Whale Watching

“World Class Whale Watching” with the Viking Fleet! To put today’s whale watch into perspective, it helps to explain how we found three cetacean species early on and decided to leave them in search of something more. A few miles after passing Montauk Point lighthouse, we encountered a juvenile humpback feeding at depth with glimpses of a minke whale and a couple of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin. Although we stuck around for a bit hoping for better views, we decided to continue south and search for some of the adult humpbacks encountered on yesterday’s trip. It didn’t take long before we could see whales breaking the surface of the water and spouts soon filled the horizon. Those blows belonged to over a dozen humpback cooperatively bubble net feeding in groups of 2,3, and 7. With excellent views of the action, we…

Another spectacular trip! With unlimited visibility, we had good odds of finding whales and dolphins, that we did. Ultimately, we encountered 8-12 humpback in (including warm mom/calf pairs) and around 8 minke whales, along with 60-8O short-baked common dolphins. AMAZING! We also encountered hundreds of pelagic birds including Great shearwaters, Corey’s shearwaters, Sooty shearwaters, and Manx shearwaters, as well as hundreds of Wilson’s storm petrels. The shearwaters were found in small groups while in transit and of course, in large numbers with the feeding whales. Interestingly, Dr. Artie Kopelman (our naturalist) mentioned when we were just coming up on the whales, that he had “not seen a single Wilson’s storm petrel for the entire ride out.”  As soon as he said that, about 120-150 flew into view. 8-12 humpback whales 5 MINKE WHALES 60-80 Short-beaked common dolphins 130 Great shearwaters*…

We are running out of superlatives! Another day with 5 species of cetaceans! We want to apologize for the delay in getting this report out. We are still reviewing over 1100 photos (having deleted 700) and the predicted storms forced us to turn off or main computer. What can I say –  we had epic,…

Another great day with 3 species of cetaceans! We left the dock at 2PM, with a mild haze in the air, but good visibility and headed out to where we’d been seeing whales and had reports of their presence. Of course, on our way out we found a small pod of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins in…

Another incredible, unbelievable day at sea! Conditions yesterday could barely have been better; low 70s, a light breeze, and sunny skies. Visibility was at least 10-12 miles and hopes were high. The activity has been quite a bit offshore, so we settled in for a transit that ultimately took us 20 miles off Montauk. Sporadic…

Another epic 5 cetacean species day! Conditions were perfect- calm seas, unlimited visibility, and a boatload of whale and pelagic bird enthusiasts. As expected, we encountered a pod of 15-20 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins in 76.5′ of water. We continued offshore and encountered 200 Short-beaked common dolphins in multiple groups of 10. Several groups came over…

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of! Just when we thought we couldn’t top our last few trips, yesterday’s whale watch showed us otherwise! We headed out on what could only be described as a perfect summer day; high 70s, light breeze, unlimited visibility, and not a cloud in the sky. Not long after passing…

MTK Whale Watching is HOT! The heat wave on land may be finally breaking, but Montauk whale watching is ON FIRE right now! We started our trip with a surprise appearance by an adult gray seal swimming next to the boat as we were transiting out of the harbor. We headed south toward the feeding…

With temperatures on land reaching the mid to upper 90s, a trip on the water amidst cool breezes and beautiful seas would have been enough. Then came the dolphins; three small groups of Tamanend’s bottlenose numbering approximately 40-60 individuals before we even passed the lighthouse. Then, on our way to the feeding grounds, we encountered scores of short-beaked common dolphins moving towards and around our vessel to the sheer delight of all onboard. But that was just the appetizer. Blows were spotted in the distance and we investigated. Those blows belonged to an unbelievable number of endangered finback whales; at least 8 confirmed at one time with more likely beneath the surface. Seeing a fin whale is a treat on any day, but seeing this many as they fed on the abundant bait (visible as dark shoals near the surface…

Another astonishing trip with 5 species of cetaceans, a leatherback sea turtle, ocean sunfish, and a plethors of pelagic birds. We started our trip in slight haze that burnt\ed off as we progressed. We has reports of whales to our south and off we went. We found our 1st pelagic birds as well as finback whale and Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins(Tursiops erebennus) within a few miles of Montauk Light. As we  headed further S, we continued to find pelagic birds, and whales. Finbacks (Balaenoptera physalus) in every direction including what appeared to be mom/calf pairs, squid (Illex spp.) were everywhere and the finbacks were feasting. Most shearwaters (Great, Sooty, Cory’s) were so full that they could barely take off. We were often surrounded by whales in every direction, minkes (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and finbacks mostly, but we did find 2 pairs of…