June 15 Granite State

We had two trips today both very different in their own ways. Perhaps the only similarity of the day was that we continued to see lots of Minke whales throughout our travels to and from Jeffreys Ledge today. This morning we spotted 7 Minke whales and this afternoon we saw 6 Minke whales during our whale watches. 

One of the 13 Minke whales we saw throughout the course of our trips today!



Check out these Minke mittens! This Minke whale swam right towards us allowing for a great view of the white patches all Minke whales possess on their flippers!

This morning we also spent some time with Pinball the Humpback whale. She would travel for a bit before stopping, circling around the area, eating some food, and then continuing on in search of more food! We also saw a handful of bubble clouds created by Pinball which is a technique used by Humpback whales to help gather more fish food. 

Bubbles reaching the surface. By creating bubbles under a school of fish a whale can corral those fish into a tighter group allowing for a greater chance of more fish in each mouthful.

We even had an extra surprise seen at the surface thanks to Pinball this morning. Some whale poop! Brown clouds formed behind Pinball a few times which always tends to get a few chuckles from our passengers when we are lucky enough to point out such a "sighting."

There is a small patch of brown dissipating on the surface. Guess what? It's whale defecation from Pinball!



Pinball

On our way home this morning we even got a few looks at an Ocean sunfish. Perhaps even this fish was happy the sun was finally shining!

This afternoon we decided to head in the complete opposite direction from where we went during our morning travels. We knew there was a good chance Pinball would still be in the same area but we also knew there were a lot of other whale watching boats from Boston, MA up to our neck of the woods planning on heading out this afternoon. With so many boats coming and going all day long we knew if Pinball was still around she was going to have whale watching boat after whale watching boat near her all day long. In our gut we knew we couldn't add another vessel to Pinball's already boat-filled action surrounding her. Today was one of those days where we had to pause and realize for the best interest of the whale we should not venture towards this animal. Not only would there have been multiple boats on a single whale for the majority of time we were in the vicinity, she had pretty much had passenger vessels around her all day. Don't get us wrong (remember we spent time with this whale this morning) we just knew adding yet another boat into the mix of an already cluster of whale watching boats this afternoon was in our minds not fair or necessary. Granted no one knows how much any vessel, or vessels, can affect a whale (good or bad) but with such a nice day for searching opportunities we decided to try our luck and venture off on our own. Turns out Pinball isn't the only whale around.

We got a chance to spend time with 2 Fin whales this afternoon in addition to all the Minke whales we were seeing. Both of these Fin whales were on the move but with a bit of patience we were able to get some great looks. One of these whales has some very distinct scars on either side of its body but was being a bit more unpredictable with its surfacings so capturing some good photographs was a bit tricky. 

Light-colored linear marks can be seen just below the dorsal fin on this whale. Not sure who it is just yet but those scars will help to identify this whale if we have ever seen it on Jeffreys Ledge before!

The other whale in the area however was spending a bit more time on the surface. Turns out it was Streak. We had seen this whale on our second whale watch of the season this year way back on May 18. What a nice surprise to see this whale around again almost a month later! Streak was first seen in the Gulf of Maine in 1982 making this Fin whale at least 31 years old!

Streak

While we do try to show our passengers everything we can during our whale watches sometimes we need to remember that these wild animals need their space too. The ocean is plenty big enough for the whales and all of us to stretch our legs and tails.

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June 15 Atlantic Queen

Pinball's spout (and  long white flippers/pectoral fins!)

It was a beautiful day on the water, with plenty of sunshine, cool breezes, and relatively calm seas!

We started off the trip with the best minke whale sighting I've had in a long time. This minke whale was just past the Isles of Shoals, and surfaced off the bow of the boat several times, giving us great looks at the "minke mittens" on its pectoral fins! (I was sorry I didn't get any pictures of this great minke whale!)

Then we headed down to an area on southern Jeffreys Ledge, where we found one of our favorite whales, "Pinball," who's also one of our adoptable whales!  This 24-year old female humpback was cruising around, not seeming to pay much attention to the fact that there were a number of boats (and probably hundreds of people) watching her.

Pinball's tail stock and tail

Pinball's back and dorsal fin (the green in the water is her white pectoral fin/flipper)

Pinball's distinctive tail pattern

We didn't want to overstay our welcome with Pinball, so we got several great looks, including one right off the bow when she headed towards us.  Then we cruised around, and saw several more minke whales, who were in abundance today!

We'll be out again tomorrow on Father's Day, and looking forward to another trip! Thanks to all who came aboard today!

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June 14 Granite State

Happy Flag Day everyone! It looks like the weather is finally going to cooperate for us (at least for a couple days!) as today's weather set the stage for hopefully more of the same to come this weekend. Granted we had a bit of a swell but the combination of almost no wind and great visibility for miles and miles was once again providing ideal conditions for whale spotting. And spot whales we did. We ended up seeing 13 Minke whales, Pinball the Humpback whale, and a very quick look at an elusive Fin whale during today's trip.

We started the day off with Minke whales circling around. At one point we had 4 of these animals in one general area! 

One of the many Minke whales spotted today

Another Minke!

Did you know you can tell individual Minke whales apart from each other? Just like some of the other whale species in the Gulf of Maine you can help to individually identify Minke whales from one another based on the shape of their dorsal fins! 

Upon closer inspection of our Minke whale photographs you can see the shape of a Minke whale's dorsal fin is very unique. Small nicks and the overall shape can help distinguish one Minke whale from another. Check out the close-up view of two different Minke whales in the photos (above and below). Can you see the a difference?

This Minke whale has multiple nicks on its dorsal fin

After some nice looks at a handful of these whales we continued on towards Jeffreys Ledge. With a few more Minke whale sightings on our way out we had come across a different species. It was a Humpback whale. It was Pinball and she was all over the place. Darting here. Darting there and then back again. 

Pinball on the move

She was circling around, making a few bubble clouds and even pooped for us twice! Yep, we like to point out whale defecation to our passengers for it is something no one really expects to witness while watching whales! 

Can you pick out brown color seen at the base of Pinball's tail in the water? That's whale poop!

Before heading home we also attempted to get a look at one more kind of whale. There was a Fin whale out in the distance. Unfortunately after a few breaths at the surface this whale dove and disappeared. We searched and searched the horizon but had no luck relocating it. Then again since all whales are wild animals they always have the upper hand as they know exactly where they are going and how fast they are going to get there. All we can do is see what they do!

It was a very nice day out on the water and we look forward to this weekend as always we can only hope the weather and the whales continue!

A "rainbow blow" from Pinball

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June 13 Atlantic Queen

What a strange day out in the Gulf of Maine. We hadn't even made it 5 miles off shore before we saw a minke whale in the distance.

While watching one minke whale we saw a blow just behind us and we decided to investigate. It was a fin whale. What a nice surprise! We don't typically see whales this close to shore. This whale has been in the area for the last two days.

This particular animal had a very low profile, meaning we couldn't seem much of it when it came to the surface to breathe. Still, the whale came very close to the boat giving the passengers some great looks. 

There was another minke whale in the area as well. Overall we had 7 minke whales, 1 fin whale, and a glimpse at an ocean sunfish.

The first minke whale we saw. Yes, that land you see behind the whale is the Isles of Shoals. This minke whale was found within 5 miles of Rye Harbor!

Thank you to everyone who made today such a great trip.





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June 13 Granite State

Could we be lucky enough to find whales close to home again? Apparently yes. In total we saw 8 Minke whales and a Fin whale, with the majority of those whales being less than 5 miles from home! Most of the Minke whales were circling about popping up here and there and giving everyone some nice looks at these whales. 

Minke whale

If you look closely you can see Whaleback and Portsmouth Harbor Light beyond this Minke whale. Now that's close to land!

It also turned out that the same Fin whale we saw yesterday was once again spending time close to land; thanks to Atlantic Queen II for spotting this low profile whale today. This whale was also darting around but never moving too far in any particular direction while we were in the area. 

White Island and a Fin whale

Perhaps the most surprising surfacing from this whale was when it surfaced just off the front of the boat lunging through the water on its side attempting to catch lots of fish! What an awesome sight to see especially for our school kids who happened to be standing on the pulpit. Nothing like watching one of the world's second largest animals on the planet charge past them in the midst of a feeding bout.


The pointy flipper of this Fin whale can be seen just above the heads of the children!

As exciting as it is seeing all this activity just offshore it is also an extremely nerve-wracking event. Not only does there tend to be more boat activity just off the coast (and potential higher chance of injury to whales due to boat propellers of all sizes!) but have you ever seen how much fishing gear is just off the coast of New England? Buoys marking traps with line running from the surface to the bottom of the ocean is a major threat to all whales. These lines can easily get tangled on a whale as the whales move through the water. Since these animals are so focused on chasing down food, and with the water being so murky, the whales really do not "see" these potential hazards. Whales can get entangled in gear and can cause injuries, infections, life-long problems, and even death due to entanglements in all types of fishing gear. Granted all whales and all gear are susceptible to this kind of interaction but the probability grows when a whale is in an area with lots of gear: aka. typically close to shore. So let us all think good thoughts that whales everywhere (whether near land or miles offshore) continue to swim freely as they try avoid all kinds of threats out in the open ocean.

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June 12 Granite State

Remember how our last trip was surprising? Turns out today was even more mind-boggling. We whale watched at the mouth of the Piscataqua River today! Multiple Minke whales and a Fin whale was spending time so close to land! 

Minke whale just offshore Rye, NH

Normally we have to travel at least 10-15 miles before we even have a chance of spotting whales but today helped to remind us that whales can be, and are, very unpredictable! 

Fin whale swimming around at the mouth of the river!

This whale was spending so much time in water depths of 65ft that this whale was swimming in spots where it's body was probably as long as the ocean was deep!

Our whales were so close to land we even saw a few Loons swimming along just off of New Hampshire 

We even checked out life on Boon Island (7 miles off Cape Neddick, ME) including plenty of seals basking in the sun (in between the random rain clouds all day!) and swimming in the water. A Puffin was also spotted just south of Boon Island! 

Seals watching us watching them on Boon Island

A very out-of-focus but still identifiable photo of a Puffin!

Still a bit stunned as to what the day of whale watching had in store for us today. Tomorrow, who knows!

 
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June 10 Granite State

We certainly had a few unexpected surprises during our trip. Not only did we find whales just beyond the Isles of Shoals we finally saw a Fin whale! It has been a few weeks since our last sighting of a Fin whale and we have been wondering where these massive whales have been. Seeing two Minke whales and our Fin whale was quite the comparison from a 20ft Minke to a 60+ft Fin whale. Of course both species are an impressive sight on their own and since each species was circling around the area we got some great looks at these mammals.

Minke whale as it surfaces close to the boat! (above and below)

Thanks to the quick work of our Fin whale-master crew member we were also able to identify exactly which Fin whale we were watching. This Fin whale, #0932, was first seen on Jeffreys Ledge in 2009 and thanks to past research efforts in the Northeast we also know this is a male that was first seen in the Gulf of Maine in 1995. Nothing beats figuring out exactly "who" we are watching and continuously gaining more knowledge about life around Jeffreys Ledge!

Fin whale #0932 spending time less than 10 miles offshore!

#0932 just beyond Duck Island

We will see what surprises will be awaiting us on our next trip!

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