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The people who braved the wind and rain today were rewarded with great whale sightings! We spotted a total of 11 HUMPBACK WHALES and 2 FIN WHALES on Stellwagen Bank today including 2 mother and calf pairs! Both of the mothers were "old friends". The first was "the grand old lady" of the Stellwagen Bank Humpback whale population: a whale called "Salt". Salt is named for a ridge of white scarring on her dorsal fin that makes it look as if it was sprinkled with sea-salt (see photos above). She was the first Humpback Whale ever to be given a name (in 1976) and has returned to Stellwagen Bank each summer since we have been keeping records. To see her back again this year with a new calf was very exciting.

Salt and calf

Perhaps my favorite sighting of the day, however, was of our second mother calf pair. This was special to me because the mother was one of my personal favorite whales in our population. A whale that those who went whale watching with us last year are no doubt familiar with: A whale called "Tornado". Tornado was one of our most commonly sighted whales last season and to see her return to the area this year with a calf was very exciting! To be honest, I suspected all last season that she may have been pregnant given that she was seen feeding on MANY occasions, often in the company of other adult female whales. These are all indications that we have learned may indicate that a whale is getting ready to give birth to a calf. Hopefully these two whales will once again be a mainstay of our whale watching season and we can enjoy watching her calf grow all summer!

Tornado and calf

Besides the two mother and calf pairs there were other Humpback Whales in the area that, from an activity standpoint, we probably the highlight for many whale watchers. One group that comes to mind is a group of 3 whales that included a whale called "Hancock" and another called "Garland". On two occasions Garland was seen "tail-lobbing" which is when a whale positions itself vertically in the water with its tail high in the air and repeatedly slaps the surface with its flukes. This group was also seen doing a bit of feeding at the surface so between the sheer number of whales seen, the surface activity observed, and the feeding it was a great day on the water...despite the rain and seas. Hopefully this means we are in for another great year of whale watching.

Photos of tail-lobbing taken today

For the birders out there, today was a great bird day as well. We spotted many NORTHERN GANNETS which is not unusual at this time of year, but I was especially pleased with a sighting of an immature ICELAND GULL that repeated circled over the whales that were feeding. I got a few good photos of the Iceland Gull (see pictures below). Note the pure white wing-tips on this bird which is markedly different from the Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls that are very common in this area. It is important to remember that while Stellwagen Bank has a (deservedly) great reputation for whale watching many other fascinating species of wildlife can be seen there as well. And for those of you on-board this afternoon's whale watch be sure to tell any birdwatcher friends of yours that you saw an Iceland Gull today...they will be very impressed!

Immature Iceland Gull photographed from the 7 Seas Whale Watch vessel Privateer IV today

Some of the above photos were taken 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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