Sunday June 29, 2025

2 species of cetaceans and hundreds of pelagic birds, but way too many balloons

A great way to start our 30th season with 75-100 Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins, a finback whale, and lots of pelagic birds. Today's trip was a nice way to beat the heat and see wildlife. Our first encounters were with several groups of Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops erebennus), as many as 5-6 groups totaling 75-100 individuals, including some moms and calves in the near shore waters west of Montauk. There were also a few Great shearwaters (Ardenna gravis) and Cory’s Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis). We eventually decided to head southward (offshore). Things were quiet, with a few shearwaters and storms petrels, as we traveled, we reached an area where the ocean became alive with birds, bait, and ultimately a baleen whale.  We were in 170’ of water, with prey from the bottom to the surface. We knew we were in the right spot and eventually saw the characteristic 20-foot blow of a finback whale (Balaenoptera physalus). What a pleasure it was to find this majestic, fast, and sleek individual. Finback whales are the 2^nd largest animal. We watched it for about 30 minutes before making our way back to the dock. This was our 110^th consecutive trip (since 2019) finding cetaceans. While we never guarantee it, we do our best to find them and have been doing it longer than any other group in the NY Bight.

Totals:

• 75-100 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
• 1 finback whale (~55-60 feet long)
• Great shearwaters
• Cory’s shearwaters
• Sooty shearwaters
• Wilson’s storm petrels

Unfortunately, just about every direction we looked, we saw balloons on the surface of the water.  We scooped up as many as we could but didn’t have the time to grab more.  The ones we removed were graduation celebratory balloons. Come on folks – stop buying and releasing balloons, they are killers.

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Monday, June 30, 2025

Another successful trip!!
Our second trip of the season started out in a thick layer of fog that quickly enveloped the point despite clearer skies at the dock. Excitement onboard though was palpable like the mist consuming the region. Despite the limited visibility, passengers were afforded close-up views of a variety of pelagic birds including Cory’s, Great, and Sooty shearwaters, along with flocks of the small but mighty Wilson’s storm petrels. Our captain wisely steered us into deeper waters with the hope that there, the fog would lift, and that it did!  As if a switch was suddenly flipped, the skies cleared to nearly unlimited visibility at which point, a small pod of dolphins was spotted off the starboard bow. At first the pod was tricky to find again, but then several other small pods were observed around the vessel. We spent some time here, enjoying some good looks at porpoising and playful Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins before continuing southwest in hopes of finding larger cetaceans. It took some time, but eventually a large spout belonging to a finback whale was observed about a half a mile away. With bait detected along the bottom, this whale was likely feeding, spending little time at the surface and long stretches underwater. Observing finback (fin) whales can be tricky because they are incredibly sleek and fast. In 6-8 minutes time, they can move ¼ mile away from where last observed. We had some far-off views, but others close enough to see the body and the characteristic fin. The blow itself is also impressive and was exciting to behold. As we headed back to port, we encountered a beautiful flock of sooty shearwaters, mixed with Great and Cory’s and more Wilson storm petrels along the way. More views of porpoising bottlenose and at least one seal were enjoyed as the sun set beautifully over the water.
Our season is only just beginning and every trip is unique. Come out and see why we have been doing this for 30 years!

• 150-200 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
• 1 finback whale
• 1 seal of unknown species
• 30-50 great shearwaters
• 50-60 Cory’s shearwaters
• 8-12 Sooty shearwaters
• 80-120 Wilson storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Our 3rd trip of the 2025 season was the 1st time in a while that we didn’t find a baleen whale. It was a great trip nonetheless! The earlier rain/drizzle and dense fog gave way to incredible unlimited visibility. We were all ready to encounter cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), as well as pelagic birds. We had reports, but had a planned route to head to where we’d seen that finback whale one 6/29 and 6/30.

As we headed out, we encountered a small pod of about 20 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins, along with a few Great Shearwaters and Cory’s Shearwaters.  In a short while, we encountered another group of about 50-75 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins, as well as more shearwaters, and Wilson’s Storm Petrels. The area offshore where days before we found the whale and loads of bait fish throughout the water column (surface to 170 feet) not productive.  We headed closer to shore and ultimately came across a massive aggregation of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins. We watched as several pods joined together repeatedly top interact and feed. Captain Dave Marmeno told us that the bait profile on the sonar was indicative of squid, and lots of it. These dolphins were spending a lot of time beneath the surface, most likely feeding on those deep squid.We saw moms and calves, adults, juveniles. It was a pleasure to watch. Eventually we had to head back to the dock and a few saw a seal just of Gin Beach.  Please note that as members of the Whale SENSE system, we are committed to responsible whale watching and will always abide by the constraints of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and never harass, chase, or disturb them. 

• 250-300 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
• Great shearwaters
• Cory’s shearwaters
• Sooty shearwaters
• Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Friday, July 4, 2025

Happy Independence Day! For our fourth trip on the Fourth (say that five times fast!), we set sail under sunny skies and excellent sea conditions. Our first cetacean encounter occurred quickly with a small pod of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins as we steamed passed the lighthouse. We spent some time observing this group of approximately a dozen dolphins before continuing in search of other species. We headed towards an area where humpback whales were seen a day prior, not far from where also observed a fin whale on previous trips. Despite near unlimited visibility and calm seas, no baleen whales were found. Instead, we enjoyed nice views of Cory’s and great shearwaters along with sporadic sightings of Wilson’s storm petrels. We also stopped a few times to pick-up multiple batches of mylar balloons which otherwise kill marine life (especially sea turtles) when ingested. About six miles off Napeague, we encountered another pod of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins. This aggregation was larger than the first with multiple small pods and one large pod of 40-60 individuals surrounding the vessel affording everyone outstanding views. Some of the dolphins were tail-slapping, a form of non-vocal communication which could also serve as a hunting mechanism to stun prey. With little bait detected, however, these displays were most likely interactive. We stayed in neutral as the dolphins surrounded the vessel, when suddenly a group of at least 12-16 simultaneously surged to the surface to the delight of those of us onboard. Other synchronized leaps followed before we continued north and east towards Montauk. Another small group of Tamanend’s was observed on our return. What a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July! Please note that as members of the Whale SENSE system, we are committed to responsible whale watching and will always abide by the constraints of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and never harass, chase, or disturb them. 
 

• 120-140 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
• 30-40 Cory’s shearwaters
• 6-8 great shearwaters
• 10-12 Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Sunday, July 06, 2025

We found our first humpbacks (and common dolphins) of the season!

Yesterday was a beautiful day to be out on the water and sightings began early with a gray seal in the harbor upon departure. We first headed south to an area where whales were reported to be the day prior, but despite significant bait detected beneath the surface, no whales were found. Sporadic sightings of Cory’s and great shearwaters kept us entertained while we continued east in our search towards a second area where whales were also reported, but at first, it seemed as if the whales had moved away. Then, a blow! Upon investigation, it was found to belong to MTK119 (also known as Loon in the Gulf of Maine catalog*), a humpback whale previously documented by CRESLI off Montauk in 2022 and 2023. We spent some time alongside this whale before investigating two other blows about a quarter mile away. As we did, a pod of short-beaked common dolphin charged toward our vessel to the sheer delight of those onboard. Surrounded by dolphins, we now had views of the second humpback, MTK141 (known as Celebration in the Gulf of Maine catalog*), who was previously seen off Montauk in 2023 and 2024, making this the third consecutive year we observed this humpback in our waters. In fact, MTK141 is quite familiar to CRESLI having been sighted eleven times over three months in 2024! There were two other humpbacks in the area, but the whales were diving for about six minutes at a time and not feeding cooperatively so it was difficult to reach the other two while observing the ones closest to us. Viking and CRESLI are proud participants of WhaleSENSE, a voluntary program promoting responsible and ethical whale watching and we do not transit with whales below until we know they are safely away from the vessel. We used this time wisely though, removing a mylar balloon, from the water. Common dolphins continued to approach the vessel as we eyed a navy combat ship, the USS Billings (as later determined by the hull number) in the distance. It was a very exciting and awe-inspiring day on the water and we cannot wait to get back out! Please note that as members of the Whale SENSE system, we are committed to responsible whale watching and will always abide by the constraints of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and never harass, chase, or disturb them. 

*the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog is organized and maintained by the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, MA. CRESLI proudly contributes data to this catalog.

• 3-4 humpback whales
• 60-80 short-beaked common dolphins
• 1 Atlantic gray seal
• 12-16 Cory’s shearwaters
• 4-6 great shearwaters
• 16-20 Wilson’s storm petrels

Here's a slideshow

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available soon

Monday July 7, 2025

Our 1^st 3 species day of the season!!

We left the dock ready to look for the humpback whales sighted the day before (7/6/25). We new it would take a while to get out to the zone and began looking esly and found a small pod of about 10 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins. They were nice to view, but very elusive and we continued our way.  We found a humpback whale with a highly curved dorsal fin. It was making shallow dives and rarely putting it’s flukes. Actually, it was logging most of the time, that is, essentially sleeping just at or below the surface.  Occasionally fluking and diving deep and staying down for 5-7 minutes ((the prey was 150’ down).  The time spent with this whale travelling ENE and surfacing to blow every 30 seconds while sleeping, was well worth it. Of course, we were joined out there by a pod of short-beaked common dolphins. These dolphins swam towards us, with and around us for a while as we remained out of gear.

We also encountered the typical array of pelagic birds and picked up more balloons.

This was a great trip and we are trying to ID this humpback whale . Check back with us in a few days. Please note that as members of the Whale SENSE system, we are committed to responsible whale watching and will always abide by the constraints of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and never harass, chase, or disturb them. 

• 10 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
• 12-15 Short-beaked common dolphins
• 1 Humpback whale
• 24 Great shearwaters
• 1 Cory’s shearwaters
• 22 Wilson’s storm pertrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Wednesday, July 09, 2025

On yesterday’s trip, we followed-up on some reports of whale and dolphin activity to our south. We headed out under beautiful weather conditions, exchanging cool ocean breezes for the steamy conditions left behind on land. About two miles out, we had our first cetacean encounter with a group of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin. What was first believed to be a small group of a dozen or so ended up being 30-40 individuals swimming around the vessel. Everyone got great looks at the pod(s) before steaming our way south. Eventually we got into an area that was ripe with bird activity; Cory’s and great shearwaters, along with common tern were numerous, and bait was detected from 40-50 ft to the surface. This was a good area for whales, but none were yet found. So we traveled east until a large splash was detected, belonging to a kick-feeding humpback whale. This was the first of five humpbacks encountered in a thick sea of sand eels. Scores of shearwaters joined in on the feast and we enjoyed spending time on the water as whales surrounded the vessel feeding and diving on the bounty. As we left, a small pod of dolphins appeared next to the vessel to the delight of those watching from the bow. It was wonderful being in the presence of such active whales again.

Viking and CRESLI are proud members of NOAA’s Whale SENSE program promoting responsible and ethical whale watching. We do not chase or crowd the whales and keep a safe distance while observing them. Every trip is different and we never know what we will see or experience. Book your first or repeat trip with us today!

• 5 humpback whales
• 30-40 Tamanend’s dolphins
• Small pod of dolphins, likely short-beaked common dolphins
• 80-100 great shearwaters
• 40-60 Cory’s shearwaters
• 20-35 Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Friday, July 11, 2025

Wow, what a day we had on the water yesterday!

Numerous reports of whales in the area had us excitedly heading out in search of some of the humpbacks we had seen on Wednesday’s trip. But to our surprise, our transit was ‘interrupted’ by the sightings of three finback whales less than halfway to our destination. The massive whales were feeding on sand eels, with one seen lunge-feeding on its side at the surface. Fin whales are extremely fast and can travel tremendous distances in a short time, so we enjoyed watching them for a bit, before they – and we – traveled on. About twelve miles offshore, we found blows belonging to two, and then four, and then five humpback whales. All types of feeding and surface displays were observed with one humpback kick-feeding at the surface, another open-mouth feeding with excellent views of its baleen, and another breaching beyond our vessel. We spent time with these whales, while more blows were observed in the distance, and we traveled on to investigate. Again, to our surprise, two fin whales appeared in the mix, along with a minke whale, while tails of humpbacks dove in the distance. What an amazing experience! We reached the additional humpbacks and were pleased to see the tails belonged to a mom/calf pair that had been encountered on Wednesday’s trip. Humpbacks often form associated pairs while feeding and can vary in size and length, so we are always cautious to identify a pair as mom/calf without additional observation. This sighting confirmed what we believed on Wednesday to be our first humpback mom and calf pair of our 2025 season. What a wonderful way to spend a summer’s day on the water.

Every trip is different and we never know what we will see. Don’t miss the boat – book your trip today!

• 3-5 finback whales (not yet determined if additional two were same as those first encountered)
• 7-11 humpback whales
• 1 minke whale
• 80-120 Great shearwaters
• 20-30 Cory’s shearwaters

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Sunday, July 13, 202

Oh, what a trip we had- 5 species of cetaceans!!

Our 2025 season is getting better and better. Today’s trip initially brought us to a small group of ~20 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins. Quickly we began to find more groups, , and ultimately a massive aggregation of 300 individuals. We stayed with them for a while and then headed further offshore and found a zone with finback whales and their characteristic 20’ tall inverted coned-shaped blows. The water column was loaded with sand eels and the surface loaded with pelagic birds. We were able to get ID photos from about 6-8 finbacks, although we could see blows in every direction for a few miles.  After a while we decided to check out the humpbacks in the same area. Sea-nettle, Mostaza, and a few others to be ID’d were there. Sea-nettle regularly kick-feeding, the others sometimes bubble mist feeding, and occasionally open-mouth feeding.  Throughout this area we occasionally saw several minkes whales as well.

• 300 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
• 8 Finback whales
• 3-4 Humpback whales
• 3 Minke whales
• 40-60 Short-beaked common dolphins
• Hundreds of Great, Cory’s shearwaters
• 2 Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Here's a slideshow

Monday, July 14, 2025

This was a tremendous and memorable trip! We started out toward an area with heavy bait and numerous reports of cetacean activity. En route, we encountered a juvenile humpback whale that was spending brief intervals at the surface, just enough to give everyone a quick look, before we decided to move on. Within a few miles, we saw numerous spouts ahead of us, the first belonging to a finback (fin) whale, the second largest animal on Earth. While observing this endangered species, a minke whale popped up near the vessel, followed by a second blow belonging to the tiniest of minke whales, about one third the size of the adults we typically see. From there, we spent time with a group of 60-100 short-beaked common dolphins which approached our vessel and swam all around us affording everyone onboard incredible views, as well as a second fin whale in the area. Then, it was time to meet our second humpback of the day, a tail-throwing individual exhibiting long dive times (likely feeding on the incredible density of bait detected beneath us) so we continued toward a third humpback observed bubble cloud feeding ahead of us. This whale continuously produced bubble clouds (about every two minutes) around our vessel, confusing and trapping the sand eels that are in abundance here. A minke whale was seen here as well, completing an exciting spectacle of wildlife just eight miles off Montauk. A small group of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins were spotted on our return transit, wrapping up an incredible five-species cetacean day.

We never know what we will see, but it seems like this season is heating up, and these trips are truly a dream come true. Come on out with us and experience this splendor for yourself!

• 3 humpback whales
• 2 fin whales
• 3-4 minke whales
• 60-100 short-beaked common dolphins
• 12-20 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
• 60-80 great shearwaters
• 20-30 Cory’s shearwaters
• 40-60 Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Here's a slideshow

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

A spectacular afternoon with an interesting and well-known humpback whale and loads of dolphins! On a brutally warm and muggy day on land, we were already for a cooler day at sea. We headed towards the area where we’d been seeing dense patches of prey, birds, and cetaceans for the past week. The prey, and predators (cetaceans and birds) were gone. We had to pick a direction to travel, westward or eastward. We started heading west, but Captain Dave Marmeno changed his mind and turned us eastward.  That was the right move. We spent time with a large aggregation of short-beaked common dolphins. Thern we saw blows from far off and found 25-year-old Mostaza, a female humpback whale that we’d seen on our past 2 trips (and many times before). Mostaza was open-mouth feeding, each time after she closed her mouth, she would roll-over. The dolphins came over as well. This was a magical encounter that included lots of pelagic birds as well.

• 220 Short-beaked common dolphins
• 1 humpback whale
• 47 Great shearwaters
• 19 Cory’s shearwaters
• 11 Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Here's a slideshow

Friday, July 18, 2025

It was a beautiful day on the water yesterday with a refreshing breeze and cooler temperatures than those experienced earlier in the week. The whales were around and we found our first – a  humpback about seven miles off Montauk. This whale was spending long intervals beneath the surface and popping up only briefly 200-300 yards away, making for a difficult encounter. We decided to continue in hopes of finding another individual, which we did, just ahead of the first. This whale, however, was also exhibiting long dive times and surfacing far away from the vessel and after photographic investigation post-trip, turned out to be the same individual as previously encountered. With little bait detected in the area, it is likely this whale was traveling (and quickly at that) in search of food. While quite natural an observation, we realize this can be frustrating for passengers who want a closer look, so we continued on in search of others. About 15 miles off Montauk, we observed two blows, belonging to a presumed-juvenile humpback and a small finback whale. Both whales were exhibiting the same behavior as the first two, with long dive times and distance traveled between blows. With little bait detected here as well, we understood that they were also on the move, so we decided to do the same by heading west toward an area where we have encountered cetaceans previously. Here, we found between 80-100 short-beaked common dolphins who were more than happy to delight everyone on board by approaching the vessel and swimming alongside for minutes at a time, offering everyone incredible views and a truly memorable encounter. On one of their approaches, passengers could hear the dolphins communicating underwater – an amazing experience! Birders on board were happy to document three species of shearwater and a good number of Wilson’s storm petrels. The return trip along the south shore offered everyone outstanding views of Montauk’s cliffs and beaches, and its historic lighthouse and grounds.

• 2 humpback whales
• 1 finback whale
• 80-100 short-beaked common dolphin
• 50-70 great shearwaters
• 10-12 Cory’s shearwaters
• 2 sooty shearwaters
• 80-100 Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Here's a slideshow

Sunday, July 20, 2025

It was absolute cetacean heaven at sea yesterday!

We headed offshore, pausing only briefly to investigate some nearshore splashes and visible leaps, likely belonging to tuna and/or other large, predatory fish. Our transit was speckled with pelagic bird sightings, at times by the hundreds, before we encountered our first whale, a somewhat elusive humpback with long dive times and distant surfaces. While waiting, we were treated to a splendor of hundreds of short-beaked common dolphins charging towards and swam alongside the vessel, giving everyone amazing and incredible views. The very acrobatic and energetic dolphins included adults and juveniles, and the tiniest of calves which appeared, with mom, adjacent to our ship as if to show her newborn off. This made the wait between blows very easy to tolerate. We eventually gained better views of the whale, which at one point was flanked by dozens of dolphins, some of which were bow-riding the humpback! Beyond this magical spectacle, a large blow belonging to a fin whale appeared just as a minke whale sliced through the surface. In one line of sight, we had FOUR CETACEAN SPECIES, a spellbinding experience for even the most seasoned passengers (and naturalist/volunteers)! We eventually moved toward the fin whale to discover at least two additional (fin whale) blows and a second humpback. As before, this humpback was surrounded by dolphins and many others were observed charging and porpoising in the distance. The sea was ‘boiling’ with dolphins and the sky was saturated with blows, just as another minke whale popped up within view. Seabirds were everywhere and soon the fin whales came easily into view with additional blows beyond. The only downside to this whale watch was that it had to end! While we didn’t want to leave, we were comforted by the warm summer sun and the afterglow of our extraordinary time at sea as we returned to port.

Every trip is different and we never know what we are going to see. Book your first or tenth adventure with us today!

• 2-3 humpback whales
• 3-4 finback whales
• 2 minke whales
• 300-650* short-beaked common dolphins (*range reflects uncertainty of duplicate sightings during the multiple encounters)
• 200-250 great shearwaters
• 40-60 Cory’s shearwaters
• 1 sooty shearwater
• 100-200 Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Here's a slideshow

Wednesday, July, 23, 2025

What better way to celebrate World Whale and Dolphin Day than aboard another magical Viking/CRESLI whale watch! Our transit yesterday brought us southeast towards an area we dubbed “cetacean heaven” on Sunday’s trip. At first, it appeared as if the bait and the whales/dolphins had moved on with zero bird activity and no sign of life near the surface. That changed as we reached an area markedly noisier than before. Here, hundreds of great shearwaters and terns patrolled the area and we encountered our first pod of short-beaked common dolphin. The dolphins were acrobatic and inquisitive, swimming around our vessel with repeated close approaches to the delight of those onboard. Shortly after, a series of blows were observed and investigated, while repeated large splashing events occurred just beyond them. The blows belonged to at least one finback whale, while a lobtailing humpback was the source of all the splatter. The lobtailing continued with occasional tail-throws, presumably to communicate with other humpbacks in the area. This humpback then began feeding near the surface, popping up adjacent to dozens of dolphins and shearwaters, and then right next to a feeding finback whale! Everyone had great views of the action and additional blows were seen in the distance. The lobtailing seemed to work because another humpback moved in and we later investigated blows from a third humpback, which began bubble cloud feeding not far from our vessel. Sitting safely out of gear, we watched as blue water turned green reflecting its rich productivity contrasted against the bubbles produced by the feeding humpback. This humpback would then cut through the surface with its mouth (and soon belly) full of prey, as it strained out the water through hundreds of plates of baleen. Eventually, it was time to return home and transform these amazing experiences into lasting memories.

• 4-5 humpback whales
• 2 finback whales
• 120-180 short-beaked common dolphin
• 200-300 great shearwaters
• 30-40 Cory’s shearwaters
• At least 1 sooty shearwater

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Here's a slideshow

Friday, July 25, 2025

A challenging but successful day!

We left the dock expecting to escape from the heat and we did. We encountered wind and expected 4-5' seas. We found a pod of about 20-30 Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins about 1.5 nautical miles (nm) from Montauk Point. We then headed ESE, experiencing the classic "old-time rock-and- roll" of 4-5' seas for a few hours. We traveled through the area in which we'd found whales, dolphins, and pelagic birds on Monday 7/23/25. Spotting blows at distance was challenging due to all the white caps, and the wind, and waves. We searched and traveled and then at about 20 nm out, a finback whale blew 100 yards ahead of us! We could see the blows  (3 or 4 a few seconds apart, and the whale would go down for a terminal dive of 5-10 minutes, then come up 100-200 yards away. After about 30 minutes, the whale briefly surface close enough to see and attempt to photograph its right side and dorsal fin. We will compare this fin whale to the other 201 fin whales in our catalog. It was a long and challenging trip. We got back to the dock and off the vessel just as a massive thunderstorm began. Perfect timing. We head out again on Sunday

• 20-30 Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins
• 1 finback whale
• ~100 great shearwaters
• ~200 Wilson's storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Here's a slideshow

July 27, 2025
A long, but utterly unique and successful trip with finback whale mom and calf, and some dolphins!
We travelled to an area that is one of the major whale feeding areas off Montauk and found nothing. We continued ENE for a while and turned to head back on a more northerly route, and then we saw the massive blow of an adult finback whale, and a faint blow of her calf! This is a new finback whale mom/calf pair for us, and what a pair it was! The calf kept swimming under and around our bow, then mom came up close to us. We were being “mugged” by both whales. These whales stayed so close to us that we could not move. Doing this for nearly 4 decades, I (Dr. Artie Kopelman, CRESLI president and senior scientist) have never seen a fin whale mom and calf do this for nearly 30 minutes, nor had our Captain (Dave Marmeno), in his many decades of whale trips. This was special! All100+ of us on board (passengers and crew) were ecstatic. We also were visited by a pod of about 30 short-beaked common dolphins while we were headed back. We got back to the dock almost 45 minutes late- but nobody complained. 

• 2 Finback whales (mom and calf)
• 25-30 Short-beaked common dolphins
• 26 Great shearwaters
• 12 Cory’s shearwaters
• 200 Wilson’s storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

Here's a slideshow

Monday, July 28, 2025

This trip was punctuated with sightings from the start, and not limited to cetaceans. Our first-of-the-season sighting of bunker (Atlantic menhaden), an extremely important prey fish for a myriad of marine predators, kicked off our departure past the lighthouse. And not surprisingly, shortly thereafter, we encountered a large pod of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin. The pod was separated into two distinct groups, each consisting of tightly-packed individuals including adults, juveniles, and a few neonates (newborns) diving and surfacing together, with occasional tail slaps on the surface. While the sighting was invigorating, we decided to use our time wisely and continue east where baleen whales were seen on previous trips. As we transited, the sea boiled almost continuously with bait fish and occasional tuna, before the largest thing of all broke the surface behind us: a submarine! A possible spinner shark spiraled above the water while great and Cory’s shearwater and Wilson’s storm petrel sightings persisted. Our search brought us east of Block Island before returning northwest when numerous blows, belonging to at least six humpback whales, were excitedly investigated. While waiting for the whales to resurface, Bombay, a female who spent nearly the entire summer off Montauk with a calf last season breached immediately ahead of our vessel. Then the magic continued with whales popping up alongside the vessel and one particularly memorable close approach by Mostaza, the 25-year old daughter of Salt. Even more exciting? Our second mom/calf pair of the season was confirmed when Pickle, a whale encountered off Montauk three other seasons, was seen swimming closely with a calf. We saw Pickle eight times over 53 days in 2024, so knowing now that she was pregnant – and returning now as a nursing mother - speaks volumes of the nourishment this area can provide to this species. The enchantment culminated in a rare and beautiful approach by the quintet alongside our vessel, resting and breathing at the surface, affording everyone incredible views (and sounds) and ultimately wrapping up another tremendous day on the water. 
CRESLI proudly contributes to the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog curated by the Center for Coastal Studies out of Provincetown, MA. (https://coastalstudies.org/our-work/humpback-whale-research/gulf-of-maine/gom-humpback-catalog/)

• 7-8 humpbacks, including Bombay, Mostaza, Pickle and her 2025 calf, and Scylla’s 2024 calf
• 70-100 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphin
• 40-50 great shearwater
• 20-30 Cory’s shearwater
• 60-80 Wilson’s storm petrels

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Wednesday, July 30, 3025

Another challenging yet successful trip with whales and dolphins.

We headed out again to ostensibly cool off while looking for marine mammals. The relatively cooler water helped to curtain some of the brutal conditions and made things more comfortable than on land.  We had multiple reports of whales to the south and decided mot head that way. As we traveled, we found a few pelagic birds and the numbers increased moderately, Cory's shearwaters, then great shearwaters, and Wilson's storm petrels. Eventually, we saw a humpback whale dive about 350 yards ahead of us. This was a large individual, but the prey was in the upper 1/3 of the water column so the whale undertook a shallow, non-fiuking dive. We waited for the whale to resurface, but in the haze we must have missed it and after 15 minutes headed on. Our next sighting was of a massive finback whale (~75') long. After a series of blows, it dove and we waited… 15 minutes and we must have missed this one also. The water had tremendous quantities of squid (one of the prey of fin whales). We headed on, and eventually 15 minutes later and 1.3 miles from where we'd first seen the whale, it surface again swimming rapidly to the east.  
Shortly thereafter, we began to encounter hundreds of short-beaked common dolphins, then more and more- an aggregation of ~300 individuals. These were enchanting encounters.zzzzz

• 1 humpback whale
• 1 finback whale
• 300 short-beaked common dolphins
• 25 great shearwaters
• 3 Cory's shearwaters
• 230 Wilson's storm petrels

Photos to view and/or purchase to help support our work - prints, digital copies, and framed artwork available

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