NECWA News Blog

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.

NECWA staff members Tammy and Krill had a great first trip offshore with Capt. John Boats out of Plymouth. Trip Sightings: 3 right whales 2 humpback whales (Tongs and calf) 50 to 60 Atlantic white-sided dolphins 5 - 6 minke whales 4 harbor porpoise 1 gray seal 13 harbor seals Atlantic-white sided dolphins As we headed out of Plymouth Harbor, we spotted a North Atlantic right whale skim feeding a few miles offshore. As we slowly moved away from this animal and continued northeast, we spotted an additional 2 right whales all feeding separately. Right whales are the most endangered species of baleen whales in our waters so these were sightings of a lifetime for all onboard.  Our next sighting was a large group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. These animals were feeding in small groups, but some came right over to our boat to ride the bow wave and the stern wake as we slowly moved through the area. Tongs and her new calf. Mom is on the right. As we conti...