Whale Sightings 06/21/23 to 06/27/23 Please find the Naturalist Notes for the week of 06/21/23 to 06/27/23 from the onboard team of naturalists for our New England Whale Watching tour in partnership with the New England Aquarium.  

 

06-21-23

10am Whale Watch Sightings

Good Afternoon!

Today on the 10am whale watch aboard Asteria, we eagerly traveled to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. We were greeted by several blows upon our arrival and first spent time with a humpback whale Dyad who was bubble cloud feeding! Then, we caught a few quick looks at Mogul in passing. A group of spouts in the distance caught our eye so we cruised over to that area. Soon we found ourselves in what I like to call “whale soup” surrounded by two groups of three whales: Nile, Venom, and Milkweed and 3.14, Spell, and Sprinkles. What a great way to spend the first day of summer!

Best fishes,

Meg, Laura, Anjali, and Lily

 

12pm Whale Watch Sightings

Hai semua,

Today aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch made its way towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life.  As we approached the area, we spotted several blows.  There were seven humpback whales in the area!  We started on a group of three consisting of Nile, Venom, and Milkweed.  One of these whales breached not far from the boat!  These three even popped up not from the boat a few times too!  We then got great looks at another group of three consisting of Sprinkles, Spell, and 3.14.  This group was taking short dives which allowed us to get some great looks at them.  Right before we left, these three came up right next to us!  After a series of beautiful fluking dives, we had to head back to Boston.  It was a really great day out on Stellwagen Bank!

Sehingga lain kali

Colin, Kate, Emily, and Jane

 

 

 

06-22-23

10am Whale Watch Sightings

Selamat tengah hari!

The 10am whale watch headed out on the Asteria towards Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Despite some blustery winds, we were happy to spot at least 8 humpback whales in the area! These large animals were split into two associations – Chunk, Milkweed, Venom and 3.14, Spell, Sprinkles – as well as the single humpbacks Nile and Dyad. These whales were clearly feeding – easily discerned by the impressive bird activity in the area and the explosive surfacing of our humpbacks surrounding our vessel. Both associations popped up incredibly close to our vessel multiple times through the trip. Nile and Dyad easily stole the show, as we saw some incredible surface feeding activity. We were able to witness lunging, kick-feeding, bubble clouds, and open mouth feeding – something that we haven’t seen much of yet this season! We finished up our trip with a quick sighting of a minke whale and fin whale.

What a wonderful whale watch trip!

Kate, Anjali, and Josiah

 

12pm Whale Watch Sightings

Good evening whale watchers,

The Aurora headed out to the southern portion of Stellwagen Bank on the noon trip. Upon arriving, we discovered between 10-12 humpback whales in the area! They all seemed very active with birds crowding around (an indication of feeding whales). We elected to watch the group closest to us which was a trio of familiar whales: 3.14, Spell, and Sprinkles! These three humpback whales were moving rapidly around the area and taking short fluking dives. Their forceful surfacing and short dives suggested they were subsurface feeding! We even got a few quick lunges from some of these whales as they came up to the surface. At one point, 3.14 tail breached right in front of our boat! The three whales immediately dove and surfaced a few minutes later with three other whales that had been in the area! These three whales were Chunk, Venom, and Milkweed. For a few minutes, we had one large group of six before one of the six whales tail breached again and the group split up into two sets of three. It was an incredible look at the rapid shift of dynamics that can occur in associative groups. We ended our fantastic trip with looks at all six whales diving in their respective groups.

Sehingga lain kali

Eman, Emily, and Indi

 

 

06-23-23

10am Whale Watch Sightings

Good afternoon whale enthusiasts!

The Asteria headed out towards the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen on the 10 am whale watch and once we made it through the fog, we found an abundance of whales! We were greeted with several close approaches on all sides of the vessel allowing everyone to get incredible looks. We were surprised by a young harbor seal off the bow, before getting even more fantastic looks as whales surfaced on all sides. We continued to watch as several groups of 3-4 whales intermixed and intermingled. We were able to ID Skydancer, Eruption, Milkweed, Venom, Ursa, Chunk, Sprinkles, Nile, Pele, Venom, Woodwind, Spell, 3.14, and Cajun and her 2023 Calf! We also saw 1-2 Fin whales in the area! We got some incredible looks before having to head back to Boston.

What a great day for whale watching!

Sydney, Jane, and Indi

 

12pm Whale Watch Sightings

Selamat tengah hari

Aboard the Aurora, the 12pm whale watch headed to the southern portion of Stellwagen Bank to find whales. When we arrived, we discovered at least 12-15 humpback whales in the area. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by humpback whales feeding, diving, and trumpet blowing in every direction! We have identified thirteen whales thus far: Cajun, Cajun’s 23 Calf, Pele, Milkweed, Venom, Chunk, Nile, Sprinkles, Jabiru, 3.14, Eruption, Spell, and Skydancer. Between the exciting movement of these whales, we had multiple very close encounters with Cajun, Cajun’s 23 calf, Spell, 3.14, and one other. These five whales surfaced by our starboard side multiple times, diving below us, and then surfacing on our portside. It was absolutely incredible! While all thirteen whales were in the same area, they were split into three distinct groups with synchronized behavior. We also caught some glimpses of a fin whale lunging in the distance. This large whale was moving around the periphery of the humpback whale feeding party. Before we knew it, we were slowly weaving our way out of the whale soup toward Boston. As we started heading out, two kick feeding humpback whales caught our eye! One whale remains a mystery, but we have identified the other as Skydancer! These two whales were feeding on their own but joined for a few lunges before separating again. After watching the kick feeders and getting bonus glances at some of our prior whales, we made our way back to Boston.

It was a fantastic time on the Bank!

Eman, Colin, Lily, and Josiah

 

 

06-24-23

10am and 2:30 Whale Watch Sightings

Peminat ikan paus malam yang baik!

The 10am trip braved the rain and headed towards the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank aboard the Asteria in search of cetaceans. We quickly found ourselves surrounded by blows! These humpback whales treated us to several close approaches and made our rainy journey well worth it as several groups surrounded us. We got to spend time with Skydancer, Sprinkles, Nile, Venom, Milkweed, Woodwind, Cajun and her Calf, Jabiru, 3.14, Spell and Eruption. These whales were just some of the 17-20 whales we estimated in the area. We reluctantly headed home to Boston, ready to return in the afternoon.

The 2:30 trip returned to find the fog and rain had cleared and started our trip with a sleepy duo of humpbacks, one of whom we have been able to confirm was Othello! We saw some blows in the distance and got to spend time with Skydancer as she was lunge feeding at the surface! We also found Nile and Conflux had entered the area, and a large group of whales began to form in the area ahead of us. This group included 3.14, Chunk, Venom, Milkweed, Nile, Conflux, Skydancer, Cajun, Cajun 23 Calf, and Bristle. We saw some splashing in the distance, which turned out to be from Lollipop 23 Calf, who continuously breached while Lollipop and Sprinkles travelled nearby. Unfortunately upon reviewing photos, it was determined that Lollipops calf has an entanglement on one of the pectoral flippers. The entanglement was reported to the Center for Coastal Studies Disentanglement network, and we hope that this calf can be successfully freed from any fishing gear.

Sydney

 

12pm Whale Watch Sightings

Hai semua,

Today aboard the Cetacea, the 12pm whale watch made its way out towards Stellwagen Bank in search of whales and other marine life.  We were delighted to see a flurry of blows as we approached the area.  There were more than 15 humpbacks in the area!  Those we were able to identify included Cajun, Cajun 23 calf, Lollipop, Lollipop 23 calf, Spell, 3.14, Milkweed, Venom, Woodwind, Skydancer, Sprinkles, Nile, Pele, Eruption, and Jabiru.  We spent a lot of time with Cajun and her calf, and the calf stole the show.  The calf was continuously breaching, tail breaching, lobtailing, and rolling!  The calf even came to check out the boat!  The adults were taking short dives, and they were popping up near the boat several times.  We got to watch the trio of Venom, Milkweed, and Woodwind do some beautiful fluking dives right off our bow!  After some final breaching from the calf, we had to head back to Boston.  It was a spectacular day out on Stellwagen Bank!

Sehingga lain kali

Colin dan Josiah

 

12pm and 4:00pm Whale Watch Sightings

Good evening whale watchers,

Passengers piled onto the Aurora at 11am eager to find whales! We had a little bit of a late start, but thanks to the patience of our passengers and proactivity of our crew, we were back on our way quickly! When we arrived, we were happy to discover at least fifteen whales in the area. We spent most of our time with Jabiru, Eruption, Pele, Sprinkles, Nile, 3.14, Cajun and her 2023 calf, Lollipop and her 2023 calf, Milkweed, Venom, and Woodwind. The adults were diving relatively frequently, but the calves kept our attention! Both of them were breaching, lobtailing, and rolling at the surface! We had some beautiful encounters with Jabiru, Eruption, and Pele as they surfaced in front of us and dove beneath our stationary boat. Our time spent with some of the other whales was just as eventful. These whales were going on short dives and surfacing regularly. Judging by their behavior, it was possible they were subsurface feeding! We returned to Boston grateful to have an incredible time on the water!

On the 4pm whale watch, we headed back out to the Southern portion of Stellwagen Bank. When we arrived, we were happy to find that most of the whales from our earlier trip were still in the area. Our trip included time with Nile, Venom, Conflux, Milkweed, Lollipop and her 23 calf, Cajun and her 23 calf, Jabiru, Pele, Eruption, Spell, and Sprinkles. We first started our trip with Pele, Jabiru, and Eruption. After watching them for a bit, some splashing caught our eye! We cruised over to find Lollipop’s 23 calf splashing around at the surface. This calf was breaching and lobtailing nonstop while adults fed and fluked around it. While it is often a treat to see surface active whales, it can sometimes indicate something is wrong. After reviewing photos of the calf in the office, we realized it was entangled in fishing gear. The line was wrapped and cutting into one of the calf’s pectoral flipper. This entanglement incident was reported to the Center for Coastal Studies Dismantlement Team (based on Provincetown, MA). We’ll continue to monitor this calf as we encounter it throughout the season. In between the surface activity from both Cajun’s and Lollipop’s calves, we also got some wonderful close encounters of Milkweed and Venom as they surfaced right next to us and dove below our stationary boat. Soon, it was time to return to Boston. We headed towards the sun setting over Boston as we mulled over the phenomenal trip we had!

Sehingga lain kali

Eman, Jane, and Indi

 

 

06-25-23

10pg dan 2:30pm Whale Watch Sightings

Good Evening Whale Enthusiasts,

What an incredible day! We boarded the Asteria for the 10am trip, ready for some relief from the offshore winds. Arriving on the bank, we saw numerous blows emerging from the fog and soon found ourselves surrounded by humpback whales! The whales were diving frequently and moving in a chaotic pattern, leading us to believe they were active below the surface, perhaps pursuing prey. Among the ever-changing groups of whales, we saw two mother-calf pairs: Cajun and her calf, and Lollipop with her calf. These mothers and their babies were accompanied by Spell and 3.14 along with several others whose blows emerged from the fog against the horizon. We got some great looks and flukes and even got some close passes as these whales athletically dove beneath the waves. We were reluctant to leave, but made our way back to Boston, eager to share these amazing animals with our next group of passengers.

After a short, but impressive deluge, we boarded our next group of whale watchers for the 2:30pm trip and readily headed back to the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank hoping for more sightings of our long-winged New Englanders. And sightings we had! Our trip began with a similar smattering of blows across the horizon and we soon found ourselves in the company of 3.14 and Pele! The whales were equally as erratic in their movements, diving swiftly and surfacing frequently. Among the fray we confirmed the identities of Pele, Eruption, Bristle, Jabiru, Mend, Sprinkles, Nile, Chunk, Venom, Bolide, and our two mom and calf pairs, Cajun and calf and Lollipop and calf! Before our departure we were treated to rare and unexpected sight of a whale breaching! The identity of our breacher is unknown, but we got to witness 2 spin breaches and 3 pull or chin breaches before the whale disappeared from sight. To top off the trip, I was delighted to see a close approach by one of my favorite trios of whales: Eruption, Jabiru, and Pele! These whales have been sighted together frequently and it was a joy to see them.

Overall a wonderful day of memorable moments on Stellwagen Bank!

Until next time!

Peace, Love, and Whales

Linnea, Antonia, and Reilly

 

12pm Whale Watch Sightings

Wow, what a day!

I’m not sure where to begin with today’s sightings, because once we spotted the first whales of the day, there was almost non-stop action all around us. We watched several groups of humpbacks as they moved quickly around the area but never traveling very far, an indication of some good “bait fish” just out of our sights. You might hear or see the fish being fed on, such as sand lance or mackerel, referred to as bait but that doesn’t mean what anyone is adding for the whales, rather the fact that these small fish are often used as bait in fishing. The whales certainly don’t need our help feeding themselves, as evidenced by their powerful surfacings and sporadic bouts of kick feeding. A playful little calf, belonging to Cajun, entertained passengers with breaches here and there as it trailed behind mom and her six associates: Jabiru, Pele, Eruption, Spell, Sprinkles, and Bolide. Skydancer, Venom, Chunk, Milkweed, and Venom comprised another large group, with 3.14 and several others scattered around in pairs with a single whale or two also swimming abound. Wilson’s storm petrels (see last photo!), sooty shearwaters, gulls, and a juvenile gannet rounded out a spectacular day, and I can’t wait to get back out on the water this week!

Laura L. dan Kaitlyn

 

11pg dan 3:30pm Whale Watch Sightings

Wow wow wow what an utterly amazing day!!

To start off our fantastic day, the 10am whale watch headed out towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Approaching the area, we saw a wall of blows – and estimated there were around 25 humpback whales, merging and splitting in a variety of associations! So far for our morning trip, we’ve been able to ID 17 whales – Chunk, Venom, Skydancer, Woodwind, Milkweed, Pele, Eruption, Jabiru, Spell, 3.14, Sprinkles, Bolide, Nile, Conflux, Bristle, Cajun and Cajun 2023 calf. While a little chaotic from a data perspective, this was such a special and wonderful day. We were surrounded by whales on all sides at all times – and could not spend more than a minute without whales powerfully surfacing nearby. At one point, we watched multiple associations form together in a “megagroup” – and had at least ten adults travel together while loudly trumpeting. Cajun’s Calf certainly stole the show, as we watched this “little whale” explosively breach and tail breach for over half our trip!!!! The calf’s breaching seemed to draw the attention of other individuals in the area – and we got to see some distant flipper-slapping and tail breaches from other humpbacks. We finished off our morning trip with the individuals Conflux and Sprinkles – who lunged and kickfed away from the other associations (if you look closely at the feeding photo you can see some fish that have escaped).

The 3:30 whale watch eagerly returned to the same area – and were ecstatic to again see whales for miles. We were able to see the same humpbacks from this morning, including three new individuals – Mend, Lollipop, and Lollipop 23 Calf (Along with one new unnamed whale – this brings our total for the day to 21 unique IDed whales). Our afternoon associations spent a little more time in distinct groups – and it was interesting to note that some of the associations of the afternoon trip were in different configurations than in the morning (a good example of how short-lived some associations can be). While our calves were less surface active than in the morning – the adults in the area certainly made up for it. Throughout our trip, we had multiple breaches and tail breaches from scattered adults in different groups! One highlight was witnessing a fantastic double breach by two massive adults off our port side. Another highlight included (when were fully clutched out and not moving) Sprinkles surfacing directly next to the right pulpit, swimming under the left pulpit – then diving right in front of us. Passengers were not only thrilled but got a face full of whale breathe as well!

SUCH A COOL DAY!

Kate and Lily

 

 

06-26-23

10am Whale Watch Sightings

Hai semua,

Today aboard the Asteria, the 10am whale watch made its way out towards Stellwagen Bank in search of marine life.  As we approached the southwest corner, we spotted several blows.  We started on a pair of humpbacks who consisted of Dusky and Xylem.  The pair was kick feeding, and they even popped up close to the boat a few times.  The trip really got going when several whales joined Dusky and Xylem to form a mega group.  This group blew a bubble ring not far from the bow, and they lunged!  All the whales in the group came up with mouths open, probably full of delicious fish!  The group proceeded to break off right after, but a few of the whales swam under the boat, and they even did another round of bubble net feeding!  As the group started to break apart more, we decided to go for a bit of a ride.  We found several other groups of humpbacks darting at the surface.  We got some great looks at the trio of Pele, Jabiru, and Eruption.  After some beautiful fluking dives from the trio, we had to head back to Boston.  It was a really great day out there on Stellwagen Bank!

Sehingga lain kali

Colin, Antonia, and Reilly

 

12pm Whale Watch Sightings

Good afternoon cetacean fans!

We enjoyed a surprisingly pleasant journey toward the southern end of Stellwagen Bank, eager to spot some blubbery friends. Upon arriving somewhere in between the southwest corner and midbank, we were met with a wall of blows! Finding ourselves in the midst of hungry humpbacks, we were also treated to some lunging minke whales, one particularly surface active minke seemingly trailing along beside us! Following our minke friend to a group of open mouth feeding whales, we watched as Tongs, Music, and two other whales blew beautiful bubble nets, emerging triumphantly through them with mouthfuls of fish! We also noticed Dusky, engaging in some of her unique kickfeeding behavior that she familiarized us with last year! Pitcher then surprised us on our starboard side, with a spectacular bubble ring and an impressive lunge, even rolling over and showing us her flippers! We were able to confirm that Dome was also in a group, both by her fluke and her exuberant trumpet calls. Several other minke whales darted by, and our trip wrapped up with a beautiful look at a logging fin whale! We noticed two other fin whales around as we slowly made our way out of whale soup, having spent a glorious day asea.

Flukes ke atas!

Ashlyn, Eman, and Kaitlyn

 

 

06-27-23

10am Whale Watch Sightings

Selamat tengah hari

The 10am whale watch battled some impressive wind and waves and made our way towards the southern section of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Despite some fog and rain, we were very pleased to find a breaching humpback!!! As we entered the area, we watched Nile launch her body out of the water repeatedly. Besides some awesome full-body breaches, we also got to see a few tail breaches as well! At one point, the wind died down a little bit and Nile transitioned from surface activity to rapidly moving around and diving quickly. This change of pace could mean Nile was traveling around to subsurface feed. After a few more good looks, we returned back to Boston!

Kate, Reilly, dan Antonia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boston Whale Watching: Naturalist Notes – 06/21/23 to 06/27/23