Whale Watching trip on May 11, 2012 aboard the Tails of the Sea, Captain John Whale Watching and Fishing Tours

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Here is my most recent post on the Captain John Naturalist Sightings Blog. Just wanted to share it with our NECWA members. We had a fantastic day offshore and we hope you can join Captain John soon for a whale watching trip. To be honest, we are spoiled in New England for we have many great days offshore filled with incredible sightings like the trip described below. Hard to remember that these are very rare and endangered marine mammals, so just to see one humpback whale is a sighting of a lifetime. But to see this, is truly amazing! We are blessed.
Best to all, Krill


Surface feeding by two humpback whales.
9 am Whale Watch - Krill

We had an amazing day offshore this afternoon. Clear skies and incredible views of humpback whales surface feeding all around our vessle. Our captain, Capt. Jonny, did an amazing job of maneuvering around these animals as they were charging after the bait in every direction. Not easy predicting where and when a whale will surface, especially when they are feeding in small groups.



We were able to identify these individual humpback whales using specific body features like the dorsal fin and the ventral tail (fluke) patterns. Looking over our photos, we have identified Eruption, Ganesh, Bounce, Mostaza, Division, Midnight, Tunguska, Etch-a-Sketch, Bounce, Hazard and Pisces with her new calf of this year. Not bad for one trip offshore!!




We also had a few minke whales feeding in the same area with at least 50 Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Big thank you to John, our photographer onboard, who let me use his camera when mine jammed. I wouldn't have had any photos for the Captain John Facebook site or this blog if he had not allowed me to use his camera. What a sweetie!
Minke Whale
Minke Whale 
Minke Whale
Also a big thank you to the scientists at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies who helped me identify some of the individuals seen offshore. And thank you to Brandon, our New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance intern for also helping with the identifications. Great team work from one and all!





 Also seen offshore were Northern gannets, laughing gulls and terns. Can't wait for the whale watches this weekend. Hope you can join us!



Pisces and her new calf of this year.

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