Whale Watching

  Whales nearshore and offshore. Our incredible season continues!   What a day we had. The seas were flat, sun was bright, and the temperatures were comfortably cool. Our 1st humpback, named Chive, who we’d not seen in 2 years was breached within about 60 feet of our bow and was within 5 miles of…

Another Sunday on the ocean with lots of whales!   We keep finding whales! Sunday, September 1, 2024 was no exception. The weather was a bit cloudy but we had a full vessel, and we headed out. Early on, shortly after we pass by the lighthouse we encountered a small group of Tamenend’s bottlenose dolphins….

Another Sunday on the ocean with lots of whales! We keep finding whales! Sunday, September 1, 2024 was no exception. The weather was a bit cloudy but we had a full vessel, and we headed out. Early on, shortly after we pass by the lighthouse we encountered a small group of Tamenend’s bottlenose dolphins. We stayed with these dolphins for a short while and then headed offshore. Regardless of the rain, and the seas, as we have done on all of our trips this year, we found humpback whales! Ultimately identifying 18 different individuals including some new ones and some of the moms and calves we’ve seen since early July. As I write this report, I’m still identifying individuals by looking at their flukes, and/or dorsal fin, and/or scars. It takes time to meticulously go through all of the photos…

Although Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, it most certainly did not herald the end of our stellar whale watching season! For starters, dolphins were seen leaping behind the boat as we turned out of the jetty just a few short minutes after leaving the dock. We encountered a few more as we headed south towards the feeding grounds, coming upon a single humpback whale a couple of miles from shore. This whale, likely a juvenile, was traveling far underwater between surface intervals which made viewing difficult, so we decided to continue south in hope of more whales and better views and we were not disappointed. Blow after blow after blow signaled the presence of at least a dozen whales, which were moving in groups of two, three, and four around the vessel. A calf, which we have…

For the last trip of August, the whales (and waves) had us working a bit harder than usual, reminding us of the changing seasons and the fortunes previously bestowed upon us throughout this summer. We headed south towards the general area where the humpbacks have previously been encountered, but there were no whales to be found. We did enjoy views of Cory’s and Great shearwaters, and of Wilson storm petrels flying and hunting while we searched. Winds made spotting of blows difficult so we didn’t find the whales until we were much closer to them than usual (less than half a mile) but that was when we realized that not only did we find them, there were 8-10 to be found! These were all humpbacks, at first moving quickly in all directions around and beyond the vessel. Capt. JR expertly…

Whales are still around, a bit spread out   We heard of some humpback whales close to shore and decided to look for a bit before heading further out where we’ve been seeing them for weeks. Near shore we did find a group of about 30-40 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins. Offshore we headed into the waves…

The whales are still around! We headed out on a sunny morning to seek  whales, dolphins, and other marine life. We were not disappointed! Early in the trip we encountered a an ocean sunfish (Mola mola), the largest of the boney fish.  Shortly later we found a group of 30-50 Tamanend’s’ bottlenose dolphins, including calves…

Summer may be winding down, but the thrill of a CRESLI/Viking whale watch is certainly not! What a day we had yesterday on the Viking Starship: it began with a small group of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins swimming close to shore. We spent a bit of time with them ensuring everyone had a good look before moving on and spotting a juvenile humpback whale in 65 feet of water approximately one mile from the beach. We knew larger adults were still in the area so we headed offshore to find them and that we did! It all began with a pectoral flipper-slapping adult in the mix of a dozen humpbacks, including at least one calf. The calf, which we have seen on previous trips, exhibited a variety of surface-active behaviors, including full and partial breaches, tail throws, inverted lob-tailing, pectoral flipper…

Another spectacular whale watch trip on the Viking Star! While we Expecting to go offshore to find the whales that were been seen on Wednesday, Dr. Kopelman and several volunteers saw humpback whales close to shore whales from the Overlook Beach on Old Montauk Highway on their way out to see to the ship. These…

The magic continues! It was another phenomenal day of whale watching aboard the Viking Starship as we headed south to find a very active group of approximately eleven humpback whales. We immediately encountered a tail-throwing, flipper-slapping, rolling-over calf with five to six adults in near proximity and a few more farther out. The adults were in groups of two or three, but would come together at times, diving and surfacing simultaneously in what was likely coordinated feeding events on rich prey detected at depth. Most of the whales were familiar, having been seen on numerous, previous trips throughout the summer. Multiple close approaches by the calf, associated pairs and trios occupied our time as the whales approached and swam along the vessel, even sprinkling passengers with the spray of their blows (exhalations). The changing angle of sunlight in late summer…