Whale Sightings 6/2/25 to 6/8/25. Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 6/2/25 to 6/8/25 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.
Monday, 6.2.25
12:00pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening,
Under bright blue skies, the Aurora departed Boston in search of our magnificent baleen friends. We cruised past the iconic twin lighthouses on Thatcher’s Island and soon encountered a whale named for a fearsome man-eating monster: Scylla. Despite her name, Scylla appeared to prefer small fish on today’s trip. She was taking remarkably short dives and surfacing for only a single breath each time. Despite the brief appearances of this whale, we were captivated.
After some time with Scylla, we ventured farther offshore in search of other whales. Before long, we were delighted to spot a familiar fluke: Dross! This was my first sighting of Dross in 2025, so today was extra special as she’s a personal favorite. At first, Dross appeared to be resting at the surface, but she sprang into action quickly with some of her signature bubble cloud feeding.
After a series of fantastic bubble clouds, we bid farewell to Dross and made our way home.
It was a phenomenal day on the water!
Eman, Andrew, Hannah, and Collin
Tuesday, 6.3.25
10:00am Whale Watch Sightings
Good Evening Fellow Whale Enthusiasts!
Today we boarded the Sanctuary under clear skies and a cool breeze and made our way out to the Jeffrey’s Ledge for our first trip of the day. With fantastic visibility, we were quickly able to spot the singular blow of a feeding humpback whale! This individual was taking regular, short dives, punctuated by the fizz of dispersing bubble clouds! After several repetitions, our whale emerged from an emerald cloud upside down, a characteristic feeding behavior for this particular whale, who on the next fluking dive was confirmed to be a well-known whale named Diablo! After several more minutes of observing Diablo actively feeding just below the surface, we made our way back to Boston, excited to head back out for our next adventure!
All in all a beautiful day on the water in the excellent company of whales!
Until next time,
Linnea, Andrew, and Brenna
2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good Evening Fellow Whale Enthusiasts!
Making our way further north for the second trip, we once again scanned the horizon for any wildlife activity. Again, we spotted a single blow in the distance! On closer inspection, this too proved to be an individual humpback whale! After a couple of long dives, the whale geared up for some bubble cloud feeding, also emerging once in an upside down lunge! Though this whale’s behavior seemed to mirror that of Diablo from our earlier trip, this whale proved to be a completely different individual named Newjersey! This fun symmetry continued for several more minutes before we reluctantly left our friend behind and made our way back to Boston in the golden hour sun.
All in all a beautiful day on the water in the excellent company of whales!
Until next time,
Linnea, Andrew and Brenna
Wednesday, 6.4.25
10:00am Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening,
Aboard the Asteria, our 10am whale watch departed Boston with high hopes, and we were not disappointed! Our first sighting came shortly after leaving Boston Harbor. We encountered a small minke whale. The whale swam and dove around our vessel, circling as small area. It is possible the ‘little’ baleen whale was feeding subsurface.
After some time with the minke whale, we continued on, wanting to investigate what other wildlife might be out there. Soon after, we were thrilled to find Dross bubble cloud feeding! We observed her lunging through several vibrant green clouds of water, a stunning display of her signature feeding technique.
Our final encounter of the trip featured a pair of humpback whales: Highlighter and Gremlin. The duo was traveling slowly through the area and treated us to one impressive lunge before resuming their leisurely pace.
It was a great day on the water!
Eman, Mariapaula, Martin, and Aiden
12:00pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello Fellow Whale Enthusiasts,
Today we boarded the Aurora and headed North, eager to get offshore and out of the sticky heat of the city.
Making our way to the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, we scanned the horizon for any signs of whales in the area. After a few minutes of scanning a blow emerged from the haze on the horizon followed by a low fluking dive, indicating we were in the company of a humpback whale!
We trailed behind as this individual meandered through the area, alternating short 3-minute dives, and longer dives of up to 8 minutes. We only caught quick glimpses of the flukes, but with the help of our naturalist team, we were able to identify this whale as Gremlin!
After a final, more lengthy surfacing, we watched as Gremlin took one more dive and we gently made our way back to Boston.
Overall, a beautiful day on the water!
Until next time!
Linnea, Maddie, and Collin
Friday, 6.6.25
10:00am Whale Watch Sightings
Good Evening Fellow Whale Enthusiasts!
Today we boarded the Sanctuary and made our way North to Jeffrey’s Ledge in search of cetaceans! Hearing reports from our fellow whale watchers of a whale nearby, we scanned the waters and lo! Before long we spotted a blow! This humpback whale soon proved to be a familiar whale by the name of Highlighter! Highlighter was engaging in some lunge feeding, offering incredible looks at his expanded throat pleats! After many incredible looks, we made our way back to Boston.
A wonderful day on the water!
Until next time,
Linnea, Andrew, and Hannah
11:00am Whale Watch Sightings
Good afternoon, Fellow Whale Watchers!
Today, we boarded the Asteria and set out towards the north to look for some wildlife.
After scanning the horizon for a while, we spotted a blow and some splashes, and as we approached, we saw a humpback whale rolling! This whale ended up travelling around the area, taking regular short dives and giving us some beautiful fluking dives. We were able to identify this whale as GOM-2315!
As we were heading back to Boston, after a wonderful time out in the water, we spotted another blow close to the boat. This whale was identified as Highlighter! We were moving slowly through the area, trying to head back to Boston, when Highlighter breached right in front of the bow, giving us spectacular views of its whole body!
Once we were at a safe distance from this whale, we continued on our way back home with great memories of this amazing trip!
Until next time,
Mariapaula and Madeline
12:00pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello all,
Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch set sail with high expectations. We were delighted to see the USS Constitution underway as we left the dock, a very special treat indeed! We made our way to Jeffrey’s Ledge in search of whales and marine life. We encountered a small humpback whale cruising along. This little whale, which we were able to identify as GOM-2315, was spending a lot of time at the surface which allowed us to get some excellent looks at them! There was not a lot of wind which allowed us to see the full length of the whale while it was traveling just under the surface, which was a very cool sight to see! This whale gave us several beautiful fluking dives and a few close approaches before we had to head back to Boston. It was a great day out on the water!
Until next time,
Colin and Brianna
2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good Evening Fellow Whale Enthusiasts!
Eager to get back on the water, we once again set out to Jeffrey’s Ledge for our afternoon adventure! Visiting the area we had left our humpback friend, but finding no signs of him, we began moving toward the south hoping to spot him somewhere nearby. With the help of our eagle-eyed passengers, we were finally able to locate Highlighter once more! He blew one bubble cloud and then began on a meandering track, traveling at a moderate pace. We watched as he took steady, 5-minute dives, showing off his beautiful tail with each dip below the surface! After a final dive, we made our way back home.
A wonderful day on the water!
Until next time,
Linnea, Andrew, and Hannah
Saturday, 6.7.25
11:00am Whale Watch Sightings
Hello Fellow Whale Enthusiasts,
Today we boarded the Aurora and set out into thick fog, hopeful that we might be able to locate some wildlife. Heading to the south, we kept sharp eyes on the water when suddenly our visibility opened just enough to spot 2 blows! Sneaking closer we soon identified a humpback named Dome! Before long the second humpback had moved closer, both whales blowing bubble clouds, and taking short, athletic dives below the surface! The second whale proved to be Floodlight! Our whales soon parted ways, and we too turned our bow back toward Boston.
After an awe-filled hour of some of the most incredible whale activity, we turned our bow back to Boston, filled with gratitude to bear witness to these incredible creatures.
Until next time,
Linnea, Jane, and Aiden
2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Happy Saturday Whale Watchers,
This afternoon, we tried our luck further south with some better visibility. We trekked out east of Stellwagen Bank, but it was so worth it! We found ourselves surrounded by feeding Humpback Whales, including Dome, Nile, Glo-Stick, Wizard, Woodwind, Vault, Rocker, Ase, Abrasion, Eruption, and Crossbeam. We saw multiple types of feeding, including kick feeding, bubble net and bubble cloud feeding. It was jaw dropping! We also got some quick looks at some Minke Whales, a Fin Whale and some seals. After some unforgettable time with the whales, we made our way back to Boston. Despite the fog and rainy conditions, it shaped up to be an unforgettable afternoon one the water!
Until Next Time!
David, Brant, Hannah and Maddie
3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Hello Fellow Whale Enthusiasts,
For our afternoon trip, we set out further afield, making our way around the hook of the Cape to the area off the town of Truro. Our long voyage paid off in spades as we soon spotted a multitude of species nearby! Within moments of arriving, we spotted several minke whales, as well as fin whales, and even a couple of gray seals! As if the day couldn’t get better, the scattered, more distant blows began to multiply on the horizon, and we soon found ourselves surrounded by dozens of humpback whales! Massive feeding groups of 10 or more humpbacks formed and dissipated as the whales exhibited almost every conceivable feeding behavior! In a cacophony of trumpet blows, we watched in wonder as a seemingly endless number of humpbacks emerged from the deep, water rushing out between their baleen plates as they feasted on the plentiful fish below! These large groups were punctuated by the staccato if individual whales’ tails striking the surface as they kick fed all around us. Through spitting rain and gray conditions, we sat back in amazement as the water all around us turned a tell-tale jade color and seemed almost to boil with the multitude of dissipating bubbles of clouds and nets from continuous feeding forays.
After an awe-filled hour of some of the most incredible whale activity, we turned our bow back to Boston, filled with gratitude to bear witness to these incredible creatures.
P.S. The humpbacks we were able to identify were as follows: Abrasion, Agassiz, Aerospace, Chromosome, Crossbeam, Dome, Draco, Glo-Stick, Greenbean, Infinity, Evolution, Tear, Sable, Strike, Palette, and Palette’s 2025 calf!
This is an ongoing effort, as there are several more whales that have not yet been identified from the group!
Until next time,
Linnea, Jane, and Aiden
Sunday, 6.8.25
11:00am Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening whale enthusiasts!
The Aurora headed south in search of whales and we were not disappointed! We found an area with 12-15 humpback whales napping around the area. We spent most of our trip with Nile and a mysterious friend who both treated us to a close approach, as well as some time with Dome! We reluctantly headed back to Boston excited to return in the afternoon.
Overall a wonderful day for whale watching!
Sydney, Andrew, Brianna, and Collin
3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings
Good evening whale enthusiasts!
The 3:30 pm trip returned to find the area still full of whales. We were able to ID Bearclaw, A-Plus, Venom, Greenbean, Draco, Eruption, Skylight, and Nimbus. We started our trip with a brief show of flipper slapping and lobtailing before all the whales went on naps and we got incredible looks at them as they dozed at the surface.
Overall a wonderful day for whale watching!
Sydney, Andrew, Brianna, and Collin
Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 6/2/25 to 6/8/25