WSU 9-2-09

Today was an exceptional day on Stellwagen Bank. We saw 15+ HUMPBACK WHALES all actively feeding just 12 miles from Gloucester harbor. This is significantly more whales that we had been seeing over the past week (we had been seeing 3-6 whales on average. That’s not to say we have been having bad whales watches! On the contrary we have had some excellent whale watches recently… but with fewer whales). This increase in the number of whales in the area is no doubt because of an increase in the amount of small schooling fish (namely the “American Sand Lance”) that the whales feed upon.

Feeding Humpback Whales

It was great to see so many whales actively feeding again. It was reminiscent of the whale watches we were having in the early spring! Groups of 3, 4 and sometimes 5 whales were working together to trap schools of fish in huge rings of bubbles and then lunging to the surface with their mouths wide open. Everywhere we looked you could see whales feeding.

The whales were concentrated in small area right on the northwest tip of Stellwagen bank (the closest portion of the bank to Gloucester). This is the same area that we have been seeing whales all week but, interestingly, only 2 of the 15+ whales we saw today were the same whales that have been in the area (“Pinpoint” and “Geometry”). Many of the whales that we had been seeing in this area were not present today. Most noticeably absent were the mother and calf pairs such as “Lavaliere” and calf, “Nile” and calf, “Apex” and calf, “Fulcrum” and calf, and “Follicle” and calf. In fact, mother and calf pairs have been the mainstay of our whale watches recently but they were completely absent today! In their place were a number of Humpback whales that we have seen very infrequently, or not at all, this year. Individual Humpbacks seen today included:

Pinpoint

Rune (seen early in the spring, then not until today)

Jabaru

Colt (2^nd sighting this year)

Coral (2^nd sighting this year)

Tongs

Ember (1^st sighting of the year)

Thread (1^st sighting of the year)

Wyoming (1^st sighting of the year)

Putter

Geometry

Fracture (very infrequent this year)

Alpha

Salt (3^rd sighting of the year)

Cardhu (3^rd sighting of the year)

"Pinpoint"

So it seems that there has been an increase in the amount of food available to the whales on the northern portions of Stellwagen Bank and the whales have wasted no time in gathering in the area to take advantage of situation. It is difficult (if not impossible) to say how long this will last. If this year has taught us one thing it is that the number of whales can change a lot from one day to the next.

Humpback Whales

It is possible that these whales will stay and feed in this area for many days. It’s also possible that we could go out tomorrow and find just a handful of whales in the area. The unknown nature of the trip, however, is part of the fun of whale watching. Each trip is very different and we never know what to expect when we head out to sea.

"Thread"

Whale watching a nature trip and the animals we see are wild and endangered creatures that are free to roam the ocean at will. They are not in cages or pens and are not trained to perform certain activities on command. While we may not be able to guarantee that sightings like today will last, the high productivity of the area means that we can guarantee that at least a few whales will be seen on each trip… and that’s pretty extraordinary when you think about it. Anytime you get to see even ONE wild, endangered whale in its natural environment it is a special experience. When you get to see many whales, or surface activity, or a mother and calf… well that makes it even better. More updates to come soon….

Close-up of a feeding Humpback

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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