NECWA News Blog

Click on the Constant Contact link below to access our spring e-newsletter to learn more about our projects and activities for the spring. http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Spring-Newsletter-from-New-England-Coastal-Wildlife-Alliance.html?soid=1101909067888&aid=Yo-oJT-MK_8

SALT has arrived! Whale watching season has "officially" begun. Salt, the most famous humpback whale in the world, the Grand Dame of Stellwagen Bank has made her way back to the Gulf of Maine feeding ground. NECWA's first 2013 sighting of Salt occurred on May 17. NECWA staff member Tammy Silva was whale watching on board the Tails of the Sea with Capt. Tommy O'Reilly. This lucky group of whale watchers found themselves in the middle of a feeding frenzy! About a dozen humpback whales were gorging themselves on sand lance on the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank.   Then, seemingly out of no where, that famous white dorsal fin appeared off the bow...it was her! Salt! To an experienced whale watcher, the unique white scarring on Salt's dorsal fin is unmistakable. When you see it, you just know it's her and it was so exciting to see her after a long winter! Salt's dorsal fin Salt was first sighted in the Gulf of Maine in 1975 and has been sighted eve

Salt, our inflatable humpback whal e This week, we finished our inflatable model of Salt, the humpback whale. NECWA staff and interns have been working on this life-sized model since early winter. This model is made from sheet plastic and held together by packaging tape. We made sure that it was anatomically correct in every way from the length of the body to the length of the flippers. And since we created this model after Salt, the most famous humpback whale in the world, we made sure the top of the dorsal had white on it, just like hers.  And we marked in the ventral tail pattern to have her exact pattern. This model is inflated with a small fan that sits under the tail stock. You can enter Salt through a slit on the right side of her body. Once you get inside, you can't believe how big she is on the inside and out! We will be debuting this model at our upcoming school program at the Middleboro Memorial Early Childhood Center scheduled for early June. Each spring, NE

Whale Watching out of Plymouth - May Great whale watching at the start of our 2013 season. We have been seeing humpback whales, finback whales, minke whales as well as Atlantic white-sided dolphins and harbor porpoise. We want to thank Captain John Boats out of Plymouth for providing internship tickets for each trip. With that support, our  interns would not be able to get offshore with any consistency. Atlantic white-sided dolphins.  Atlantic white-sided dolphins. Bubble net being made by humpback whales.  Feeding Frenzy! This season, intern tickets have also been donated by Plymouth Whale Watching out of the State Pier in Plymouth. This will allow more of our interns to get offshore on a regular basis. Thanks to both companies for the generosity on behalf of our program.  Buzzard kick feeding.  Fracture and Zeppelin feeding deep together.  Lunging through the bait. Lots of body parts! Surface feeding.  Zeppelin lunging through a bubble net.