Humpbacks and more - Stellwagen Bank, 18th Aug '26

 

Fortunately for us, we had another opportunity to jump on a whale-watching trip our of Gloucester, on the North-east coast of Mass, after a truly wonderful one when we were over last summer (see here). Three weeks later than last years', the species dynamic and variety were significantly different, but just as entertaining....

 

I'll deal with the birds in the next post, but for cetaceans, it was very different - no Fin Whales or dolphins this time, but no fewer than 25 Humpbacks - and oh boy, what a show....

 

To say they were entertaining would be the understatement of the decade, and we had hours of fun watching them doing pretty much everything a Humpback can. We had multiple, co-ordinated full breaches from up to five whales together; many rolls, tail flips and smashes;

...prolonged sessions of co-operative interactions - including pec-slapping, slow-rolling and loud trumpeting! - right by the boat, completely unconcerned (or inspired?) by our presence.

 

We eventually had to leave them all to it, but what a performance - certainly the most prolonged, close-up and entertaining I've ever seen from Humpbacks.

We also had a couple of Minkes, and two close sightings of Ocean Sunfish (or Mola Molas as they're called over there - their scientific name and a much cooler monicker) - but it was the Humpbacks who more than stole the show.

Huge thanks to brother-in-law Ned for the better of these photos - nice work indeed ;-)

Sharon, Connecticut - mid-August '26

 

Another entertaining encounter with wildlife while on a run 

A few days on the western edge of Connecticut with another part of the fam - this time Neil, Anya, Randee and Mara, plus Amity and I - in a pleasantly countrified holiday home in the woods on the edge of the smalltown of Sharon.

Olive-sided Flycatcher (above), Scarlet Tanager (below)

A couple of earlyish birding sessions nearby - at Sharon and Miles Wildlife Sanctuary Audubon reserves respectively - were enjoyable without being particularly notable, with an expected cast of species at both.

Red-eyed Vireo (above), Eastern Phoebe (below)

 

Local runs, however, were - as so often happens - more productive for wildlife encounters (see e.g. the Black Bear encounter a few posts back). I bumped into a young Snapper Turtle crossing the road over a creek, follwed shortly after by a large-ish mammal in my peripheral vision that turned out to be a very accommodating and entertaining Groundhog, rivalling the local Chipmunks for the most anthropormophically hilarious New England mammals.

A few other photos from local runs....

On the rocks - Damariscove Island & Boothbay Harbour, Maine - summer '26

Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers

Following on from the last post, here's a few species on the edge of terra firma from the same fun adventure...

A small, seaweed-strewn beach halfway around our loop of the island looked good for shorebirds, but maybe it was too early in the season? Thankfully not, as three wader species were avidly feeding in the strandline: two Spotted Sandpipers (the default wader around here), but also two Semipalmated Sandpipers and two Least Sandpipers.

The light wasn't great (harsh and hazy) but the birds surely were - I rarely get to see shorebirds on our US summer trips, so any are very welcome, especially long distance migrants such as the Leasts and Semi-Ps.

Plenty of other wildlife to enjoy on the rocks, including many Grey Seals hauled out (above), and an Osprey nest on the ground (below, complete with about-to-fledge juvenile) on a small rocky islet - the first time I've seen such a set-up.

Common Tern, Snowy Egret

Damariscove Island & Boothbay Harbour, Maine - summer '26

From our time in Maine: a trip to visit the lovely Bob (Steneck) and Jo at their summer house on the shore at Boothbay Harbour, a long inlet on the mid-Maine coastline, and a ride out on his small motorboat out into the Atlantic.

We've had the pleasure of spending time with Bob and Jo several times already thanks to their friendship with Kate, George and Indigo, at both their summer and winter homes here in this beautiful landscape, and it's always a treat to see them.

We were anticipating a leisurely lunch and a quick razz around the bay on the boat, but Bob had other (better) ideas, and it turned into a fantastic trip way out to Damariscove Island, a nature reserve well offshore and an unexpected treat to hike around on a hot and sunny afternoon (more on that to follow).

Over the water, we had the pleasure of about 15 Wilson's Storm-petrels passing the boat and stopping to feed, as well as plenty of other common species, including two (early) Bonaparte's Gulls among the Laughing, and American Herring Gulls.

Snowy Egret (above), Bonaparte's Gulls (below)