Sun June 29 – Whale Watching
2 species of cetaceans and hundreds of pelagic birds, but way too many balloons
A great way to start our 30th season with 75-100 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins, a finback whale, and lots of pelagic birds. Today’s trip was a nice way to beat the heat and see wildlife. Our first encounters were with several groups of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops erebennus), as many as 5-6 groups totaling 75-100 individuals, including some moms and calves in the near shore waters west of Montauk. There were also a few Great shearwaters (Ardenna gravis) and Cory’s Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis). We eventually decided to head southward (offshore). Things were quiet, with a few shearwaters and storms petrels, as we traveled, we reached an area where the ocean became alive with birds, bait, and ultimately a baleen whale. We were in 170’ of water, with prey from the bottom to the surface. We knew we were in the right spot and eventually saw the characteristic 20-foot blow of a finback whale (Balaenoptera physalus). What a pleasure it was to find this majestic, fast, and sleek individual. Finback whales are the 2nd largest animal. We watched it for about 30 minutes before making our way back to the dock. This was our 110th consecutive trip (since 2019) finding cetaceans. While we never guarantee it, we do our best to find them and have been doing it longer than any other group in the NY Bight.
Totals:
- 75-100 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
- 1 finback whale (~55-60 feet long)
- Great shearwaters
- Cory’s shearwaters
- Sooty shearwaters
- Wilson’s storm petrels
Unfortunately, just about every direction we looked, we saw balloons on the surface of the water. We scooped up as many as we could but didn’t have the time to grab more. The ones we removed were graduation celebratory balloons. Come on folks – stop buying and releasing balloons, they are killers.
