08.31.15 10am & 2pm Whale Watch Expeditions 055 & 56

Greetings Monks of the Mysticeti,

Saturday was a fine day on the southern perimeter of Stellwagen Bank, as we were in the company of Captain Adam aboard the bold Sanctuary.  For our 10am voyage we found ourselves in the company of the humpback whale Rapier as she was nursing her gargantuan 2015 calf.  There was a third whale unfamiliar to me who we dubbed “Christian Rock”, as the left fluke bore black colorations that looked like earphones accompanied by a crucifix.  This whale was in fact Lutris, who anointed passengers with a mighty baptism of snarge. 

Rapier's fluke pattern.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

My introduction to Lutris.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Lutris (submerged), Rapier (middle) and Rapier's 2015 Calf (closest to boat).  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Rapier’s 2015 calf was discharging bubbles prior to surfacing, possibly practicing the craft of bubblecloud feeding.  This youngling followed its mother closely, occasionally swimming under Rapier’s massive tailstock for milky nourishment.  The clear visibility of the ocean permitted us to monitor every movement by following their flippers, made green by phytoplankton flourishing on the surface.  Lutris remained close as the calf began rolling on the surface, permitting photographs of its ventral flanks that can be used to determine gender!

Rapier's 2015 Calf emitting a blow.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Rapier's 2015 Calf.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Rapier's calf bears features used to identify gender.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

White scarring on calf suggests past entanglement.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Our 2pm expedition brought us to the Southeast Corner amongst associations of whales that evaded us in seas of 180’.  We were soon parallel to humpback whales who Adam identified as Hancock and her 2015 calf, who were accompanied by Venom.  The tiny calf was dwarfed by its mother who cast her tailstock from the sea, wildly pivoting her fluke in a pinwheel fashion!

Hancock's tail.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Hancock's fluke pattern.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Hancock's 2015 Calf dwarfed by Venom.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

An association of two whales we searched for earlier began breaching, and Venom became crazed in a repertoire of breaching and double- flipper slapping!  Our trip ended with flamboyant rain-blow of water vaporized from Venom’s blowholes!  It was a mystical conclusion to a mysticete day!

Venom breaching.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Venom double-flipper slapping!  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Venom emitting a "rainblow".  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Peace and Love,

Rich

08.29.15 9am & 1pm Whale Watch Expeditions 053 & 054

Greetings Sisterhood of the Traveling Whales,

Yesterday we formed an allegiance with Captain Matt and the Cetacea crew in our mission to explore the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank.  Our 9am expedition can be summarized as a game of cat(amaran) and mouse, as we sighted an elusive humpback whale east of the bank.  The mysticete was logging at the surface on our arrival, but after a flourish of its flippers it began diving for six minutes at a time. The wheelhouse radio clamored with a chorus of reported sightings further east, but the allure of identifying this whale took precedent.  It would emerge at the surface with a single blow, only to disappear again without fluking.  As this humpback headed east it finally gifted us with a highly prized fluke pattern, but a search through three different fluke catalogues yielded no victory of identification.

Unknown T3 fluke pattern.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Our morning trip was concluded with a brief glimpse of an active humpback whale that was splashing about the ocean's surface.  It was equipped with a radical dorsal fin that appeared weathered into a stump!  A shallow fluking dive yielded no identification, thus completing the circle of anonymity encompassing this early voyage.  Passengers can vouch for the magnificence of encountering these leviathans that spend 95% of their lives hidden under the sea. 

Update: This whale's dorsal fin is that of Mostaza's 2014 Calf!

Unique dorsal fin of Mostaza's 2014 Calf.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

The mission of our 2pm voyage was to explore the strange world of the Southeast Corner to discover new humpback life and cetacean civilizations.  What we encountered was a realm of minke whales, humpback whales, and pelagic seabirds who hunted in waters brimming with fish.  An association of humpbacks Venom and Echo was located four miles from Provincetown, and both cetaceans traveled side-by-side to forage for prey.

Venom mere miles from Provincetown.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Two marine avians on the hunt.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

A neighboring humpback whale was deploying bubblenets reservedly, enabling us to count each bubble popping at the surface!  The recreational vessel Squidward ventured into the epicenter of one bubblenet, but was denied a close encounter as the whale reemerged amongst an aggressive cloud of green water on our starboard flank.  A fluke pattern of white was unfurled for my camera, and this whale will surely be identified in the days to come.  Our reluctant return for land brought us amongst coordinates from our 9am trip, and we witnessed again the two whales seen in the morning.

Lobster fishing vessel "USS Unicorn".  The captain sported a barbecue apron.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Peace and Love,

Rich

08.28.15 9am Whale Watch Expedition 052

Greetings Pelagic Power Rangers,

Our 9am expedition with Captain Jim brought the Cetacea to the Southeast Corner of Stellwagen Bank.  Just six miles off the shore of Provincetown was a humpback whale emitting the short, bushy blows attributed to its species.  This whale eluded us with a dive of several minutes, but before resigning to a new search this mysticete reemerged off our bow!  The dorsal fin itself could yield to identification, but a mighty lift of the tailstock revealed the ventral fluke pattern of Convict. 

Fluke pattern of Convict.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Unique dorsal of Convict.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

The length of dives was soon reduced to three minutes, and each return to the surface began an approach toward our vessel.  At one point Convict thrashed a wild tail, casting pelagic precipitation upon humans aboard the starboard pulpit.  It was not until viewing the right side of the rostrum that we noticed turbercles ground down to pink stumps, a sign of subsurface feeding that was further verified by shoals of fish detected on our fish finder.

We departed our eastern whale for a humpback association that we passed earlier in respect to orbiting boat traffic.  These whales of consisted of Pele and Cajun with her 2015 calf.  We shared these whales as they traveled within a body length of one another, descending in synchrony on foraging dives.  Our return for land was marked by a single full breach by Pele!

Pele flipper slapping.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Prior to our terrestrial return we were gifted the coordinates of ocean sunfish by Captain Deb and the Asteria!  We did not leave the region until Jim found these bony behemoths, and find them we did!

One of two ocean sunfish.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Peace and Love,

Rich

08.24.15 10am & 2pm Whale Watch Expeditions 050 & 051

Good Evening Pod People,

Today on the Soutwest Corner we joined Captain Adam to peer through the pelagic window into the lives of humpback whales.  Our first encounter on our 10am voyage was with an unknown humpback sighted earlier this season, whose dorsal fin was easily recognized by a missing chunk delineated by orca dentition scars.  This whale was in a deep slumber as it surfaced within a body length of our boat with no warning or previous sighting!  It remained just under the surface as we made for Cajun and Jabiru with their growing calves.

Jabiru and her calf made for their own travels upon our arrival, leaving Cajun and her youngling to the Sanctuary amidst dives of four minutes.  Captain Adam maneuvered the vessel to make this pair accessible to all passengers, and the whales offered intimate observation.  Cajun’s 2015 Calf would emit a cloud of bubbles just before surfacing as the mother would let loose trumpeting blows that sent vibrations through the surface around the rostrum!   

Cajun's 2015 Calf between mother and boat.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Humpback whales may emit trumpeting blows as means of acoustic communication, but water vibration is also observed in the behavior of other aquatic animals.  Male alligators floating on the water’s surface garnish attention from females with “chumpfs”, infrasonic purrs lower than 20 hertz that cause similar vibrations in the water.  Reptiles and mammals are undoubtedly different in many ways, but similarities in their surface activity result in linear behaviors.  The strange hydrodynamics of a trumpeting blow are usually not fully realized, but Cajun abided with her close proximity to our vessel.

Cajun sending vibrations across the water.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

On our 2pm return to the Southwest Corner we voyaged far east across Stellwagen Bank, passing a platoon of six whale watching boats that were observing four humpbacks.  The glassy swells were unbroken but for our lone boat, but the seas were soon shattered by bombing plunges of hungry northern gannets.  After a peaceful voyage and a single minke whale sighting we located Pele, who betrayed a week long association with Cajun and Jabiru to seek the company of Canopy! 

Canopy's recognizable flukes.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Fluke pattern of T4 seen later that evening.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Our bewilderment of the fickleness of humpback whale relationships was forgotten when an enormous humpback breached in the distance.  We dusted our way through hundreds of seabirds to view this whale as it surfaced alongside another of its kind, but both fluke patterns remain unknown to our team of naturalists…for now!

One of many northern gannets on the Southeast Corner.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Juvenile northern gannet searches for a meal.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Peace and Love,

Rich

08.23.15 5pm Whale Watch Expedition 049

Good Evening Salty Syndicate,

Today aboard the Cetacea we endeavored for whale sightings in the company of Intern Lorna, Captain Matt, and the Hardy Boys of the BHC.  With might we endured heaving swells, and the fog on the Southwest Corner cowered and dispersed upon our approach.  From the mist we identified Jabiru and her glorious 2015 calf, and within that moment a third whale erupted from the chasm of Stellwagen’s depths in a full breach!  This visceral pageant emphasized the strength and immensity of the humpback whale species.  Two other humpbacks in the distance evaded identification, living their aquatic lives in solitude.

Calves of Jabiru and Nile.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Jabiru descended on dives of several minutes to subsurface feed, suggested by the presence of a shearwater that fed upon some aquatic prey following the whale’s return.  Her calf would accompany her for a fraction of each dive, only to resurface prematurely to blow bubbles and slap its behemoth pectoral flippers in a spectacle alien to our novice whale watchers.  The third humpback whale reemerged in full peduncle pandemonium, displaying atop an erect tailstock the fluke pattern unique to Nile’s 2014 Calf!  We soon made west through a thicket of fog, rowdy with excitement borne of the cetacean symphony!

Nile 2014 Calf greeting the bow riders.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

The decks clamored with merriment from happy passengers, and tomorrow I hope to further celebrate the wonders of Stellwagen Bank!

Peace and Love,

Rich

Good Afternoon Humpback Heroes,

Today aboard the 11am Asteria expedition we united with Captain Deb in observing an association of humpback whales on the Southwest Corner.  We were enthused to discover an assemblage of whales consisting of Pele and both Cajun and Jabiru with calves in tow.  The mature humpbacks left us on 3-5 minute dives of random travel on probable subsurface foraging, whilst the jovial offspring of Cajun and Jabiru rolled and breached on the surface. 

A sixth humpback whale literally exploded on the scene with breaches of the tail and body, and during a later investigation we were surprised to identify this rorqual ruffian as Nile 2014 Calf!  Our guests happily observed two dozen breaches despite skies heavy with gray, an imminent promise of rain which held off until the return to the landmass.  On our return home we were given a brief glimpse of Shards and Nile, an association of two massive mysticetes that departed on a lengthy dive. 

The underside, or ventral side, of Cajun's 2014 Calf.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Cajun 2014 Calf mid chin-breach.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Fluke at end of tail breach of Nile 2014 Calf.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Note the red pigment of blood vessels, visible after many flipper slaps & breaches.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

To witness two generations of whales was paramount, and I hope to witness again the awesome power of both calves of Nile and Cajun!

Peace and Love,

Rich

Good Afternoon Cousteau Coalition,

Today we joined Captain Chip as he guided us out to the Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank on our 11am adventure.  Before even reaching the bank we approached two humpback whales while they floated in a cetacean slumber.  Passengers were euphoric to discover these to be Cardhu and her 2015 calf!  We appreciated a rare close look at a humpback whale calf during its first and only season of dependence on its mother.  Chip emphasized the significance of our find, stating that “we are lucky enough to find these animals in the middle a huge ocean”! 

Cardhu's 2015 Calf trails behind mother.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Cardhu 2015 Calf rolling off starboard.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Spot the whale on the left flipper?  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Cardhu 2015 Calf getting close.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Calf gives some great views.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Our captain was attuned to the behavior and movement of the whales as they surfaced off our bow and swam under our vessel repeatedly to all sides of the boat.  Everyone was able to view details ranging from tubercles to barnacles!  The calf engaged in flipper slapping within a body length of the Aurora, which was exciting for me as it is a theatrical behavior I hold dear to my heart.  We left these whales as they engaged in dives of 2-4 four minutes with shallow fluking dives.  Before our return to Boston my wife photographed the calf’s fluke pattern as a birthday present to me!

T’was a pleasure to visit the humpbacks of Stellwagen Bank, truly one of my favorite places in the world!

Peace and Love,

Rich, Meaghan, and Chip

Good Afternoon Knights of the Tide Table,

Yesterday we reunited with Captain Adam for a stroll through the Southwest Corner.  With the recently christened deck of the Sanctuary under our feet, we started our 10am voyage with an engaging encounter of an association of two logging humpback whales.  We recognized the most intricate patterns of scarring on Eraser's dorsal fin, for the gregarious giant awoke and encroached within a body length of our ark!  The sea beast began casting its pectoral flippers jovially into the air and cracked the sea surface, spraying onlookers atop the port pulpit!  With Eraser was a second humpback suspected to be Pixar, whose tagging scar marks scientists' previous efforts to better understand travel patterns in the Gulf of Maine and beyond.  Eraser's accomplice swam under our craft and began mighty flipper slapping of its own merit!

Eraser's dorsal.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Eraser's rostrum.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Eraser's pectoral flipper.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Pixar flipper slapping.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Pixar (left) and Eraser (right).  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Despite the duo being quite comfortable with the Sanctuary, Adam set a course for an association of Pele, Milkweed, and Cajun with her 2015 Calf.  In the distance clamored a breaching humpback whale with aerial explorations of unknown intent.  As we tried for some looks of these charismatic megafauna, a harbor seal swam toward our bow with great haste!  The pinniped cast an inquiring eye upon our starboard pulpit in possible befuddlement of our clumsy tail-stems and baleen atop our heads.  We soon turned west for the stillness of land, but not before one of the humpbacks roared out of the sea for a breach between the Sanctuary and the approaching Privateer IX!

Harpor seal gives the "whale eye" despite approaching on its own terms.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

The Santuary brought us again to the Southwest Corner for the 3pm exploration,  and we soon peered at Gladiator the humpback whale between dives of nearly 7 minutes.  The cetacean submarine lay dormant under the sea whilst Captain Adam opted for a distant association, but once we were out of range this denizen of the deep took flight with two breaches!  We observed the platoon of Pele, Gladiator, Cajun, and Cajun 2015 Calf as they travelled in a random fashion, accompanied by Convict.  After several moments of close encounters and flowering flukes we made for Boston, but one leviathan marked our departure with a breach fully appreciated by our passengers!

Convict's fluke.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Double rainblows!  Rich Dolan, BHC  naturalist

Thank you for your audience through the season so far, and I will aspire to do justice in cataloguing mysticete magnificence!

Peace and Love,

Rich

Good Evening Baleen Bohemians,

Today we unified with Captain Chip and the Aurora crew for an 11am exploration of the Southwest Corner.  Our voyage began with a sighting of a Mola mola, known as the ocean sunfish!  These omnivores have a unique tail fin that never fully develops, but instead folds into itself during the animals’ growth to form a rounded rudder called a clavus.  This bony fish species seems cumbersome in shape and mobility, but is capable of breaching 10 feet out of the ocean in a theoretical attempt to rid its body of parasites!

The ocean sunfish, or Mola mola.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

The ocean sunfish is the largest of bony fishes.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

We soon continued to search for mammalian fauna, and found ourselves in the company of five associated humpbacks encompassed by at least 26 recreational boats dispersed over a mile!  We observed Pele with Jabiru and Cajun, whose calves were very surface active.  The quintet took several dives that varied between 1-5 minutes, and the length of each dive seemed to vary if boats moved and impeded attempts to resurface.  Jabiru’s 2015 Calf seemed intrigued by one particular recreational boat, and promptly snaked over to its inhabitants for a VERY close look.  One of the adults had different sentiments toward these human flotillas, and promptly let loose a tail breach next to a nearby vessel that ventured too close.

Jabiru's 2015 Calf amidst calm seas.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Jabiru's 2015 is quite bold in meeting new faces.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Mad momma!  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

After monitoring the overwhelming squall of boats near our platoon of cherished whales, we headed east for land.  Captain Chip suddenly reduced speed and granted us a rare investigation of Prionace glauca, the pelagic Blue Shark!  This individual measured between 6 to 8 feet in length, the size of a mature adult.  Passengers took note of the serpentine motion of its caudal fin and it swam stoically just under the surface.

Blue shark lingering on the Southwest Corner.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

An exciting pelagic find amidst calm seas.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

For our 3pm expedition we returned to the same area of the Southwest Corner and quickly re-sighted the association of five seen on our previous trip.  We were surprised to see an association of whales Gladiator and A-Plus as they crossed paths with Pele’s group.  Gladiator had no reservations about rolling over and flipper slapping with fervor, adding a pulse to our encounters!  Two other humpback duos glided through the area, escaping identification with destinations unknown.

Gladiator.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

Rostrum with scarring from bottom feeding.  Rich Dolan, BHC naturalist

We were elated to see such a diversity of species in the deep blue, and hope that we can all act with respect and reverence towards our nautical neighbors.  It was a pleasure to share today’s sightings with Judie Clee, a cetacean naturalist of Bermuda who happily joined me for a third adventure!

Peace and Love,

Rich