Wed Aug 25 – Whale Watching

Another multi-species day!

As we left the dock, a young gray seal (Halichoerus grypus)that we’d seen before was swimming around searching for food. Our trip on the oceans started out with a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) that just a few of us saw (we call that a “stinky minke”).  We then found a small group (10) of inshore bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and later encountered one large group (50) and another small group (10), about 70 in all.  In the interim we spent time up close with a truly “stinky” humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).  “Stinky” due to the mildly fetid, funky smell of its blow (perhaps due to a lung infection). Stinky humpback blows are and not that common but truly memorable.  The “bait” was abundant often near the sea floor (about 90 feet depth), we saw others blows in the distance, including a massive fin whale blow at least a mile further south, unfortunately we weren’t able to fin it after we’d spent our time with the humpback. It  was a relatively calm day but warm day, with sea-surface temperatures in the low-mid 70’s.

1 Humpback whale

1 Minke whale

70 Inshore bottlenose dolphins

1 gray seal

13 Wilson’s storm petrels

24 Cory’s shearwaters

2 Great shearwaters

Photos will be available at  https://drartiek-cresli.smugmug.com/CRESLI-2021-Whale-Watches/2021-08-25-Montauk-Whale-Watch/ later today