Today we saw 90
Common dolphins in three groups. One group had
about 40-50 dolphins of which 5 were babies that
were only four months old. They swam around and
played with the boat for over an hour!
photos soon
Sunday August 29 2010
Dolphin Mania
Continues Still!!
Once again, we
found a leatherback sea turtle near
Montauk Point, and
groups of common dolphins out near CIA. This
time we found two groups- one about 30 Common
dolphins and a second group of 10. Both groups
had adults, juveniles and infants, including one
that was only a few days old.
We located common dolphins west of CIA again
today! There were about 45 in total and we spent
an hour with then. There were a lot of Mom and
calf pairs! Some calves were only 2ft long. We
also saw a basking shark breach, but it was only
a glimpse.
Totals 45 Common dolphins
1 Basking Shark
Friday August 27 2010
Dolphin Mania!
Today was fantastic! We headed West of CIA
and found tons of common dolphins. At one point
we were surrounded by more than 200 dolphins.
For the whole day we had a total of 350 common
dolphins! On the way back we saw two Leatherback
Sea turtles.
Totals 350 Common
dolphins 3 Leatherback sea turtles 2 Least
terns 10 Cory's shearwaters 35 Greater
shearwaters 6 Northern gannets
photos soon
Thursday August 26 2010
A tough day- Turtles
(briefly) & birds
The day started
out well with a leatherback sea turtle right
near the point, but the turtle dove just as we
got to it and wasn't seen. We headed south and
encountered a young Kemp's Ridley Sea turtle
about 17 miles out- it too dove and wasn't seen
again. While we saw quite a few birds, we never
saw any cetaceans- thus it was a tough day.
The day started well, with an ocean sunfish
just east of the point. We headed east to no
avail, then south and west. At 1:30pm we spotted
a large group of common dolphins (30-40)
including many very young calves. The dolphins
stayed with us for an hour- what an amazing
display.
Dolphins, Turtles,
Breaching Sharks and Flying Fish
We headed south towards where whales had been
reported. From a distance we saw breaching fish;
then we encountered the first of our four
turtles- a loggerhead. While watching the
turtle, a basking shark breached next to us. A
hammerhead swam near us a short while later. On
our way back we found a green sea turtle,
another loggerhead and 10 common dolphins- and
awesome, diverse day.
Seas were calm today with good with
visibility. We saw no whales, but we did have
the largest number of leatherback sea turtles
ever seen in one day. Seven Leatherbacks swam
close to the boat with one swimming directly
under the bow with fantastic views. We also saw
many Cory's shearwaters, Wilson's
storm petrels and one
Northern Gannet.
photos soon
Sunday August 15 - Tuesday August 17, 2010
Humpbacks, fin whales,
common dolphins, basking sharks, and thousands
of pelagic birds!
The annual
Viking Fleet/CRESLI 2010 Great South Channel
Whale Watch (our 10th trip in 9 years) was
another resounding success! As in every year
since 2002, we found quite a few whales
(whenever the fog lifted). At times we were
surrounded by humpbacks and fin whales, even
when we were anchored overnight. The whales were
busy feeding at depth and at the surface, on
krill and sand eels. Many of the humpbacks were
juveniles, and many of the fin whales were
cow/calf pairs. 7 of the 15 humpbacks were
identified by biologists from the Whale Center
of New England, while the others remain to be
ID’d. We returned 51 hours after leaving
exhausted and exhilarated.
Today
started really well with 2 Leatherback sea
turtles south of the radio tower at the Camp
Hero. We headed to where we found dolphins
yesterday. We did find a Logger head sea turtle
and a breaching basking shark. We had reports of
whales but did not find any today.
It was a
gorgeous day on the water: cool, comfortable and
calm. We headed South and West to where whales
had been seen earlier. We found over 100 Common
dolphins, including many newborns. We also found
a very cooperative Hammerhead shark, who stayed
next to us for some time. We also found lots of
breaching basking sharks all around us.
We traveled to an area about 30 miles
from Montauk, SE of Block Island, to where some
whales had been seen. We didn’t have any luck
there so we headed to the East Mudhole and found
a Fin whale. We had some great views of the
whale and we also saw a Kemp’s Ridley Sea turtle
sleeping next to the boat, near the whale. We
also saw two sharks, a hammerhead and a blue
shark.
Totals: 1
fin whale 1 Kemp's Ridley sea turtle 1
Great hammerhead shark 1 Blue shark
100+ Cory's Shearwaters 200+ Greater
Shearwaters 200+ Wilson's Storm Petrels 1
Pomarine Jaeger
photos soon
Sunday August 1 2010
Fin Whale Calf-Nap
Time
It wasn't until 1:30pm that
we saw our first whale blows-those of a large
fin whale about 1000 yards ahead of us. As we
approached the area, we saw smaller, fainter
blows- those of a young fin whale calf, no
bigger than 30 feet. The calf was
resting(logging) just under the surface, next to
the boat for nearly 30 minutes before diving and
swimming away. He stayed down for nearly 20
minutes, several times, but the calf stayed
close enough to u for all to get a good look. A
nice way to end this week! We are now at 90.4%
success rate in finding cetaceans (whales,
dolphins and porpoises).
Totals:
2 Fin Whales (cow and calf) 5 Greater
Shearwaters 5 Cory's Shearwaters 50
Wilsons Storm Petrels
We headed east towards where whales had been
seen yesterday and we found our first whales
just about where we expected. 7 Fin Whales were
spread out over several miles. These 7 included
2 cow/calf pairs- one pair we had a good look at
and recognized them from earlier this month. The
calm seas and beautiful skies were the icing on
the cake.
Totals:
7 Fin Whales 2
Greater Shearwaters 40 Wilson's Storm Petrels
It
was a long trip out to to the east, but once we got there the magic really
started. The day began with two small (200lbs) ocean
sunfish. Then, as you may have guessed, we saw a hammerhead shark! It was
insane- the shark approached the boat multiple while it was just under the
surface so we had a fantastic view of it. Shortly after the hammer head we found
the fin whales. We saw a total of 6 for the day ranging from 45ft to 60ft. It was incredible because they
were only a few feet away from the boat hanging out just below the surface. We
were able to view the whole body underwater and got an especially good look at
the tail. Later we saw a group of 35 common dolphins which were very playful.
Today was a
beautiful day out of the water. There was a cool
breeze, great visibility, and tons of ocean life
to see! We started the day off by seeing a
massive basking shark breach out of the water.
Soon after we saw a small (250lbs) ocean
sunfish. Later we spotted 60ft + fin whale.
While trying locating a fin whale that had a
long terminal dive we found another individual.
It was great because the whale came really close
to the boat and the passengers got slimmed by
the blow of the whale which is always a treat.
On our way back we saw 4 common dolphins that
rode our bow wave for a while. A sea turtle was
also spotted, but it dove before we were able to
identify it.
How can you describe a day with over 450
dolphins and two species of sea turtles
(leatherback and loggerhead); not to mention an
ocean sunfish and a blue shark.
SPECTACULAR!
Heading past Montauk Lighthouse we encountered a
6 foot long Leatherback sea turtle. An awesome
start to a great day! Our whales- a mother/calf
pair of fin whales were first seen by noon. For
two hours we stayed with them as they moved
closer to Montauk. Near an area SE of the point,
we also encountered a group of 100-120 common
dolphins including many newborns. What a day!!
Totals
2 Fin whales 120 Common
dolphins ~100
Wilson's Storm Petrels ~20 Cory's
Shearwaters
We finally found life in the ocean again!
Our first sighting occurred at 10:45am at around
5 miles S.W. of Block Island. We saw an enormous
group of about 150 common dolphins. It was
incredible! There were several calves and the
dolphins were very active, porpoising and
spinning out of the water. Shortly afterwards we
saw another group of 8-12 common dolphins which
were also a lot of fun. Later in the day we saw
a Mako shark, a blue shark, and an ocean
sunfish. The ocean sunfish was probably about
3ft and around 200lbs.
The day started well with great visibility.
We headed SE then continued south and SW but had
no luck finding whales. We were able to spot
some pelagic birds, especially behind a
scalloper but often they were patchily spread.
While all the landlubbers were soaking up
today's heat the crew and passengers on the
Viking Starship enjoyed strong breezes and cool
temperatures. Once at sea we spotted a sea
turtle, 2 fin whales and 1 minke whale, in
addition we were treated with the sight of
bluefin tuna leaping out of the water and had a
great view of a blue shark!
A Multispecies Day - Fin,
Humpback and Minke Whales
We headed east through the haze towards an
area of clearer visibility and towards where we
have seen whales for several weeks. Our first
whales we spotted at 12:16. They were a cow/calf
pair of fin whales. The calf had significant
scars from what appeared to be a boat strike.
Our second cow/calf pair were spotted shortly
thereafter. In the same spot we saw a fifth fin
whale and a Mike whale. On our way back we
briefly saw a humpback whale but it didnt stay
and we couldn't find it again.
Today we had 1 brief view of a fin whale
blowing, and then we headed SE to search for
more whales, where they had been sighted a few
days ago. We spotted our first blows at 1:30pm
but the whale eluded us. It turned out to be a
nice day on the water- but few sightings.
A Bakers Dozen- an
amazing end to an amazing week!
Today was a spectacular day on the water, with
13 fin whales and 8 minke whales. We headed
east, without fog or rain, and found our first
whales just after 11:30. We came across a minke
whale and four fin whales, including one of the
cow/calf pairs that we've been seeing all this
week! The whales were feeding on deep dense bait
patches and repeatedly surfaced near the vessel,
close enough to almost touch them!! We continued
to find whales for several hours, even on our
way home! Over all it really was a fantastic day
and a great end to a week full of brilliant
sightings!
We headed east, through the fog and rain
this morning. We saw our first whales- a
cow/calf pair around noon in the same region
we've been seeing whales all week. Two cow/calf
pairs constantly swam around us, under us, and
in front of us. They rolled over repeatedly,
amazing the whole boat. The whales were feeding
in dense patches of food and the pelagic birds
were feeding in the leftovers. A spectacular day
on the water!
We left a hot and
sticky dock and sailed off toward where we saw
the whales yesterday. Our first Minke whale was
spotted around 11:30am. For the day we saw a
total of six Minke whales once again
interspersed between Fin whale sightings. At one
point the ship was surrounded by Minke whales
and several groups of 1-2 Fin whales. The Fin
whales dove for about 4 minutes at a time and
displayed boat avoidance consistently but we
were able to spot different individuals. One Fin
whale that had been down for at least 5 minutes
surprised everyone by appearing right next to
the boat- that was a real crowd-pleaser!
Our totals for the day
were:
9 Fin Whales 6 Minke
Whales 1 Ocean Sunfish 1 Blue Shark 300
Wilson's Storm Petrels 150 Greater
Shearwaters 7 Sooty Shearwaters 7 Cory's
Shearwaters 2 Manx Shearwaters 75 Common
Tern 5 Lease Tern 10 Crested Cormorants
1 Common Loon
We drove through the thick fog at the docks into
an excellent day with great visibility! The first the we
saw was a small ocean sunfish (150lbs-300lbs). After
that we continued our track to
where we saw the whales yesterday. Fortunately they were
there again. We saw a total of 16 fin whales and 10-12
minke whales. There was one
mother/calf pair of fin whales
and also several groups of 3-4
whales in the area. Minke whales appeared periodically
while we observed the fin whales. Bluefin tuna
were also spotted jumping out of the water. At one point
a 9ft blue shark came within
2ft of the boat!
Our totals for the day were:
16 Fin Whales 10-12
Minke Whales
1 Ocean Sunfish 50 Greater Shearwater 300 Cory's
Shearwaters 10 Sooty Shearwaters 400 Wilson's
Storm Petrels 1 Royal Blue Shark
Driving east into the haze we first encountered
a large adult leatherback sea turtle. Shortly afterward
an enormous ocean sunfish (probably around 800-1000lbs)
was spotted. We were able to get up really close to it
and see the eye since it was swimming near the surface.
After the we found our first minke whale of the day, one
of a total 10-12 spotted.
The fin whales appeared
soon after essentially surrounding us. At one point
there were four fin whales swimming next to each other.
All the whales were over 60ft long. Later 4 fin whales
lunged out of the water repeatedly, almost porpoising.
In between the fin and the minke whale sightings we
found about 3 patches of 100's of bluefin tuna. For the
day we saw a total of 9-10 fin whales. At one point we
also saw a blue shark, bluefish and striped bass rolling
at the surface. It was a great day!
We sailed to the east of Block Island and found
12 Minke whales once again including a mother and calf
pair. The Starship spent 2 hours observing the
Minkes-They appeared to be a groups of 4 spread out over
several miles. The birds today included Greater
Shearwaters, Cory's Shearwaters, Wilsons storm petrels,
Black-legged
Kittiwakes, Northern Gannets, Least Terns, and Common
Terns. We also found a blue shark and skip jack tuna.
Today's trip was really
fantastic. It is incredibly rare to find so
many Minke whales, let alone mother/calf
pairs and twice in four days!! In 23 years
of whale watching trips, we've never seen
that many Minke whales at once!!
We will check photographs
to see if any of today's whales were also
seen on Friday.
However we had no success in finding whales,
dolphins or porpoises. We sailed to all the areas
where whales and dolphins were seen yesterday but to
no avail.
We saw 15 Greater Shearwaters, 20 Cory's
Shearwaters, and 75 Wilson's Storm Petrels.
Friday
July
2, 2010
An Amazing
Day!
We headed towards the area we saw the whale
briefly yesterday. At 11:30am we encountered our
first group of dolphins- 30 common dolphins. An hour
later we encountered our next group- 60 bottlenose
dolphins. We headed homeward and just as the day was
winding down we found the mother-load
of whales just 12 miles SE of Montauk. We saw 12
Minke whales, 3 Fin back whales, and 1 Humpback
whale. Today's sightings also included Greater
Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Cory's
Shearwaters, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Common Terns,
Red-throated loons. All in all it was a FANTASTIC
and exciting trip.
Today's sightings also included Greater
Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Cory's
Shearwaters, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Common
Terns, Red-throated loons. All in all it was
a FANTASTIC and exciting trip.
The Viking Starship crew headed SE to an area where
whales were spotted a few days ago. We found a few
Wilson's Storm Petrels and Greater Shearwaters. We
then headed east, where we found an Ocean Sunfish,
Cory's Shearwaters, Manx Shearwaters and lots of
storm petrels. Finally we spotted a blow, probably
from a fin whale about a mile from us so we headed
there but were unable to find the whale again.
The totals for today were: 1 whale(unknown
species), 1 Ocean Sunfish, 5 Manx Shearwaters,
10 Greater Shearwaters, 20 Cory's shearwaters
and 50 Wilson's Storm Petrels.
