Fri July 5 – Whale Watching

The third whale watch of our 2024 season was as successful and amazing as the first two! We headed
out in search of two whales reported to be feeding right off the lighthouse. Blows and splashes could be
seen before I even finished talking about the historic landmark. Between six to eight humpbacks could
be seen feeding and diving on the abundant sand eels (sand lance) in the area. We spent most of our
time watching two whales kick feed, throwing their massive bodies sideways, kicking at the bait in the
water and coming up immediately after with large, gaping open mouths, as they filter out the fish
through their dense mats of baleen. There were about six whales in the immediate vicinity, in all
directions, so it took time to eventually encounter all of them. CRESLI can identify individual humpback
whales by the unique markings on and shapes of their tails, easily observed when they complete high
fluking dives, lifting their tail flukes high out of the water to generate the thrust necessary for a deep
dive. With the bait close to the surface and the whales in relatively shallow water close to shore, not all
of them would ‘fluke’ when diving, so we spent time with what we believe were each of the six whales
taking photographs necessary for identification. While we did, we were joined by Tamanend’s
bottlenose dolphins, and at least one minke whale. On our way home, we encountered another
humpback, which we spent time with, and got an extremely close but fleeting view of a leatherback sea
turtle as we transited passed the lighthouse on our return. Approximately 200 shearwaters (Cory’s,
Sooty, and Great) and a few Wilson’s Storm Petrels wrapped up our sightings for the day. This season is
off to a hot start and we sail again tomorrow (Sunday, 07/06); come join us!

Sightings detail:
6-8 humpback whales
1-2 minke whales
60-80 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
1 leatherback sea turtle
50-65 Cory’s shearwaters
35-45 Sooty shearwaters
40-60 Great shearwaters
10-15 Wilson storm petrels