August 7 Granite State

My oh my weren't we lucky today. Thanks to our fishing boat friends we were able to check out some Atlantic white-sided dolphins during both of our trips today! Our morning started off with some great looks at an Ocean Sunfish spending time at the surface.

First sighting of the day, an Ocean sunfish!

Soon we were off as we headed to some reports of whale activity on Jeffreys Ledge. With the ocean being so calm this morning it was awesome to watch a group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins as they created their own surface disturbances as they chased, and maneuvered themselves around the area.

The flat calm ocean and our morning pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins (above and below)

This group was being so mellow we were able to shut down the boat and listen to these whales as they came to the surface producing constant "poofs" as they exhaled. So incredible to not only see but listen to these wild whales as they go about their day. 

Dolphins

This whale came clear out of the water right next to the boat and somehow managed to get a snapshot of it before it reentered the water!

Leaping through our wake as we left our dolphins

We were also fortunate enough to watch two Minke whales after we left the dolphins. One of these whales was spending a bit more time on the surface giving us the opportunity to check out these types of whales as well this morning.

During our afternoon travels we were once again headed toward a group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins to start off our whale watch. One of the fishing boat on their way back to land came across these whales. We made our way over and were once again privy to spend time with such agile mammals. 

Dolphins dolphins everywhere!

This group was constantly darting around and showing up on all sides of the boat. Another spectacular time spent with these toothed-whales. Further offshore we came across one, two, three Minke whales as well! While watching one of these animals another one suddenly surfaced close by. Then out in the distance another dorsal fin was at the surface. At one point we had all three of these whales close by! Before leaving we even got the chance to have a Minke whale on either side of the boat. We were sandwiched between these whales! No matter where you were whales could be seen off both sides of the boat. What a great day today. And of course we cannot forget to wish two very special ladies a Happy Birthday! Surely not everyone can say they were able to spend your special day with Minke whales and Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

Atlantic white-sided dolphin faces!

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Tuesday, August 6th, Granite State

Tuesday's weather in the morning made me think of fall. where the temperatures were quiet cool, but things things warmed up nicely through out the day. We started in an area where we had received reports of whale activity from a fishing vessel as they were headed further offshore themselves. Since we were not that far away, we decided to explore that area in hopes of relocating any whales that may still be there. After searching for a little while, we came up short. In the interest of time, we continued on our way to other areas of Jeffrey's Ledge in hopes that we would find whales.

After traveling an additional 5 miles, we started to see splashing in the distance. We had found some Atlantic white sided dolphins! It was quite a big pod as well, with over 50 of them swimming all around the boat. We even saw a blue shark swim by underneath the bow as we were watching all the dolphins. We were able to spend quality time with them and even had them ride in our wake. With ideal condition to view dolphins, there is truly nothing better than seeing them in their natural habitat.






We then moved onto a different area of the ledge where we found 2 different Minke whales who spent the majority of their time at the surface and staying in close proximity to where were were.




On our way home we found a very nice Ocean Sunfish and it was a great way to end our morning trip.


In the afternoon we found one of the best Minke whales we've had in quite awhile about 12 miles from Rye. This whale spent the majority of the time along the surface and gave everyone on board great looks! Minke whales are known as the little piked whales due to their pointed snout that is seen first as they break the water's surface. What a great whale for us to see!






We were able to find a second Minke whale offshore on Jeffrey's Ledge and shortly after finding this whale, we received reports from another whale watch vessel that there was different activity in the area. We were about 5 miles away from that area and so in the interest of time, we decided to try our luck to see if we could possibly relocate the activity that was reported. After traveling for a little bit longer than anticipated we were starting to think that we may not be able to relocate the activity that had been reported. Then, we started to see lots of splashing about a mile away and we had relocated lots of dolphins. This happened to be a different pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins where there were over a hundred individuals and they spread out over about a mile.






It was such a nice way to finish out our trip and the day as a whole. A big thank you to everyone who joined us. We hope to see you again soon.



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August 7, Captain's Lady III

Glassy calm conditions made our wildlife sightings excellent today!

We began with our first animal just outside the Merrimack River. It was an Ocean Sunfish!! We got a quick look at this huge fish before it got spooked and took off.  Ocean Sunfish are the world's largest species of bony fish. We only see them on a fraction of whale watch trips so today's viewing was particularly special!

Next we found a really nice pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. This was a group of about 50 animals, milling about and then charging around in short bursts. Again the sea conditions were perfect for seeing them underwater as they crossed our bow and along our sides many times!

After hanging with the dolphins, we continued offshore and found a minke whale. This  30-foot whale was a bit elusive at first but then settled down and surfaced nearby a few times. This whale was also quite distinctive with 2 notches in its fin. We are looking forward to scouring our database to see if this whale has been seen before!

Certainly a lovely day of wildlife viewing! Thanks to all who joined us and hope to see you again soon.


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August 4-5, Captains Lady III

The past few days have been showing us quite the range of what the Gulf of Maine can offer as far as weather conditions and marine life! Sunday's morning trip took us over 30 miles SE to Stellwagen Bank, where we found one, maybe two minke whales. Although we got a couple decent looks, this whale(s) was on a mission which didn't include being watched  by us!

Sunday's afternoon trip was a bit more active with several minke whales inshore, near Jeffreys Ldege, as well as a couple pods of Atlantic white sided dolphins!!  The minkes were great, and the dolphins were, well, busy. We had a hard time getting close looks at them as they seemed more interested in chasing fish than visiting with our boat.

minke whale

minke whale

 But the pelagic birds were the star (in my opinion) of the day! Check out these images of a Northern Gannet taking off near our bow!

Also on the way back in from our afternoon trip, we saw some more of what Mother Nature had to offer back on land! The storms that passed by were quite impressive to watch, and by shear luck, we missed them and stayed dry!

Storm over Ipswich/Newburyport

 Monday's trip was a bit rough....literally. The winds were stronger than predicted and the seas were pretty steep offshore. We decided to keep the ride as smooth as we could by heading north, along the coast, to an area between the Isles of Shoals and Boon Island where we have seen whales recently. Unfortunately, even with the cooperation of other whale watch boats in the area, the whales didn't show themselves. The wind and sea conditions were not helping us at all in our search! We ended up heading home, with our tail between our legs and no whales to show for our efforts. Our course home took us through the Isles of Shoals and we did get some great viewings at some marine mammals- seals!! One of the rocks near Duck Island was covered in harbor seals and we had a curious grey seal pop us close to us too!

Grey Seal

Harbor and Grey Seals hauled out near Duck Island

We are back out tomorrow and can't wait to see what is waiting for us!

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August 6 Atlantic Queen

Minke whale

What a fantastic day! We had gorgeous weather, great whales and a surprise finale of an awesome, active pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

We started our trip with a couple looks at a minke whale. It was pretty easy to spot this species today due to the ultra calm seas. There was also another minke whale in the area.

We then made our way out to Jeffreys Ledge, where we found another minke whale - this whale also turned out to be two different minkes!  We spent time with one whale, and got some of the best looks at minke whales of the season.

Minke whale snout

Minke mittens!

The minke cruised around the boat, and we got a look at nearly its full length. Several times, it lifted its chin as it surfaced, allowing us to see the white underneath. After having many recent days where it was difficult to keep track of minke whales, we were so excited to spend so much quality time with this whale!

Dolphins!

It was then time to head for home. But not too long after we got underway, we got a call from our friends on the Starfish - they had a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins!  Even from a distance, we could see the dolphins splashing.  We estimated there were about 100 dolphins, and they were impressive not only in pod size, but in activity.  It wasn't long before dolphins were surfing in the boat wakes and leaping all around us!  We got to see several dolphins leap several feet in the air, and even some tiny dolphin calves!

Mom & calf dolphin (top)

Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin

Like with the minke whales, dolphins have been scarce, and traveling too quickly to see very well lately, so being surrounded by dolphins cruising back and forth under the bow, and leaping in all directions was just fantastic!

Thanks to all who joined us today! Hope to see you again soon!

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August 4 Atlantic Queen

Today was a day of dolphins!  Fast-moving ones, too. Just past the Isles of Shoals, we came upon a surprise sighting of a small pod of our favorite toothed whale species - Atlantic white-sided dolphins.  These dolphins were zipping around, apparently chasing after some prey.

After spending some time with the dolphins, we headed out to take a look around, and got a report from our friends on the Captain's Lady II that they had spotted a minke whale.  The whale only surfaced a few times near us, but they were nice looks as the whale was moving very slowly. Once the whale dove, we waited awhile, but didn't see it again.

We then headed out to Jeffreys Ledge, where we saw another pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! This pod was larger, with about 15 dolphins. They were also moving around very quickly, but we did get better looks at them than the first pod.

With great weather and sightings spread out throughout the trip, it turned out to be a nice day on the water. Thanks to all who joined us!

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August 4 Granite State

This morning we came across a Minke whale before we even got to Jeffreys Ledge. This whale kept surfacing on either side of the boat but would only take a single breath every few minutes making predicting where and when this whale was going to surface next a bit challenging. As we spent time with this whale, out of the blue, another Minke whale was seen moving in towards our direction. This whale was at the surface much more frequently and thus ended up being much more conducive to whale watching as we got the chance to spend some quality time with this animal as it moved around the area.

Morning Minke whale sighting (above and below)

After getting some great looks at this whale we ventured further offshore to search for other animals. We did plenty of searching but were unable to find anything else. Wild animals certainly do a great job of not being seen when they chose so all we can do is try and hope it works out!

This afternoon before we were a mile from home we had a sighting. It was a fish; an Ocean sunfish was just outside of Rye Harbor! This fish was on the move so we spent most of the time seeing the tell-tale sign of its dorsal fin waving up and down on the ocean's surface as this fish moved through the water.

Only the tip of this Ocean sunfish's fin can be seen above the waterline as the rest of this fish resides just below

Less than 10 miles from home we ended up stopping yet again. This time it was a Minke whale. This whale was also doing a great job surfacing on either side of the boat (completely by chance as this whale would alter course constantly) and we watched this whale swim around us for a bit. 

Afternoon Minke whale

We were then hearing of more whale activity not too far away from our other Blue Ocean Society affiliated boats out on the water and so we pressed on after getting some nice looks at this Minke whale. A small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins were being reported only a few miles away. After maneuvering into the area and taking a good look around, small fins suddenly appeared near by! We had found this group of 6-10 whales on the move.

Atlantic white-sided dolphin

And when I say on the move I mean these whales were cruising! They were moving so quickly and easily through the water they would create quite the disturbance as they swam at the surface. What a fun sighting to see these marine mammals book-it through the area!

Lots of white water is at the surface as these dolphins charge through the area at such a quick speed!

These whales were on a mission and eventually continued on their way leaving us to go search for more whales.  Before running out of time we were once again heading to a report of more toothed-whales. More dolphins were in the area! 

Another pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins beyond Appledore Island!

This group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins were behaving quite differently than our first pod for they were definitely doing some feeding. These whales were constantly darting in a tight circle and had a few terns flying above them (hoping for any leftover scraps!) as these whales were going after some late lunch items. This group had about 20 whales moving through the water together, including some youngsters in the mix. 

Even though this is the back half of these dolphins bodies check out the drastic size difference of all three whales!

Not only were we fortunate enough to see one group of dolphins but two different pods all in one trip was quite the rarity considering we typically only see Atlantic white-sided dolphins on 20-25% of our whale watches!

Dolphin fins at the surface!

Today certainly was another unexpected day of sightings as whales moved in, out, and around the area!

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