Whale Sightings 4/26/22 to 5/1/22
Please find the Naturalist Notes for the weekend of 4/26/22 to 5/1/22from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
April 26th – May 1st Whale Watch Blog
Whale Sightings 04-26-22 10am Whale Watch
Today the Asteria headed out to Stellwagen Bank with a hearty group of passengers, eager to spot some wildlife. As we got to the northwest corner, we came across a very friendly pod of Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins, while we spied some more blows in the distance. We pressed on, spending time with some Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, some distant Fin Whales, our travelling pod of dolphins and some curious Gray Seals. We finally found ourselves in the midst of a small group of Humpbacks, which included a mother and calf pair. We were delighted to confirm that Venom was our mom today, accompanied by Aerospace and Falcon! This is the first time Venom and her calf have been seen this season, so it was quite a memorable experience for all of those on board. Her calf was very playful, rolling from side to side in the windy waves! After watching our group of four, we slowly left and made our way back to Boston. Despite the cold, everyone had a wonderful time on the water!
Until Next Time!
David & Kate
4/27/22 10am Whale Watch Sightings
What an absolutely fantastic day! Despite some swells and wind, 10am whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards the Northwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank. We were greeted by a flurry of activity: the water frothed with green as seals, whales, dolphins, and birds spun in and out of the water. Before we could even get to this massive feeding pile, a humpback calf started breaching numerous times right off our boat! This little whale’s mom is yet to be identified, but it was probably one of the 12-15 humpbacks lunging, kick feeding, and open-mouth feeding around us. These humpbacks included Monarch, Campground, Chevron, Pinpoint, and many other to be identified. Besides the humpbacks, we also got some incredible looks at fin and sei whales. We had multiple fin whales lunge right off our vessel, as well as a few skimming sei whales! While we were clutched out, we had one sei whale mug the boat – popping up on all sides and even between the pulpit! We also observed a mom and calf sei whale pair, and we got to see this cute pair slowly traverse around the vessel.
Over time, the feeding groups and birds began to dissipate. However, we did not have to wait long until our attention was caught by a breaching Campground. This individual launched into a flurry of surface activity – breaching, flipper slapping, tail breaching, and lobtailing. With the Boston skyline visible behind the breaching Campground, we finished our trip with absolute bang.
What a great day!
Kate and David
5/1/22 10:00 Whale Watch Sightings
It was a fabulous morning in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary with the sightings beginning early as two right whales and a sei whale were spotted shortly after passing Graves Light. If you’ve been following along, you’re familiar that all North Atlantic right whale sightings observed on our vessels are reported to NOAA and speeds are reduced to ten knots until a safe distance from the whale is reached. Atlantic white sided dolphins were the next species to be checked off of the list and we watched this small nursery pod zip around in large circles. Upon reaching Stellwagen Bank, we spotted many, many gray seals and minke whales. We enjoyed seeing them and inched closer to two logging fin whales, which allowed amazing looks at these beautiful animals. Humpback whale Bounce was traveling with another adult who surfaced very little, and to round out the trip we were able to see Firefly and meet her new calf. The warm sunshine and calm seas made for the most perfect morning we could ask for!
Laura L. and Ashlyn
05-01-22 230pm Whale Sightings
We boarded the Asteria for the 2:30 pm whale watch and headed for Stellwagen Bank. Just south of the northwest corner, we encountered several gray seals and minke whales! We soon spotted some blows and caught up with a humpback whale named Bounce! She was traveling quickly, so we made our way to a cluster of birds that were following another humpback whale, Shuffleboard! She was blowing bubble clouds and lunging through them, water streaming out of her mouth. After a few spectacles of feeding, we noticed a large splash, which turned out to be a humpback whale calf! We watched as this young whale engaged in some spectacular surface activity. Not long after, it joined up with mom, and we were able to determine that mom was Bolide! Soon, it was time to head home, and we did so happily after another beautiful day on Stellwagen Bank.
Flukes up!
Ashlyn and Laura
More Images From This Weekend
