Whale Sightings 10/19/23 to 10/28/23. Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 10/19/23 to 10/28/23 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
10-19-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
Aboard the Asteria, we headed to the SW corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales. With continued reports of Lollipop and calf being entangled, we were extra vigilant to spot the pair out on the bank today. Near the SW corner, we found them taking long dives, but moving with a bit more gusto than when we last saw them. Lollipop’s calf has a serious entanglement that is hard to get to on its flipper (you can see its new scars on its tailstock as well). We documented what we could of the calf, and sent our reports out to the Center for Coastal studies disentanglement team. Hopefully on the next good weather window, they can get out to remove more of the gear. As always – you can directly impact the health of the ocean by choosing sustainable seafood options – you can learn more at www.seafoodwatch.org . Another great resource to check out is the Ropeless Consortium – which is working to help find technological solutions to fishing gear entanglements https://ropeless.org/.
We then moved on to the SW corner where we found 5-7 more humpbacks. The star of our show today was female humpback Rapier, who was doing spectacular displays of kick feeding! Kick feeding is an unique behavior to Stellwagen Bank, first documented aboard our whale watch boats in the 1980s through our ongoing partnerships with local whale research non-profits. As Rapier was one of the whales I got to know my first season here in 2011, it’s always nice to be reminded of the spectacular environment Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary truly is! We saw flying patterns of water and herring today as Rapier dramatically thrusted her tail repetitively each time she fed. We even caught a glimpse of her eye and she came up with HUGE lunges!
Cheers,
Laura, Jane, and Kiley
10-20-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon!
The 10am headed out on the Asteria towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of wildlife. Despite the blustery conditions, we were able to find a group of 4 humpback whales. In large part, our attention was drawn in due to the massive splashes caused by A-Plus 2023 calf. This “little” whale launched its body out of the water for over thirty minutes straight – showing off chin breaches, tail breaches, lobtails, inverted lobtails, and rolling!! Over time, the calf slowed down a little bit – and joined mom’s association: A-Plus, 3.14, and Spell. Our group of whales were clearly feeding, and at one point we even witnessed the calf practicing blowing bubbles (necessary for bubble net/bubble cloud feeding – which it will one day have to do on its own). Shortly after the calf joined up with mom, it seemed to get bored – and began to breach and spin out of the water again! We finished up our trips with the calf still breaching and lobtailing, before eventually heading back to Boston.
Kate and Jan
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch made its way out towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We were delighted when we spotted several blows as we arrived in the area. We had a group of five humpback whales consisting of A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, Spell, 3.14, and Chunk! The calf would wander away at times while the adults were busy probably feeding below the surface. We had the group pop up near the boats several times! At one point, another humpback identified as Peninsula tried to join the group, but the other whales were not happy about it. They trumpeted several times when all 6 whales popped up at the surface! It is always interesting to see whales interacting with each other! After one last amazing close approach from our group, we had to make our way back towards Boston. On the way home, we got some great bonus looks at a beautiful juvenile gannet! It ended up being a fantastic day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Until next time,
Colin and Sian
10-24-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
On the 10am, the Asteria made its way out to Stellwagen Bank on surprisingly calm seas! We spent quite a bit of time searching for whales on the Southwest Corner of the Bank before finding a collection of blows huddled together in on the horizon. Within no time, we found ourselves in the presence of two groups of Humpback whales. Our first encounter was with a mother-calf pair with an escort we later identified as A-plus, A-Plus’ 2023 calf, and 3.14. We got a quick glance at the group before making our way over to some adults. The other group of adults included Milkweed, Eruption, and Jabba. It was our first time seeing Jabba this season which was exciting! After spending time with both groups separately, we noticed that all six individuals were joining into one massive association. As the groups joined together, it also appeared that the whales began feeding below the surface. We idled in the area as these six whales swam, fed, and dove around us. It was a fantastic time on the water!
Until next time,
Eman, Christina, and Kiley
10-25-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
The 10am headed out on the Asteria towards the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. On the way out, we spotted a group of around 10 harbor porpoises – and got some great looks at these normally allusive animals. We continued towards the sanctuary and despite some windy conditions, we spotted the group of four humpbacks: 3.14, Milkweed, A-Plus, and A-Plus. Right as we first got to our whales, the “little” calf launched into a massive breach! For most of the trip, the calf remained separate of the adults – and began to feed on its own. We saw the calf blow a few bubble clouds, lunge through the clouds, and even seemingly attempt to kick feed! This late in the season, there is no guarantee that when we come out – mom and calf will still be together, as our calves will likely get weaned within the next couple weeks. It has been very special to watch this calf grow throughout the season and feed by itself today – it seems like it’s getting ready to fully feed on its own soon!
Right as we were about to leave, our calf let out another massive breach – and then proceeded to mug the boat! Joining with the adults, we were “trapped” on all sides, as the whales swam under our pulpits and popped up on either side. Practicing safe and responsible whale watching, we stayed still until we could slowly leave the area.
Kate, Jane, and Siân
10-26-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
On our 10am whale watch aboard the Aurora, we spent the day in beautiful glassy seas on the SW corner of Stellwagen Bank. Along the way we spotted many northern gannets, eiders, and loons. As we stopped at the corner, we first found the calf of humpback A-Plus, who was milling on its own while its mom, Milkweed, and 3.14 were busy bottom feeding. This spunky calf spent the majority of our trip being curious to our boat – this particular curious behavior consisted of it blowing bubbles underwater around our boat, where it then would come up a few minutes later on the other side of us – making it an enjoyable surprise every time the calf came up. At multiple points the adults approached us as well – it was a picturesque day surrounded by backlit blows and bubbles!
Cheers,
Laura, Sian, and Kiley
12pm and 5pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Asteria, the 10am whale watch made its way out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. We were delighted to spot several blows when we arrived in the area. This turned out to be a group of 4 humpback whales consisting of A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, 3.14, and Milkweed. The adults at first were being a little lazy hanging out on the surface which allowed us to get some incredible views of them! The adults slowly began moving and grooving, and they were taking short dives which allowed us to spend a lot of time with them. The calf had its own plans as it began rolling around and blowing bubbles. The calf then erupted into a bout of flipper slapping! Then the calf began lobtailing up a storm! The calf did this for nearly 10 minutes which amazed everyone on board! The adults also decided to pop up right off the bow a few times! Eventually the active calf went right back to mom’s side as we had to head back home. With additional sightings of harbor porpoise on the way home, it was a spectacular fall day offshore!
Until next time,
Colin and Jane
10-27-23
10am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon,
We spent a blissful fall afternoon out on the SW corner of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary today! While adults A-Plus, Milkweed, and 3.14 were busy feeding, A-Plus’s calf spent our trip hanging out alongside our boat milling, rolling, tail breaching, and even making the occasional trumpet/stutter blow (ie raspberries!). We must have been near a great hot spot of bait, because several times the adults popped up alongside us as our captain carefully stayed out of gear. As all this action happened, male veteran Putter swam by, first making some expressive large tail breaches before quickly joining and splitting with the group of other adults. While A-Plus, 3.14, and Milkweed went back to their coordinated group feeding, we had a spectacular full spinning head breach from Putter! A wonderful send off before heading home!
On a personal note – I am moving on from my position at BHCC, and today is my last whale sightings report as Director of Research & Education. I want thank all of you for your continued enthusiasm for our reports each year. It was a pleasure sharing glimpses and experiences of life offshore with the whales – and I can’t wait for you to continue keeping up with them with my dedicated naturalist team going forward. To try to sum up my thanks and appreciation to our wonderful naturalists, interns, captains, crew, and operations team over the past 13 seasons is quite impossible. Thank you all!
Cheers,
Laura, Jane, and Sian
10-28-23
10am and 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Asteria, the 10am whale watch made its way out towards the southern part of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life. As we arrived in the area, we noticed a few different blows in the area. We settled in on a solo humpback who turned out to be Spell! Spell was blowing bubble clouds, and she was taking short dives, so this allowed us to get some great looks at her. She even popped up next to the boat a few times! After some tremendous looks at spell, we made our way south to find A-Plus, A-Plus 23 Calf, 3.14, and Milkweed who were also taking very short dives and spending a good amount of time at the surface. They surprised us all as they all popped up right next to the boat a few times! After an awesome close approach from A-Plus, we had to head back to Boston.
The 230pm whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner in hopes of similar success to the morning trip. We were in luck when we found Bounce and Bounce 23 Calf! They were both snoozing at the surface but they swam right passed our bow! The two then went on a long dive, so we decided to move on to our familiar group of 4 consisting of A-Plus and her calf, 3.14, and Spell. The calf was rolling around while the adults were busy probably feeding beneath the surface. Then out of the blue, Wizard the humpback whale popped up next to the boat and began lobtailing! She did this for several minutes leaving us in awe! Wizard briefly joined our larger group before venturing off on her own again. It still amazes me seeing different individuals as well as groups interact with each other! We got one last close approach and some beautiful fluking dives from our adults before heading back to Boston. It was a really amazing day out on Stellwagen Bank!
Until next time,
Colin and Kiley
12pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon whale enthusiasts!
The Aurora headed South in search of cetaceans for the 12 pm whale watch. We found a total of 7 humpback whales! We started our trip with Wizard who was quickly travelling South, before heading back to spend some time with a larger group of humpbacks. We first found A-Plus 23 calf lounging at the surface, before A-Plus, Milkweed, and 3.14 forcefully surfaced nearby! Soon after, Bounce and Bounce 23 Calf also entered the area, and we were surrounded. The 2 calves seemed to be enjoying each other’s company at the surface, when Bounce surfaced with them, and began to trumpet, maybe indicating that she was not interested in babysitting for A-Plus. A-Plus 23 calf rejoined with A-Plus, but shortly after was seen again with Bounce and her calf as they surfaced beneath our pulpits while we sat out of gear, and A-Plus, Milkweed, and 3.14 dove underneath us at our stern. We were surrounded by whales treating us to close approaches, making for some incredible last looks. Once it was safe to do so, we reluctantly made our way home to Boston.
Overall a beautiful fall whale watch!
Sydney and Sian
Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 10/19/23 to 10/28/23