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Welcome to our Naturalist Page!
Check back here for new
updates on the sightings!
8-25-09 video
in HD
Onboard Education!
(video kids)
Note; It not always how
many whales you see on a trip,
Its Quality!
Whale behavior!
Quickest time spent traveling to and from the whales.
We try to put this all together for the best trip possible.
October 4 10:00
We had a fantastic trip today with a total of 5 humpbacks and 2 minke whales in
the area. We spent our entire trip on the humpbacks, Echo, Pumba, and
Tear. A lot of different surface behavior occurred between these whales.
Tear did a tail breach along with several trumpet blows as a way to communicate
with the other whales. Echo then did a full breach and also started to
trumpet blow. Pumba split from the other two whales and for the remainder
of the trip Tear predominately pec slapped. It was great being able to
observe the different behaviors these whales perform as a way to communicate
with each other.
Sept 24 1:00 trip
We had a fantastic trip today, with at least 15 humpbacks and 2 minke whales in
the area. Our first looks were on the humpbacks, Trident and an unknown
whale who were logging or resting at the surface. We then saw Music who
was alternating between full breaches and chin breaches. Music even
breached once within 50 feet from our boat. About a mile farther south, we
had around twelve humpbacks that were feeding. We spent the remainder of
our trip on Tracer, who using kick feeding and bubble cloud feeding to corral
the bait fish. We had great looks at Tracer coming up to the surface with
his mouth open and even dragging.
Sept 22 1:00 trip
We had a fantastic trip today watching five different humpback whales. We
started off taking one quick look at two unknown humpback whales. We spent
the remainder of our trip on Nile and calf with an escort. From the start
Nile's calf was intrigued by the boat and approached within feet of our boat.
Nile and the escort were deep feeding on bait that was at 100 feet deep and were
often staying down for around 10 minutes. Both Nile and the escort would
often come up very close to our boat and you could even see the escort's bloody
jaw from jaw scuffing on the bottom. The calf was still curious of our
boat and started to roll over and trumpet blow and
pec slap.
There was also a lot of seaweed in the area and the calf enjoyed rubbing this
seaweed all over its head and flippers for at least 15 minutes. It was
quite entertaining to say the least watching the playful calf.
Sept 21 trip--Blue
Shark next to the boat!
There were a total of 8-10 humpbacks and 4 minke whales in the area. Our
first looks were with two humpbacks who were logging. Next we saw Nile and
calf with an escort. Nile and the escort were deep feeding on bait that
was at about 100 feet deep. Nile's calf approached our boat very close
several times. The escort then started communicating with the other whales
as it did several trumpet blows and then rolled on its side and did two quick
pec slaps. We had phenomenal looks at all three whales when they came up
just off our bow. On our way back in we had the best looks I have ever had
of a blue shark. It was swimming slowly and stayed at the surface, which
is quite unusual.
September 2nd:
pm trip There is only one word to describe our trip this afternoon-INCREDIBLE!
The weather was perfect, the seas were calm, and the whales…well the
whales were just phenomenal! We were
just 12 miles from Gloucester had so many whales in the area.
It was like a feeding frenzy out there!
There were Minke whales (10-15), finback whales (3) and a huge gathering
of humpback whales (15-20). It’s not
unusual to see all three species feeding in the same area-due to the massive
amounts of small schooling bait fish called North American Sand Lance, or sand
eels that were clearly visible just beneath the surface of the water.
Passengers today were able to see just about every kind of feeding
behavior there is. There were groups
of whales feeding together and others feeding independently.
Some were doing bubble cloud feeding, others bubble net feeding.
Humpback whales use bubbles as “tools”
to corral the small bait fish into tight balls before they engulf them.
We recently learned that the whales dive down to a depth of 20 meters
before they begin to blow their bubbles.
Why 20 meters you ask? Bubble
experts (yes there are bubble experts!) tell us that at a depth of 20 meters,
the large bubbles travel at the same speed as the smaller bubbles, making a wall
of bubbles the fish are fearful to cross.
Blowing them at a deeper depth or a shallower depth, the two sizes will
travel upward at different speeds.
How do the whales know that??
It was obvious that each humpback whale has his/her
individual style of feeding:
some whales are kick feeders, some are draggers, some
whales even slap their chins on the surface of the water before they begin
blowing their bubbles. (These techniques are described in previous postings).
Among the whales seen today include Pinpoint, Fracture,
Geometry, Rune, Jabiru, Coral, Colt, and Putter (our first sighting of Putter
this year).
Today’s trip rates as one of the best!!
August 31st:
pm trip
We had another great trip today with
lots of whales in the area.
Our trip
started on the southern portion of Stellwagen Bank where we came across 10-12
humpback whales.
These baleen
whales are usually solitary animals, but often come together in short term
associations for feeding or travelling.
Today everyone seemed to be in small groups.
We spent quite some time watching Anchor and her new calf with their
“escort” Tear, a male humpback with a beautiful white tail.
While the adults went below to do some deep feeding the calf spent time
at the surface entertaining us all with some pec-slapping (raising its long
white pectoral fins above the surface of the water and smacking them loudly on
the surface).
Just a short distance
away another mother/calf pair, Apex and her calf and their escort-Crown were
doing the exact same thing.
While
Apex and Crown fed deep in the water column, this calf too was pec-slapping.
It’s thought that this behavior is a source of communication.
It always makes me wonder who is talking to who (calf to calf? calf to
Mom?) and what they are trying to say to eachother?
After spending time with these two groups we got a quick look at another
group of 4-5 large adult humpbacks (Pele was among the group).
As we headed northward back towards Gloucester we passed yet another
group of 5-6 humpbacks!
The fall is
a great time to go whale watching!!
August 30th 1:30trip
We had a total of 9 humpbacks, 1 fin, and 1 minke whale. Our first looks
were on the humpback, Circus who did several chin breaches and one breach from a
distance. Circus then did countless pec slaps and even approached our boat
in a curious manner. We next watched Crown and another whale who were
traveling slowly and close to the boat. Lutrius was another whale that was
displaying a lot of surface behavior. Lutrius was lob tailing belly up for
several minutes and also did a few pec slaps. Our last looks were on Apex
and her calf. We had great body comparisons of this mom/calf pair. The
only birds that were really in the area were wilson storm petrels.
Overall, we had a great trip with great looks at numerous humpbacks and even a
variety of surface activity.
August 22
8:30 trip
We had a fantastic trip today with 4 different species. We started off
watching 75-100 Atlantic white sided dolphins. It's always entertaining
watching them display their typical acrobatic behavior. We next took a
look a fin whale that was traveling slowly and close to our boat. For the
remainder of the trip we observed the humpbacks, Fulcrum and her calf with
pinpoint as an escort. Fulcrum's calf did countless pec slaps and lob
tails and even 13 tail breaches. Pinpoint also started to pec slaps and
eventually Fulcrum also did several pec slaps. Fulcrum also did 3 tail
breaches. It was quite exciting watching all the surface behavior and
communication occurring amongst the whales. There were also 2 minke whales
in the area.
August 14th 1;30 TRIP
We had a total of 10 humpbacks and 3 minke whales in the area. Our first
looks were on the humpbacks, Lavalier and calf who were traveling at the
surface. We then had Alpha and Greenbean who were using bubble clouds to corral
the bait fish. The bait was thick from 0-60 feet. Every time Alpha
surfaced, he would then drag for several seconds to help the massive amounts of
water he held in his mouth. We finished up on Fulcrum and her calf.
Fulcrum's calf was pec slapping in order to communicate with its mother,
Fulcrum. Fulcrum was kick feeding and we had great last look at her mouth
wide open, you could clearly see her baleen. It was an awesome trip
watching the humpbacks use different feeding techniques to corral the bait fish.
August 9 1:30 trip
We saw three different species today, we had a total of twelve humpbacks, six
minkes, and four fin whales. Our first looks were on the humpback,
Etch-A-Sketch she was traveling and diving for about six minutes. We then
watched Bayon who was pec slapping and also diving for about eight minutes. The
humpback Bounce was also nearby and was feeding on bait that was at 100 feet
deep. We had exceptional looks at two fin whales that were very close to our
boat and were traveling slowly. Our last looks were on an unknown humpback that
breached fifteen times and also did five chin breaches. This humpback also did
numerous pec slaps and lob tails. Other whales in the area were also breaching
and it was clear that these whales were communicating with each other. On the
way back in we had a minke whale breach twenty feet from our boat. The last
looks were phenomenal!
August
7th 1:30 trip
There was a total of 10 humpbacks and 4 minke whales in the area. Our
entire trip was spent on a group of five humpbacks in an association.
These individual whales consisted of Infinity, Music, Jabiru, and Lavalier and
her calf. All five whales were traveling slowly and were often within a
few feet of our boat. Music and Lavalier's calf started to get quite
playful and they began to roll on their sides. It's unusual to have
associations of this size, typically they only consist of two or three whales.
We had amazing looks at all of these whales and it was definitely an
entertaining trip.
August 5th:
am and pm trips
For most of the season we’ve headed south to
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary to see the whales.
For a change of pace today we headed to the north to Jeffrey’s Ledge to
see what was happening up there.
What a great idea that turned out to be!!
Both the morning and afternoon trips got to see some amazing whale
behaviors.
On each trip we observed
humpback whales doing some awesome surface activities.
We saw just about every kind of surface behavior there is:
-Spinning head breaches where the whale jumps out of the water,
headfirst, twisting its body and landing on it’s side or back.
It only takes a couple of pumps of the massive tail to propel this 40 ton
body completely out of the water!
-Chin breaches where the whale comes out of the water, lunging forward
and up, stretches and slams its chin on the surface of the water.
-Tail breaches where the whale comes out of the water tail first and
slams its tail off to one side.
-Lob tailing where the whale comes out of the water tail first and slams
its tail in an up and down motion.
And if that weren’t enough to make a great whale watch we also observed
groups of whales doing bubble cloud feeding.
This is when the whale exhales under water releasing a cloud of bubbles
to concentrate the small schooling baitfish they are feeding on into a tight
ball-and the whale comes up in the middle of that cloud with it’s mouth wide
open engulfing all the tiny baitfish.
Using these bubble clouds as a tool to corral the fish is so spectacular
to see!
It was not surprising to see
this type of feeding.
Our “fish
finder” tells us what is exactly under our boat-and we saw 75 to 100 feet of
solid bait under the boat-a real feast.
Among the humpbacks we identified today were Chromosome, I-Vee, Sword,
and Glo-stick.
There were also
hundreds of pelagic birds (birds that spend most of their lives at sea except
when nesting) in the area including Greater Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Cory
Shearwaters, and Manx Shearwaters, an adult Northern Gannet, Immature Northern
Gannets and even a Great Skua!
August
2nd 1:30 trip
We started our trip off watching the humpbacks, Anvil and her calf.
Anvil's calf did 3 breaches and a tail breach. The calf then started to
become quite curious and playful as it began to interact with our boat. We
had fantastic looks at the calf as it was extremely close to the boat several
times. Our next looks were on Ursa who was using kick feeding and bubble
cloud feeding to corral the bait fish. She came up to the surface with her
mouth wide open and we had incredible looks at her baleen. Altogether
there were at least 12 humpbacks and 5 fin whales in the area. We finished
our trip up on about 75-100 Atlantic white sided dolphins. Dolphins
unfortunately are a rare sight and today was only the second time I have seen
them so far this year. They are always entertaining to watch as they
display their usual acrobatic behavior. Since there was a lot of bait in the
area, we also had many birds present. They consisted of greater and sooty
shearwaters, wilson storm petrels, and immature northern gannets.
August 1st 1:30 trip
We started our trip off watching the humpbacks: Grackle, Tear, and Division all
feeding together in an association. The bait was thick from 10 to 20 feet
and these whales were using kick feeding and bubble clouds to corral the bait
fish. We had amazing looks when they came up to the surface with their
mouths wide open. These whales all used the dragging technique to help
expel the massive amounts of water they held in their mouths. It seemed
everywhere you looked there was a blow. There were at least fifteen
humpbacks and five minkes all in the area today. All of these whales were
taking advantage of the vast food source. Some of the other humpbacks we
had in the area were Crown, Fracture, Etch-A-Sketch, Clothesline, and Ember.
The birds were also quite abundant. Many gulls were around as well as
greater and sooty shearwaters. There was also about a
dozen immature northern gannets that were plunge diving for bait fish.
July 27th
1:30 trip
We started our trip off with a few looks at the humpback,
Baja who was deep feeding on bait that was at 150 feet deep. We then
traveled about 4 miles farther south and watched Sundown who breached eight
times. Sundown also did numerous pec slaps and tail breaches. These
surface behaviors were probably to communicate with the other humpbacks
present in the area. In this area, the bait was at the surface and
concentrated from 0-60 feet. The humpback, Pixar was taking full advantage of
the bountiful food supply. Pixar used kick feeding and bubble cloud
feeding to corral the bait fish. There were at least 10-15 other whales in the
area feeding. In addition to the whales, we had countless birds. We
watched in amazement as juvenile northern gannets plunge dove to catch the bait
fish. Greater and sooty shearwaters were also plentiful as well as wilson
storm petrels. This trip was quite entertaining to say the least.
July 25th
1:30 trip
We had a total of six humpbacks in
the area that were all feeding. We started off watching the humpback, Bounce
who was using bubble clouds and kick feeding to corral the bait fish. The
patches of sand eels were everywhere and they were clearly visible from our
boat. It was quite unusual with all the bait in the area, that Bounce was the
only whale taking advantage of the abundant food supply. After about 20
minutes, we had several other humpbacks move into the area and also start to
feed. Coral started kick feeding next to our boat and came up every time with
his mouth wide open. You could clearly see his baleen and he would then drag
for several seconds to help expel the massive amounts of water he contained in
his mouth. Another unknown juvenile humpback was also feeding near our boat
using only bubble clouds. There were mostly wilson storm petrels, and greater
and sooty shearwaters in the area. It was great watching all three of these
humpbacks feed using different feeding techniques to corral the bait fish.
July 20th
1:30 trip
Another beautiful summer day with sunny skies and calm seas on Stellwagen
Bank!
As we travelled down to the
southwest corner of the bank, our captain (with phenomenal eyesight!) spotted
splashing way off in the far distance.
As we headed towards the area, the rest of us were able to get a glimpse
of a breaching humpback whale!
The
whale continued to breach as we got closer and closer.
It’s so amazing that it only takes a few pumps of the whale’s tail to get
those huge bodies to come completely out of the water.
As we watched the whale breach repeatedly we were amazed again by the
presence of a second whale-Lavalier.
Lavalier is a new mom this year and it was her calf doing the breaching.
Breaching is one form of communication used by the whales.
One always wonders just what the calf is trying to communicate with Mom.
Other humpbacks in the area were Pele, Banyan and Filament.
The pelagic birds sightings today were Greater Shearwaters, Sooty
Shearwaters, Wilson Storm Petrels, and some immature Northern Gannets.
July 17th 1:30 trip
We had 15-18 humpbacks in the area. Our trip started off with Vibe's 08
calf, who was tail breaching and then lob tailing belly up. This behavior
continued for at least 15 minutes. Our next look was on the humpback,
Storm who was also tail breaching. These whales were probably doing these
surface behaviors to communicate with the other whales in the area. We had
some really great looks at Alphorn, Crown, and another unknown humpback who were
all traveling together. These three whales popped up right next to our
boat twice and we got phenomenal looks at them. We finished up on an
unknown humpback who chin breached several times and then also did 21 breaches.
It was the perfect way to end the trip! Overall, we had a great trip where
we had the chance to observe a variety of surface behaviors and whales. Lots of
sea birds too.
July 14th
1:30 trip
What an amazing day!!! The best in years for me (but I only work part-time
now)! As we approached the area where the whales were, we saw blows everywhere.
There were at least 20 humpbacks and a few fin whales in this fairly small area.
We weaved through trying to find a place to get started when we saw a whale
breach at 10:00. It was Milkweed, and this whale continued to breach a few
times. The whale alternated between breaching and flipper slapping for at least
ten minutes, then went under the boat and came up real close on the starboard
side. Milkweed rolled over and we saw its eye wide open as it was flipper
slapping. Next, it spy hopped right next to the boat a few times!! This
curiosity among the whales is my favorite thing to see by far.
When Milkweed slowed down and started
traveling, we moved a mile or so to another area where the whales were coming
together to feed. We saw Pinpoint, Echo, Buckshot, Pinch and Sushi to name a
few. Most whales were kickfeeding and sometimes coming up with big open mouths.
It was truly amazing. To see any of these behaviors in a trip is great, but to
see all three—feeding, surface activity, and close to boat—in one trip is quite
spectacular. I picked a good one this week to work. Till next week…..Cynde
July 11 1:30 trip
Today's trip can be summed up in just one word FANTASTIC! We had a total
of 7 humpbacks, 6 of which were mom/calf pairs and 2 minkes. The first
whales we stopped on were an unknown mom/calf pair. The mom tail breached
at least 15 times and the calf also tail breached multiple times. The calf
was mimicking mom's behavior and it was apparent that the mom was teaching her
calf this behavior. The calf then started breaching while mom pec slapped,
lob tailed, and chin breached. It was amazing watching this whale display
such a variety of surface behaviors. We took our next look on Nile and her
calf and these whales were also breaching, but mostly the calf. We watched 6
different humpbacks, all of which were mom/calf pairs and every whale did some
form of breaching. As if we didn't see enough breaching already, on the way
back into Gloucester we saw 2 minke whales also breaching. It was an
exceptional day all all around.
July 7th
at 8:30am
As we made our way through the harbor to
begin our whale watch today we passed by some of the tall ships in the area
participating in the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge, a trans-Atlantic regatta
which began in Spain and will finish in Ireland.
It’s always so impressive seeing these majestic sailing vessels!
Arriving on Stellwagen Bank we first spotted Etch-A-Sketch, a humpback
whale, slowly travelling through the area.
Continuing southward we caught a glimpse of a long white pectoral fin
waving in the air.
Always looking
for some interesting surface behavior, we headed over to investigate.
It was Music, a young humpback, doing something we don’t often see.
The whale was “Kelping”, playing with seaweed!
We watched as Music continually surfaced with the clump of seaweed draped
over different parts of his/her body.
One surfacing would find the clump on top of his head looking much like a
kelp hat, next it would be draped across his back, then draped around his fluke,
or tail.
It’s one whale behavior I
can definitely categorize as playful.
For almost half an hour we watched at Music would spyhop (slowly raise
his head vertically out of the water) with the patch of seaweed sitting right on
tip of his mouth, then roll over and over in the seaweed, just doing all kinds
of contortions to get the clump onto different parts of his body.
It was such a treat to observe this kind of behavior.
We ended our journey on a group of 4 humpbacks travelling together-Cajun,
Geometry, Pele and one that has yet to be identified.
Total sightings today were 12-15 humpbacks, 2 finbacks and one minke.
Bird sightings:
Greater and
Sooty Shearwaters, Wilson Storm Petrels and immature Northern Gannets.
July 6 at 1:30
We had an awesome trip today. Altogether there were about 12-15 humpbacks
and 3 fin whales in the area. We had amazing looks of the three humpbacks
Percussion, and Lavalier and her calf. Percussion was flipper slapping for
several minutes. Lavalier's calf did two full breaches, a chin breach, and
several pec slaps. It was obvious that these whales were communicating
between each other. We then took a look at two fin whales who were
traveling slowly. It's always exciting getting close looks at fin whales
because you can then really appreciate their beautiful coloration and their
massive size. Our next looks were with the humpbacks Pele, Cajun, and another
unknown whale who were in an association. These whales were feeding on
bait at the bottom that was at about 100 feet deep. Our last looks were on
the humpback, Etch-A-Sketch. Overall today we had great looks at many
different individual whales and different forms of surface behavior being
displayed.
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