NECWA News Blog

Seabird and Whale Tales Excursion  on Sunday June 8, 2014  8 am - 4 pm Boarding time: 7:30 am June 7, 2014 Update: Trip is a resounding GO! Great weather for us tomorrow and lots of bait and marine wildlife offshore. Please be down at the dock by 7:30 am ready to board. Really excited about seeing you and spending some quality viewing time offshore. Galley Food: reasonably priced         Breakfast: donuts, muffins, bagels with our without cream cheese (regular and chive)          Lunch: deli sandwiches (turkey, ham, roast beef), homemade chili, chowder and soups, frozen fruit bars, popcorn, chips, pretzels, apples, homemade rhubarb pie and apple pie  and lots more See you tomorrow! PS, Can you tell I love to eat! Best, Krill June 4, 2014 Update: The trip is a go. See you down at the docks by 7:30 am. We leave the dock at 8 am sharp. Looking forward to an exciting day out o...

We have had amazing views of humpback whales feeding on the southern side of Stellwagen Bank. Here are some video clips from our June 2 trip aboard the Capt. John & Son II. Great to see so many whales feeding together. Humpback whales are a medium-sized baleen whale that is listed as endangered due to the few animals that remain in our oceans. But when you have a lot of sand lance close to shore, many whales are attracted into that area and the sightings can be amazing. A "once in a lifetime" for all of us onboard, even us old timers. We need to keep our oceans healthy with abundant bait fish stocks for whales, seals, sharks, seabirds and other marine wildlife. Climate change, ocean acidification, marine debris, pollution, overfishing, etc. are all putting pressures on this system. The basis truth is "no bait fish = no whale." I would hate to live in a world with few whales! Become educated on the topics and then ACT. Today, it is not enough to simply CA...

We joined Capt. John Boats out of Plymouth for a whale watch today. This highlight of the show was a cluster of whales, seabirds and seals that were aggressively feeding off Peaked Hill Bar. The star of the shows was a humpback whale named Amulet. Amulet was using her tail to stun the bait before lunging mouth open through water and bait fish. It was to see such activity. 

Hello! Milkweed and her calf.  On Sunday's whale watch aboard the Tails of the Sea, Captain John Boats, we had an amazing look at a very special calf. This was Milkweed's calf and this calf was very playful and curious. Hancock and Milkweed surface feeding.  Milkweed and Hancock were feeding together on baitfish. They were using bubble nets to help them concentrate the bait before lunging mouth open through the water and fish. Hancock was really putting on a show as she opened her mouth as wide as can be! Hancock bubble net feeding. Hancock Hancock Hancock Hancock Since the calf is getting its nutrition from mom, it was hanging close to mom's side watching and sticking to her like glue. Once the calf came over to our boat to look us over. What an amazing experience to be eye-to-eye with a baby humpback whale. Peek-a-boo I see you! As the calf swam next to mom's side, it was rolling over and on top of Milkweed. I don't kn...

ATP Research Symposium - April 28, 2014 at Moakley at Bridgewater State University.  Dawilmer talking with another students about his research poster.  Mani with her poster on dolphins and porpoises off Cape Cod.  This past Monday, Biology students at Bridgewater State University presented their research at the annual ATP Research Symposium. Each poster presentation was a culmination of their activities conducted over the course of the semester under the guidance of Professor Krill Carson and Dr. John Jahoda. Data used in these research projects was collected by NECWA staff and interns working on beaches as well as on boats offshore. NECWA also collaborates with a number of local businesses and organizations in southeaster MA, including Captain John Boats and Mass Audubon at Wellfleet Bay. Much of the data collected offshore is accomplished through NECWA's Internship Program established with Captain John Boats. Christine and her poster on aging in...

Finback pair feeding off Race Point Beach. On our whale watch yesterday aboard the Tails of the Sea, Captain John Boats, we found the same pair of finback whales that were feeding in this area on yesterday's trip. And this pair was continuing to feed in their very own style! This finback's tail stock shows signs of a previous entanglement. Surfacing just off the beach. Both whales were coordinating their movements and they surfaced along the steep drop-off that is just off the shores of Race Point. And like yesterday, these animals were using bubble clouds to help them concentrate the bait before lunging mouth open beneath the waves. Bubble clouds being produced by the finbacks as they feed.  Bubble popping up to the surface.  Finback on the left as it lunges through the bubbles.   Finback whale don't often use bubbles when feeding, so this was a very pleasant surprise. These large and fast whale typically use their speed and agility to corr...

Harbor Seal. Finback off Race Point Light. April 25, 2014 If you are in the Provincetown area, now is a good time to walk the beaches of Race Point and Herring Cover to see whales, BIG whales! Finbacks feeding together off Race Point Beach. Aboard the Capt. John & Son II today, we had some amazing views of endangered finback whales and seals that were feeding right off the beach. They were so close to the shoreline that anyone walking the beach area would have gotten a sighting of a lifetime! Finback off the beach. There is a steep drop-off less than 100 yards off Race Point Beach. So there animals were in at least 100 feet of water. These steep drop-offs tend to concentrate small bait fish, the primary food for the big whales. So you often see large whales feeding off Race Point over much of the spring, summer and fall. Side-lunge feeding by a finback whale off Race Point Beach. We had at least 4 finback whales and quite a few harbor seals and gray seal...

April 13, 2014  NECWA staff members Krill and Leah were working onboard Capt. John's 12 noon whale watch today. As they headed offshore, they saw big splashes off the bow. To their surprise, they found a very exuberant white-beaked dolphin who was breaching or jumping out of the water. Unusual to see a single dolphin on its own for these animals are typically very social and travel in family groupings called pods. And why this dolphin was repeatedly breaching out of the water is still a mystery to us. Krill counted this dolphin jumping at least 25 times in a row! What an acrobat and what a show off! Can't wait to get offshore next weekend to see what Mother Nature has "in store" for us.