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Friday Aug 28 – Whale Watching

Another successful trip: 100-120 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins and 2 humpback whales!

One more day with great visibility (14 miles) and  3-4′ seas.  We headed SE on the Viking Star and 1 hour after passing Montauk Lighthouse we found an aggregation of ~100 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins searching for food. WE left those dolphins and continued on  our way, occasionally seeing schools of flying fish soaring above the very warm waters (71.37F). On our way south and eastward, we had brief glimpses of a US submarine heading offshore.  We had several brief encounters with Minke wakes (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and little else, except for occasional massive aggregations of hundreds of Wilson’s storm petrel (Oceanites oceanicus). We searched the area fully and decided to head SE, then west and ultimately N/NE back towards Montauk Point. WE ultimately briefly encountered a minke wha9 miles out. At 3:30 PM we found an associated pair of humpback whales (most-likely a mom/calf pair) and stayed with them until 4:00 pm. We arrived at the dock later than expected, but EVERYONE was glad that we did. A great trip after all!

 

  • 100-120 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
  • 3 minke whales (unphotographed)
  • 2 humpback whale (associated pair, possibly mom/calf)
    • 10 red-necked Phalarope
    • 397 Wilson’s Storm Petrel
    • 58 Cory’s Shearwaters
    • 45 Great Shearwaters
    • 1 Manx Shearwater
      • Bird counts from Haydn Uresk (a passenger/colleague)

 

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work – prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Group of dolphins swimming in the ocean, dorsal fins visible above water.

Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins, (Tursiops erebennus)

Two dolphins swimming in choppy ocean water.

Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins, (Tursiops erebennus)

Seabird with gray wings and white body flying over water surface.

Scopoli’s Shearwater(Calonectris diomedea)

Bird in flight over ocean, wings spread, ocean waves below.

Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis)

Close-up of a humpback whale's dorsal fin above water.

Humpback whale-part of an associated pair (possible calf of cow/calf pair)

Two whales surfacing with spray in the ocean on a cloudy day.

Whale emerging from the ocean surface, water spout visible.

Humpback whales associated pair (possible cow/calf pair)

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