Sat Aug 30 – Whale Watching

As August (and soon summer) draws to a close, we could not have asked for a better day to explore
Long Island’s marine ecosystem. With unlimited visibility, blue skies, and a crisp breeze, it was a privilege
to head west along Long Island’s east end searching for marine life. Pelagic bird sightings were limited at
first, but began to pick up with numerous Cory’s and great shearwaters observed gliding over a calm
sea. A small pod of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins were spotted about two miles from shore and we
spent some time with them before moving on to a second, larger pod to their west. We continued on for
a bit and decided to move south in our search. About five miles out, we encountered a series of splashes
belonging to a much larger group of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins, which were traveling west and
could be seen breaching and charging bait, surfacing together in large groups of 40-60 individuals each.
Altogether, at least 140-180 dolphins were here and we enjoyed their company for a while, as some
headed in our direction and others swam alongside the vessel, if only briefly, to provide incredible
views. We then traveled east, farther offshore than our original transit, searching for any of the three
humpback whales encountered on yesterday’s trips. CRESLI’s dedicated volunteers searched in all
directions around the vessel, but unfortunately, no whales would be found. The cetaceans have been on
the move all summer, but this seems especially true after Hurricane Erin passed offshore last week. The
warm sun, crisp breeze, and a beautiful East End sunrise, however, helped wrap up an enjoyable time at
sea.
260-280 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins (in three distinct pods)
60-80 Cory’s shearwaters
20-40 great shearwaters (and possibly Manx)
4 Wilson’s storm petrels