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2009 whale sightings reports: ________________________ 2008 WHALE SIGHTINGS REPORTS: View photographs and view sightings reports from the memorable 2008 whale watching season 2009 PELAGIC BIRD REPORTS : A new section of this site reserved just for ocean birds and birders |
2009 WHALE SIGHTINGS REPORT: August 8, 2009 Total Sightings for the Day (2 Trips):10-12 HUMPBACK WHALES, 3 FINBACK WHALES and 3 MINKE WHALES
Breaching Humpback Whale Whale sightings continue to be excellent. The whales seem to have settled into an area on the western edge of Stellwagen Bank about 24 miles southeast of Gloucester. This means we have to travel a little extra distance in order to see the whales, but it is well worth the ride!
Anywhere from 10-15 HUMPBACK WHALES are seen on most trips but the exact number of whales seen really depends on how concentrated the “bait fish” that the whales feed upon is. On days when the bait fish (usually a small, schooling fish called American Sand Lance) is very concentrated we may see 15 or more whales all actively feeding in one small area. On other days the fish are more spread out in which case we may see only a few whales. As I said in my last sightings update though, feeding is still being seen on many trips and always makes for a great whale watch. All of the photos and video of feeding on this page were taken in the first week of August 2009. Over the past week we have also been treated to some spectacular displays of surface activity. In fact, just today (August 8th) we were watching a mother and calf pair (“Scratch” and calf) as they traveled along slowly at the surface. Just as we were about to leave to go see some other Humpbacks that were nearby both whales leapt from the water. This behavior, called “breaching”, is one of the most spectacular behaviors you can see from these whales. On another cloudy, rainy, and somewhat rough day we had a juvenile Humpback whale breach over 25 times in a row… certainly a just reward for the people who came out whale watching in less than ideal weather! Most of the breaching photos on this page are this particular whale (you can tell that is was a gray day in the pictures). At other times we have seen whales feeding, flipper slapping, or even approaching the boat to have a look at us! I managed to a get a little video of one of these close-to-boat approaches that you can see below.
So it has been a good week on the water… lots of whales and usually sunny, calm weather too. It seems as if August is finally bringing us the weather and whales that we have been waiting for all summer! More Pictures From This Past Week...
While we never know exactly how many whales, or which whales, or which behaviors will be seen on a trip the sheer number of whales on Stellwagen Bank has made for some very good whale watching recently. And besides, the unknown nature of the trip is part of the fun! Whale watching is, after all, a nature trip and the animals we are looking for are WILD and ENDANGERED creatures that are free to roam the oceans at will. Simply catching a glimpse of one of these whales is a special sight. To have the opportunity to see so many or to see any of these spectacular behaviors is truly a privilege.
In Birding news Cory's Shearwaters have been regularly sighted in fairly large numbers (25+) per trip. These normally southern birds are seldom sighted north of Cape Cod but, for the second year in a row, have been a regular on Stellwagen Bank _____________________________________________________________________________________________ All photos on this page were taken aboard the 7 Seas Whale Watch boat "Privateer IV" Some of the BEST photographs on this site were taken aboard our whale watching trips by our good friend Oktay Kaya. To see more of Oktay's beautiful whale photographs and other wildlife pictures he has taken please visit his site at http://www.whalesandwhales.com
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Feeding Humpback Whale
