Google
10.20.2009

October 20, 2009

Today was our first trip in a few days, since we've had some not-so-great weather here in New England lately. But it turned out to be a nice, sunny day! We found yet another mom and calf humpback pair out on the Bank. Mom didn't fluke for us, so we were not sure who it was, but they put on a great show nonetheless. At first, this pair was going on some very long dives, but then it seemed that the calf got tired of diving. It opted to hang out at the surface with us while mom dove some more. The calf was feeling a little playful and began rolling and flipper slapping, with mom coming up from dives every now and then. The light worked in such a way that we could see the calf rolling around under the water! We also got some great looks at this little whale's belly as it floated on it's back!

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

Labels: , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 10:50 AM 0 Comments



10.15.2009

October 15, 2009

Today it took us a little while to find some whales, but we eventually came across Tulip and her calf! On our way to Tulip, we passed by another humpback traveling by itself, but we kept on going since we had already spotted our mom and calf a little further away. Tulip and her calf were having a lazy afternoon. We were able to get great, close looks at these whales. Tulip went on some dives while her calf stayed at the surface and treated us to a few rolls and flipper slaps! The pair kept switching sides of the boat, and the calf gave us a few more rolls before we had to head home. It was a cold, but very nice trip!

~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist, Photo of Tulip's calf

Labels: , , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 10:38 AM 0 Comments



9.24.2009

September 24, 2009

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

Labels: , , , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 7:47 AM 0 Comments



9.04.2009

September 4, 2009 Afternoon trip

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

Labels: , , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 5:14 AM 0 Comments



8.08.2009

August 8, 2009 Morning Trip

It was a beautiful sunny day on the Bank, and there were a lot of whales around! Most of them were going on some pretty long dives, probably searching around for food, and we'd get a quick glimpse of them on the surface. About halfway through the trip, we came across Nile and her calf. The calf is quickly becoming one of my favorites because it is such a show off around the boat. We saw a couple breaches, and then the calf swam right up to both sides of the boat for some amazing close looks!

Labels: , ,

posted by NEAQ at 12:00 PM 0 Comments



7.20.2009

July 20, 2009 Afternoon Trip

During this afternoon's trip, we came across a mother and her calf again, but this was a different one from the morning. We got some great looks at this calf breaching! Then, when the calf seemed to be tired, we moved over to another pair of humpbacks that gave us some really nice close looks!
~ Melissa Rocha, Lead Naturalist, photo by Melissa Rocha

Labels: , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 5:16 PM 0 Comments



July 20, 2009 Morning Trip

We saw several humpbacks on our morning trip today! We first came across Coral, who is a large, adult male born in 1988 to Silver. Coral gave us some nice close looks. We then were able to come across Hancock and another adult whale who had an all-black underside. We could see a mother and calf pair close by doing some activity. We soon knew it was Fulcrum with her second calf. The calf put on quite a show for us, rolling all around, waving its pectoral flippers at the surface. To top it off, the calf breached a few times--a very cool sight!
~ Melissa Rocha, Lead Naturalist, photos by Melissa Rocha

Labels: , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 1:12 PM 0 Comments



7.15.2009

July 15, 2009 Morning Trip


Photo taken by a visitor.
See more visitor photos and submit your own here.

We had a beautiful day on the water today! During our morning trip, we saw a bunch of humpbacks! The first whales we found were going on some dives, and we were able to identify Alphorn among the three that were near our boat. We then found a mother and calf pair, and we paused to check them out while three other whales in the distance did some flipper slapping. But the best part of the morning was yet to come: we found a whale named Coral breaching! We got great looks at this whale while it was out of the water. Coral was getting a work out, doing quite a bit of breaching with some flipper slaps and even a full roll!
~Jackie O'Mara, Naturalist

Labels: , , , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 12:00 PM 0 Comments



7.14.2009

July 14, 2009 Morning Trip


Photos by Melissa Rocha

This morning trip we traveled to the southern part of the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary. We came across a ton of whales. We had not only humpbacks but also lunge feeding fin whales! The fin and humpbacks were all mixed in together feeding on large schools of sandlance. The fin is the second largest whale and to watch it feed is pretty incredible! The humpbacks were doing a lot of open mouth bubble feeding, giving us great looks at their baleen plates. We saw so many whales this morning, including Reflection and her calf. The calf was a little ways away trying to feed for itself--this calf is still nursing but making efforts to be able to feed on its own. We also saw Stump, Filament, and several others who just didn't show their tails since they were too busy chowing down!
~ Melissa Rocha, Lead Naturalist

Labels: , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 12:00 PM 0 Comments



7.12.2009

July 12, 2009 Afternoon Trip


Photos by Melissa Rocha

On this afternoon's trip, we had 4 humpbacks very close together, and we ended up staying with 2 of them, Lavalier and her calf. The calf was being super active, swimming very close to the boat. Then it started breaching and rolling around, showing off its large pectoral flipper, which will only keep getting bigger!
~ Melissa Rocha, Lead Naturalist

Labels: , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 6:00 PM 0 Comments



4.28.2009

April 28, 2009

Photos from the day's whale watch taken by Kristina Campbell:


Photo Courtesy of Kristina Campbell


Photo Courtesy of Kristina Campbell


Photo Courtesy of Kristina Campbell


This is what Kristina and her daughter Maya had to say about the trip:
"The views of these extraordinary creatures were magnificent and a day at
sea on your comfortable boat was the icing on the cake."

Labels: , ,

posted by NEAQ at 10:00 PM 1 Comments



4.18.2009

April 18, 2009


Photo by Melissa Rocha, Lead Naturalist

Today's trip was Phenomenal! Several humpbacks including a mother calf pair with an escort, harbor porpoises, a minke, and even a Harbor seal! We had a whale named Etch-a-sketch again today doing quite a bit of open mouth feeding. At the same time we had several harbor porpoises swimming around the boat. Though the most unusual part was a small harbor seal that was hanging out right next to the boat! Seals can commonly be seen on trips, though usually just for a moment or two, but this little guy was with us for a while. It even swam right down the whole side of the boat checking out everyone on board! Plus we saw one of the first Mother calf pairs of the season. The calf was feeling very curious and came right over next to the boat, rolling around showing off it's stomach and doing some head-stands. Such a great day on the water!

- Melissa Rocha, Lead Naturalist

Labels: , , , , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 4:56 PM 2 Comments



4.04.2009

April 4, 2009


Photo by naturalist Melissa Rocha

First Trip of the 2009 season!!! We had an amazing trip today! Seas were a little bumpy but none the less, we found two really cool humpback whales. One of the whales was a regular on Stellwagen Bank, Owl. Owl was hanging out with another adult whale that but on a show for us by flipper slapping and even tail breached for us! A great start to the 2009 season.

-Melissa Rocha, Naturalist

Labels: , , , ,

posted by NEAQ at 1:51 PM 1 Comments