From late last month (a couple of weeks ago): while staying with brother Ned in Greenfield, Western Massachusetts, we had a day free to drive across state for a whale-watching trip out of Gloucester, a seaside town in the north-east corner of Mass.
Fin Whales...
The timing couldn't have been better, with temperatures hitting a brutal 100°F across the State, and sea conditions proving to be perfect. We were on the Seven Seas boat - highly recommended, with great viewing opportunities, excellent interp, and a well-informed, quality guide - and enjoyed what turned out to over five hours out on the North Atlantic.
Whale-watching trips off the Mass coast often head straight for the Stellwagen Bank, but with previous activity coming from Jeffrey's Ledge to the north, that's where the boat headed; and to their credit, they found and focused on a particularly productive area and stayed beyond the expected time for us to enjoy the whales as much as required.
Of which, their were many, with most at (incredibly) close quarters - we were clearly in luck, with a minimum of five Fin Whales, nine Humpbacks, a Minke, three pods of Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, and various sharks (the latter of which likely included Great Whites - I'm chasing up ID from those who know better than I).
Thanks to the skillful and respectful manoeuvring of the crew, we had both Fins and Humpbacks right alongside us, clearly unperturbed by us, which were then left alone after short, set periods. It was a joy and privilege, and - as a guide who knows the ups and downs of such work - it was fun to be a punter, enjoying the adventure with a wide range of others.
We ended up heading way up the Atlantic coast, beyond Mass, New Hampshire and well into Maine waters, where the waters remained blissfully calm and ideal.
Birds were limited (as expected, and not that it mattered....), with 17 Wilson's Storm-petrels, Black Guillemots, a few Gannets, flocks of Eiders, lots of gulls (including plenty of Laughing and a single juvenile Bonaparte's), masses of Double-crested Cormorants, and offshore migrants including a flock of Knot, a Great Blue Heron and a Barn Swallow.
... and lots of Humpbacks:
Atlantic White-sided Dolphins (mostly too close for the camera, like the whales....)
... and lots of Humpbacks:
Atlantic White-sided Dolphins (mostly too close for the camera, like the whales....)
Double-crested Cormorant
