Sun July 6 – Whale Watching

We found our first humpbacks (and common dolphins) of the season!
Yesterday was a beautiful day to be out on the water and sightings began early with a gray seal in the
harbor upon departure. We first headed south to an area where whales were reported to be the day
prior, but despite significant bait detected beneath the surface, no whales were found. Sporadic
sightings of Cory’s and great shearwaters kept us entertained while we continued east in our search
towards a second area where whales were also reported, but at first, it seemed as if the whales had
moved away. Then, a blow! Upon investigation, it was found to belong to MTK119 (also known as Loon
in the Gulf of Maine catalog*), a humpback whale previously documented by CRESLI off Montauk in
2022 and 2023. We spent some time alongside this whale before investigating two other blows about a
quarter mile away. As we did, a pod of short-beaked common dolphin charged toward our vessel to the
sheer delight of those onboard. Surrounded by dolphins, we now had views of the second humpback,
MTK141 (known as Celebration in the Gulf of Maine catalog*), who was previously seen off Montauk in
2023 and 2024, making this the third consecutive year we observed this humpback in our waters. In fact,
MTK141 is quite familiar to CRESLI having been sighted eleven times over three months in 2024! There
were two other humpbacks in the area, but the whales were diving for about six minutes at a time and
not feeding cooperatively so it was difficult to reach the other two while observing the ones closest to
us. Viking and CRESLI are proud participants of WhaleSENSE, a voluntary program promoting responsible
and ethical whale watching and we do not transit with whales below until we know they are safely away
from the vessel. We used this time wisely though, removing a mylar balloon, from the water. Common
dolphins continued to approach the vessel as we eyed a navy combat ship, the USS Billings (as later
determined by the hull number) in the distance. It was a very exciting and awe-inspiring day on the
water and we cannot wait to get back out!
*the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog is organized and maintained by the Center for Coastal
Studies in Provincetown, MA. CRESLI proudly contributes data to this catalog.

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3-4 humpback whales
60-80 short-beaked common dolphins
1 Atlantic gray seal
12-16 Cory’s shearwaters
4-6 great shearwaters
16-20 Wilson’s storm petrels