September 6, Granite State

A few familiar whales continue to spend time on Jeffreys Ledge as we were once again lucky enough to see Piña and Pepper in our area today. But today they were not swimming around with each other. Instead these Humpback whales were with other individuals. Pepper was moving around with Patches, and Piña was close by Chablis during our trip today. This is the first time we have gotten the chance to see both Patches and Chablis in our area this season!

Welcome back to Jeffreys Ledge Patches!

What a surprise to find a few of our whales still around, and a few more in the area! Today was even more unexpected as some of the whales were showcasing quite the behaviors. We had Patches, the "perpetual pooper" and Chablis the constant "flipper slapper" of the day. Almost every single time Patches was at the surface this whale would leave a colored cloud near the surface. Whale defecation was being noticed almost after each time this whale came up to the surface. These clouds are a great indication that Patches has recently been eating, perhaps a lot, based on how often this whale was creating clouds. The clouds ranged from brown (mostly digested schooling fish) but also left a few red/brown clouds (perhaps a mixture of krill and fish) multiple times!

Chablis on the other hand spent most of its time flipper slapping as this whale was swimming side by side Piña today. 

Chablis spending more time on its side than any other position today

Interestingly enough most of the time Chablis was creating such the loud smack from each flipper flopping down on the water (keep in mind each flipper can easily reach 15ft in length and weigh one ton each!), Piña would appear to nap alongside this other active whale. One whale continued to appear to be so relaxed while the other was rolling left and right, and even belly up multiple times! What a interesting comparison of whale behaviors just feet away from each other. 

Chablis' flippers high in the sky (and belly up!) while Piña remains stationary next to Chablis (you can see Piña's dorsal fin just in front of Chablis' flippers)

More of Chablis' flipper and Piña still sleeping

Eventually we saw Piña flick her tail above the water, perhaps attempting to get Chablis to quit the flipper slapping going on so close to her or just finally waking up from all her naps this afternoon

Regardless of the activity we got some incredible looks at all our whales as even Patches rolled over on its side and flipper slapped nearby for all to see. 

Patches (above and below) as this whale rolled on its side close by (so much so you can even make out Patches' eye seen just to the right of its white flipper!)

Along with 7 Minke whales seen during our travels and some familiar whales moving into the area it most certainly was another great day to be on the water!

Minke whale passing on through the area



Flippers high above the waterline never gets old especially when multiple whales are around to truly visualize just how large these whales are

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September 4 Granite State

The unofficial end of summer may have come and gone (Labor Day that is) but Mother Nature certainly did a great job reminding us the true end of summer is still a few weeks away. Warm temperatures, plenty of sunshine and the wind calming itself down made for a pleasant day on the water. Add in some very nice whale sightings and we couldn't have asked for anything more. We started our trip on a few uncooperative Minke whales. These whales would surface for only a breath or two before disappearing for a while under the water. Darting all around and not being able to predict the sporadic directions of these whales we decided to head further offshore in hopes of coming across different whales that were spending more time on the surface. Low and behold we ended up finding just that. Two Humpback whales were spending time alongside each other. Who were they? Pepper and Piña! 

Pepper

Piña

These whales were seen three days ago in a completely differently location than where they were today. Who knows if the two of them have continued to be associated with each other since their last sighting but they were side by side each other the entire time we spent watching these two adult female whales today.

Piña and Pepper swimming next to each other

Piña spent most of the time napping but a few times contorted her body into a few different arches. What a opportunity to see so much of a whale's body. Sometimes even from the tip of her snout to the tip of her tail!



Piña arching her body to showcase her snout and back half of her body; what a large whale!

Piña once again maneuvering her body to bring her nose/snout and tip of her tail above the waterline

We got some incredible looks at these two whales before venturing off to look for other whale activity. 

One of our Humpback whales swims just in front of the boat

We ended up coming across another Minke whale which ended up swimming right alongside us for a bit! 

Minke whale

In total we saw 5 Minke whales throughout our travels, managing to get some good looks at some more than others. Thanks to the whales and Mother Nature for another fantastic day with wildlife!


Pepper's tail while Piña remains swimming (and breathing) at the surface

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Sept 2 Captain's Lady III

Happy Labor Day! The rain didn't deter our passengers today. As other boats remained tied to the docks, we ventured out in search of whales. Even after being submerged in fog, we still pressed on, out to an area we hoped we'd find whales.

Well, today was our lucky day! As the fog began to subside, a minke whale showed up pretty close to us! We stopped the boat and soon realized we were watching 2 minke whales feeding in the same area!  One of the two was very skilled in "poking out", or showing us its rostrum just before it took a breath! We could even see its white chin!

Minke whale with rostrum poking out!

Minke whale with notch in fin

 After watching these two for a bit, we continued on passing by a third minke before stopping on two more! Minkes seemed to be everywhere today! One of these two was a bit easier to watch and several times came right towards the boat!

4th Minke breaking through the surface water

Minke with smooth dorsal fin

Minke incoming! You can just make out the blowholes on the lower right

As we tried to leave, a harbor seal pup popped up nearby! The seals can be skittish, but this youngster was curious and just hung out as we passed by. As I said, harbor seals look really cute, but if you see one on land, give it plenty of space. Not only are they wild animals and will bite, but they are also protected by law. Seals frequently come ashore to rest so please watch them from a safe distance.

Harbor seal pup

Harbor seal pup

Thanks to all of our hearty passengers today who braved the wet weather in search of whales! We hope to see you back out for another adventure soon!

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September 1 Atlantic Queen

Today's trip was met with lots of luck out on the water. Forecasts predicted rain and thunder showers for most of the day, but luckily the rain held off until much later in the day. It was beautiful weather for a whale watch. We decided to head around 27 miles off shore because we had heard a report of some larger whales out at the southern end of Jeffreys Ledge. It was a long trip to get there, and as we approached we could see a think fog rolling in. At first we felt defeated, having traveled so far to see...fog. But luckily the fog dissipated just in time to see two humpbacks!

The crew on board was ecstatic! It had been quite a few weeks since we had seen any humpbacks out at Jeffreys Ledge, and we hope that this sighting ends our dry spell. The two humpbacks go by the names Pepper and Pina, both females. Here you can see the patterns on the underside of their flukes.

Pepper

Pina

Pepper was very active during our visit, rolling over and flipper slapping. It's always great to see such active whales.

The two whales also seemed to be sleeping every few minutes. It's a behavior called logging, in which a whale will shut of half of their brain to sleep. They do this because whales are conscious breathers and need one half of their brain to stay awake in order to remember to breathe. Whales really are amazing animals!

Thank you to everyone who joined us today. Happy Labor Day Weekend!

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September 1 Granite State

Happy September everyone! Today was full of surprises and that does not include the sudden rain showers, sunshine, and even fog we dealt with throughout our trips today. This morning we started the day with 3 Minke whales. All of these whales were darting around each other and showing up in all directions around the boat.

Two of our three Minke whales this morning (above and below)

We were enjoying some nice looks at these whales when we heard news on the radio from some whale watching boats out of Gloucester that there were a couple of Humpback whales near Jeffreys Ledge. We figured we had to try our luck and see if maybe, just maybe, we too could check out some other species of whales during our morning adventure. Little did we know en route to the report we would come across some toothed-whales. And not just one type of toothed-whales, we had two species moving together in one pod! A group of ~40 Atlantic white-sided dolphins were moving around. 

Atlantic white-sided dolphins passing down the side of the boat

More white-sided dolphins

As we cruised on into the area and spent some time with these whales it wasn't until I caught a glimpse of one of the dolphins surface right tight to the boat did something look odd. The shading pattern seen on this particular whale was much different that the solid stripe from a white-sided dolphin. It was only until I looked almost straight down a few minutes later, and saw the same thing, did I realize there were 4-5 Common dolphin interspersed within this group! The few occasions we have be fortunate enough to see Common dolphins (which are not common for us in this area!) they always tend to literally stay just under the pulpit. Low and behold as our crew verified there they were, a small pod of Common dolphins, spending time within the larger pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Unfortunately I was not able to capture a picture of the Common species but for those folks who stood at the front of the boat and stared down into the water you could watch the amazing maneuverability of all the dolphins surrounding us. Soon we were back underway heading to the whale report we had heard earlier. Indeed we got the chance to spend time with 2 Humpback whales; a mother and her calf to be exact! Clipper and her calf were on Jeffreys Ledge. 

Clipper and her calf!

These two whales have been seen for the majority of the summer off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada so it was quite the surprise to see these whales here in our neck of the Gulf of Maine. It was even more of a surprise to watch the calf and its ever-changing behaviors. It went from napping, to tail breaching, to mini-lobtailing, to eventually nursing all while Clipper just idled nearby. What a special treat and a great way to wrap up our morning.

Tail breach from Clipper's calf




The aftermath of a tail breach; and all that white water was created from just a calf!

Clipper's calf flicking it's tail above the ocean

Clipper in the background as her calf continues to create white water nearby

This afternoon we were ready to head back to search for Clipper and her calf when we learned not only had some fog rolled in but different Humpback whales had been found. Two more Humpback whales were spending some time on Jeffreys Ledge. This time we got the chance to spend time with Pina and Pepper, mainly napping, nearby. 

Pina and Pepper on Jeffreys Ledge

This is the first time either of these whales have been spotted on Jeffreys Ledge this season so it was yet another wonderful surprise to witness. 

Pina's tail

Pepper's unique black and white coloration found on its tail

We also caught a quick look at a Blue shark offshore before heading back to Rye Harbor only to see a Grey seal munching on some fish just beyond the dock! 

Blue shark on the move (you can just make out the tip of this shark's tail breaking the surface on the right side of this photo)



Grey seal (above and below) eating some evening fish snacks inside Rye Harbor

Who knows what tomorrow will bring but either way we hope you all have a wonderful rest of your holiday weekend!

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Sept 1, Captain's Lady III

Welcome September! And welcome back humpback whales!! It has been a very long time since we have seen humpback whales closer than 30 miles from Newburyport. Today, thanks to the teamwork of whale watching boats from Boston, MA to Rye, NH we saw a pair on southern Jeffreys Ledge and only about 17 miles away! The fog held off and we watched these whales for nearly an hour.

The pair was familiar but certainly not whales that are common visitors to Jeffreys Ledge. One was Pina, a female first seen in 1990. Pina has been seen in our area sporadically- in 1996, 2009 and 2012. The whale traveling with Pina was another female, Pepper! Pepper is one of the longest-documented humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine! She was first documented in 1976, hanging out with her friend, Salt!  Salt and Pepper were the first 2 humpbacks to be given names, and as neither are regular visitors to our area, it made this sighting even more special. Pepper has only been documented once before in our area- in late Sept 2008.

Humpback Whale, Pepper

Humpback Whale, Pina

 The pair was moving slowly to the NW, taking short dives and moving in sync. At one point, Pepper decided to flipper slap, the technical term for when a whale slaps its flipper on the surface. I never said scientists were creative... She did this 12 times (thanks to the excellent data collecting skills of our intern/volunteer Alicia) giving us all the opportunity to check out her huge, 1-ton flipper.

Pina diving, and Pepper slapping

Pepper's huge, 15-ft long flipper

As we awaited the pair to come back up for air, a harbor seal popped up nearby, and just as quickly, it disappeared back into the sea.

As we watched the humpback whales, we couldn't help but notice some fishing gear (buoys) in the area, very close to where Pepper was slapping. Entanglements in fishing gear is a notorious problem for all species of whales and the vast majority of humpbacks in the Gulf of Maine have scars from prior entanglements...and those are the lucky ones that survived. Even though the local fisheries are required to abide by certain regulations to ensure their gear is as safe for whales as the government mandates, the entanglements, injuries and deaths still occur. As I mentioned, one thing you can do to help the whales is to know where your seafood comes from, how it is caught and what other animals are put at risk or even killed to get that food to your table. Your dining choices are crucial in the protection of our endangered whales.

Pepper

Pina

 As we watched Pepper glide by the buoys, we all breathed a sigh of relief that she managed to avoid this risk.  We also noticed many other whale watching boats in the area to see these whales too. Humpback whales have been rare for all areas between Bar Harbor and Provincetown this summer. We don't know why but it seems whales throughout the Gulf of Maine have a different agenda this summer. Even the research teams that study critically endangered right whales in the Bay of Fundy have seen very few right whales in that area. It certainly has been a strange season but we are looking forward to what the fall brings!

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