Sun Sept 8- Whale Watching- Starship

It was a beautiful, crisp day to search for whales and dolphins. Although we originally planned to head
offshore, our plans were interrupted by a blow belonging to a juvenile humpback whale not far from
shore beyond the lighthouse. While waiting for this individual to surface, two additional blows were
spotted, and we were suddenly treated to a close approach by the first whale immediately ahead of our
bow allowing great views by everyone near the front of the vessel. While we then planned to investigate
the additional two whales (also humpbacks), a large splash drew us to a fourth humpback which was
breaching and flipper slapping nearby. We spent time with this whale before seeing even more splashing
from a fifth individual approximately a mile away. We headed towards the activity watching this single
whale breach 19 consecutive times before switching to pectoral flipper slapping and then inverted
lobtailing. A few Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin could be seen leaping in the same area. We watched
this whale for a while before moving on toward additional blows. Here we saw even more Tamanend’s
bottlenose dolphin amidst three humpbacks, one of which alternated between breaching and flipper
slapping. This whale turned out to be the same whale as our first (non-breaching) individual as
evidenced by the unique tail markings on the underside of its flukes. The late summer sun set in
awesome splendor as we made our return to the dock on what was a very full day of near constant
whale (and dolphin) activity.

7-8 humpback whales
30-40 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
1 Cory’s shearwater