Wed Sept 6– Whale Watching

Oh, what a trip! 3 species of cetaceans!
We didn’t need patience on this trip, we found whales almost right away. We left the heat and headed out to sea. A short while after passing Montauk Light, we encountered our first of 15 whales. The 50 of us on board were treated to views of humpback whales, finback whales, and inshore bottlenose dolphins right away. We had one humpback breach and flipper slap, another throwing its tail repeatedly, and so much more. The fin whales (mom/calf pair) left early, and the rest stayed to feed on the abundant prey just below the surface. The dolphins stayed until a large humpback trumpeted. A humpback trumpet blow is often an agonistic display, perhaps aimed at the dolphins. They took the message and left. We left as well only to find more humpbacks wherever we went. Unlike other trips, we were generally in sight of the Montauk Point Lighthouse. We stayed with one humpback for a while because we thought its left pectoral flipper was injured. Photos and videos were sent to Dr. Jooke Robbins at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (https://coastalstudies.org/). Her initial response was that the behavior we saw was not necessarily due to injury.
We continued to find whales and dolphins until it was time to return to the dock. Book today before the season ends for good. Be sure to bring cash to purchase food in our galley and to participate in our 50/50 raffle, should you wish to do so.
13 humpback whales
2 finback whale
~150 inshore bottlenose
1 Wilson’s storm petrels
~200 Great shearwaters
~70 Cory’s shearwaters

Photos at https://drartiek-cresli.smugmug.com/…/2023-09-06…/