

Congratulations to Olivia from Amherst, NH who won our raffle today "Pinball"  who has been seen quite a bit on the ledge this summer with her 6th calf!

Thank you for joining us today.




















Keep in touch! Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter

August 31 Prince of Whales

Dolphins and humpbacks today- everyone's favorites.

We saw some splashing in the distance. It appeared to be a small pod of Atlantic white sided dolphins! As we got closer and spent more time with them, we realized we had at least 100 dolphins all spread out around us! Many times, these dolphins came right up to us, turned on their sides to look up at us! It is a pretty neat feeling to be watched by wildlife!

Next we found a minke whale but this little one wasn't all that interested in being watched so we continued on. After much searching and coordinating with other boats, we spotted our first blows from larger whales! Two humpback whales!!

One was a familiar tail- Patches, a 32+ year old male who is featured on the brochure for our friend's whale watch company, Granite State Whale Watch. Patches was hanging out with a 15 year old female named Springboard. We have only seen her once before- last week, and have never seen her in prior years! Great to have a new whale visiting Jeffreys Ledge! As fun as it was to watch this pair nap at the surface, we are always worried about our whales and the threats they may face. These two were in an area that was dense with fishing gear. Entanglement is a big problem for whales. About 3/4 of the humpbacks in the Gulf of Maine have scars from being tangled up in fishing gear at least once in their life.

Patches, swimming dangerously close to fishing gear

Springboard (see the mark she was named for on the right side?)

 

Springboard diving

We will keep close watch in the upcoming days to make sure these whales made it through the maze. On the way in, we passed by some bluefin tuna chasing smaller fish, and found several harbor seals at the mouth of the Merrimack River!  Thanks for joining us on this lovely Blue Moon trip!

Blue Moon rising over Newburyport

Keep in touch! Become a Fan on Facebook || Follow Us On Twitter