Today we found some very lazy whales out on the Bank! We had another humpback mom and calf who were logging (or sleeping, for whales). Perhaps they were trying to get in a good last nap before their long trip south. We were able to get up very close to this pair and get some great looks! Since they were resting, and it was a calm day, we decided to shut off the boat's engine. It was such a unique occasion to just sit and listen to the water and these whales taking -- very loud -- breaths while they slept. We thought they might wake up a little, but they seemed to not be too interested in that. Like all wild animals, they just do what they want, when they want. It was a gorgeous day out on the water though, and a great (almost) last trip of the season!

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

Today it rained like crazy, but we found some of our favorite whales out on the Bank: Nile and her calf! As we approached, the pair were diving, and the calf did a little roll for us. As the calf began to get more and more curious and check us out, Nile decided to give a big tail breach! The calf quickly moved next to mom, while Nile proceeded to tail breach and slap her fluke a ton! The calf kept on rolling and swimming up next to the boat. It was very exciting behavior, and we were able to get some great looks at both of these whales. After what seemed like ages, Nile tired herself out and the calf calmed down a little, and they went for a dive. We watched them swim a bit more before heading home where the sun finally decided to come out!

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist, Photo of Nile

We had an unbelievably windy day out on the water, but we were able to find some whales! Our boat came across two juvenile humpbacks traveling together very close to the coast of Gloucester. They were moving around a bit, but we got some great looks at them. A few times these whales came up very close to the boat, and once even passed under our bow so that we could still see them under water! After some close looks, the whales decided to go on a few dives. While waiting for them to come up from one dive, a little minke whale stopped by!

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

We had a great first day of October on the water! It was a chilly day, and we were able to find some fun whales out on the Bank. Our first whales of the day were a pair of humpbacks traveling quickly. We were able to get some good looks at them, and it was very cool to see these whales moving fast against the wind and waves! We then found an individual whale, that I think was Colt based on a photo from one of our passengers. We saw a few dives from this whale before moving on to a mother and calf pair. Mom did not fluke for us, but based on some other features, we thought that it was Lavalier and her calf. This pair gave us some great looks, with the calf coming very close to the boat several times to check us out, and with mom giving us a big tail breach! While all of this was going on, there were several other humpbacks all around our boat, giving us a lot to look at!

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

Today we had a gorgeous day out on the water and saw a ton of whales! Our first whale of the day was a logging humpback. This whale was having a VERY lazy day, so after a few looks, we left it to keep napping in peace. We then found a pair of whales going on some dives, but giving us some good looks while they were at the surface. While we were waiting for them to come back up from a dive, we got some great looks at a mola mola who was floating nearby! After this we found Division and another humpback doing some similar diving behaviors as the previous whales. Then we saw a little splashing going on in the distance and came across at least 4 or 5 humpbacks diving quickly and kicking their flukes. They seemed to be trying to churn up some food, and sure enough, soon afterward the whole group began doing a variety of feeding behaviors all around the boat (including a big bubble net right next to us)! During this time a little minke popped up, perhaps for a snack of it's own. It was great to end the trip with such exciting activity! On the way home we even spotted another mola mola!

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

We had a great trip today! It began with fantastic weather and a couple of humpbacks going on some dives. While watching our first whales of the day, we spotted some splashing going on in the distance. We went to check it out and found a mother and calf doing some flipper slapping! I didn't get the best look at mom's fluke, so I'm still working on an ID, but we got some great looks at her and her little one flipper slapping in unison and swimming around our boat. There were a few times when they got super close to us, with mom even coming up between our bow pulpits! This pair seemed to calm down after a bit, and we moved forward to some more whales. We found a pair of VERY large adult humpbacks traveling together with another individual nearby. This group was mainly diving, but we were able to get some good looks at them. Just as we were about to head home, we heard from another whale watching boat that there were some humpbacks feeding not too far away. We decided to take a few minutes to check this out. When we arrived, we got a few looks at humpbacks kick feeding and open mouth feeding! There were 5 or 6 humpbacks in this group, and a whale named Draco was with them. The food seemed to move on, and the whales began diving, but the best treat was stumbling upon a pod of white-sided dolphin! The dolphin enjoyed jumping in the wake created by our boat, and there were whales all around us! It was certainly an exciting day.

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

On our way out to the Bank in the afternoon we had to stop to check out an ocean sunfish, also known as a Mola Mola. It was a unique experience to see this animal--the largest bony fish in the ocean! After getting some good looks at the fish (ours was only about 3 or 4 feet long) and after giving it some good looks at us, we continued onwards to the whales. We first found a couple of humpbacks going on some dives. We spent a few minutes with these individuals before spotting a whale breaching in the distance! This humpback kept up the breaching until we got closer, and we were able to get a good up-close look at the breaching behavior. I had thought that this was a whale named Lapel, but we were later able to identify it as Habanero. Habanero began flipper slapping like crazy after the breaching, and treated us to some rolls! We got some great looks at this whale and some quick looks at a minke who stopped by for a bit. Habanero then tired out and began going on some dives. On the way home we stopped to check out two other humpbacks doing some flipper slapping and diving around a bunch of fishing boats!

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

It was a very active day today for our whales! On our morning trip we found a group of 5 or 6 humpbacks feeding! This group included Thread and Fulcrum with her calf. We were able to see several different feeding strategies: kick feeding, tail lobbing, and a few open mouths all alongside our boat! Getting in on the action were a fin whale and a pair of minkes. We even caught a quick breach from Thread! After this, the food seemed to spread out, or maybe the whales were full, either way our group split up and began to travel. We stayed close to Thread for the chance of another breach, but instead Thread was joined by Echo and another individual, and they opted to go on some dives. This group gave us some nice looks, and we also got incredibly close looks at a few more minkes in the area. It was a rare experience to be so close to several individuals of this smaller whale.
~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

Unfortunately, we didn't get in a morning trip today, but the afternoon more than made up for it. It was beautiful out on the Bank with sun and calm seas, and it wasn't long before we found the whales! We came across a mother and calf humpback pair who were taking an afternoon nap. They woke up shortly after we arrived and the calf treated us to some rolling and flipper slaps. We followed this pair for a while as they met up with a bunch of other humpbacks. We had a trio and a second pair that Pinpoint was part of. We even got a quick glimpse of a minke!

~ Naturalist, Emily Griffin

We were a bit worried about spotting whales this afternoon because the wind had picked up, making it hard to see spouts. However, shortly after arriving on the bank we saw double breaches in the distance! Our acrobats ended up being Fulcrum and her calf. They kept up the breaching for a while, then started doing some shallow dives. We think there was some feeding going on as well. The calf wasn't too interested in food, though, and was doing some flipper slapping, and what looked like a whale backstroke right next to the boat.

~ Emily Griffin, Naturalist

This morning out on the Bank we were lucky enough to see two mother/calf pairs! We started with Lavalier, her calf, and Pinpoint. They gave us some great close looks, and the calf was doing some breaching! We even got a couple tail breaches from Pinpoint. Later, we moved on to Fulcrum and her calf. They were giving us some beautiful fluke shots and dives, then started feedining with huge open mouths right as we were leaving!

~ Emily Griffin, Naturalist

This afternoon we were lucky enough to run into Reflection and her calf again! They were doing some logging, and we got some AMAZING close looks. After a little nap, the calf woke up and started doing a little rolling. Reflection also did some spyhopping right next to the boat for a better look at us.

~Emily Griffin, Naturalist

The morning was absolutely beautiful as we headed to the Bank with calm seas. Soon after getting there, we reached an area where we had three species of whales! We had fins, minkes, and a pair of humpbacks all feeding near the boat. The mother was identified as Reflection, and her calf even got a bit playful before we left! A really great trip.