| Monday, October 20, 2002
 Minke Whale Entangled, Skeleton Acquired!
The Whale Center of New England has now acquired a second whale skeleton for eventual display - that of a 17 foot long minke whale found dead in Gloucester Harbor. It was floating belly-up, and had sustained some damage from scavengers. The whale was badly entangled in lobster gear, with a lobster pot buoy next to the animal, and lobster line that ran below the carcass anchoring it in place.
A necropsy was performed to determine whether the entanglement took place while the whale was still alive, or whether the carcass drifted into the gear after its death.
Monday, September 23, 2002
Humpback Whales Return
What a change a week can bring! After not having humpback whales around for several months, we have had a significant influx of young humpbacks in the waters right off of Gloucester. These animals appear to be here to feed on krill, as they started to do last fall at about the same time of year. Interestingly, some of the same whales which appeared at this time last year appear to be back again, probably looking for a similar food source. This year, however, they are unusually close to shore. We have not been more than 7 miles outside of Gloucester in several days.
While there are a number of animals we do recognize, there are several we do not. Perhaps these are new whales; perhaps they are merely catalog animals that we merely did not recognize in the field. We have seen only one adult (Shards, an 11 year old male) in this group, while the rest of the whales are 1-3 year old animals.
Fin whales are also abundant in the same areas, but we have not seen any of our exciting blue whales in almost 2 weeks now. Whales we have seen that we know include Bombay, Buzzard, Kappa, and Shards.
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
 Blue Whales Still Here
Blue whales! A small number of the largest animals on earth have been seen almost daily for the past week in our area (read local coverage). While we have had a small number of past sightings of blue whales transiting through our area, we have never seen more than one at a time, and we have never seen them stay here for more than one day. Now, however, there are at least two, and possibly three, whales that we have seen on more than one day each. Note the three images below capturing the surfacing of a blue whale, from blow (spout exhalation) to dorsal fin, swimming right to left.
One of the whales is a 'small' blue whale ('only' about 65 feet long), while we also have at least one very large adult in the area as well. The whales have been feeding during most of our sightings. Blue whales usually eat krill or other 'euphasiids' (small crustaceans), and we suspect that is what they are feeding on here as well.
In addition, more fin whales and several humpbacks also seem to be feeding on the same krill patches; in the past several days we have had several feeding humpbacks, including Nile. This is the first time since mid-July we have started to see humpbacks on a regular basis. However, sightings over the past several weeks from our staff also show that the majority of the humpbacks remain in the Great South Channel. Other humpback seen over the past week include Beacon, Falcon, Loon, Reaper, and possibly Pox, as well as several unidentified juveniles.
Monday, September 9, 2002
Blue Whales Visit!
We have seen many species of whales during our many years of field work here in North Atlantic waters, but only a few times previously have we seen the largest of all whale species, the endangered Blue Whale. But in recent days we have seen at least two, maybe as many as four blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). There is one rather small individual and another that is noticeably longer. Adult females are known to have exceeded 100 feet in length. Photographic analysis of body markings will reveal whether there are more than two here.
The whales have been sub-surface feeding on krill, their preferred prey worldwide, and typically surface with expanded pleats while filtering water out of the mouth. Capable of eating prodigious amounts prey on a daily basis, the whales are probably going to stay within study range only so long as there is food available to keep their appetites satisfied.
We will continue to post information, and we will soon provide images as well. Stay tuned for more updates.
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
August is winding down, and it has mainly been a month of fin whales on Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge. Humpbacks continue to be abundant in the Great South Channel, but relatively scarce in our area, although we have had a few juveniles (including Arlington, the 1999 calf of Furrows) wandering through.
Fin whales have been seen regularly, and we are getting some amazingly good looks at them. Their feeding appears to be not on fish, but rather on krill or some other euphasiid, as their "poops" appear bright orange or red, which reflects the outer skeleton of their invertebrate prey. It has given us a chance to get some good data on fin whale movements and behavior, and we have even documented a calf being weaned in mid-August.
In addition to the fin whales, there have been other exciting sightings - most notable was a blue whale off Cape Cod only two weeks ago! In addition, we have seen pilot whales repeatedly, including an albino calf - the second we have recorded (watch for photos of it soon).
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Fin whales have constituted the majority of our sightings over the past ten days, although humpbacks seem to be coming and going. We have had a number of fin whales, several of which are well-known animals, living just outside of Gloucester Harbor! Our views of this second largest of all the whales have been amazing, and while we miss having the humpbacks here, this has presented a great opportunity to collect data on the behavior and movements of this lesser-studied species. We have had more consistent sightings of cow-calf pairs than ever, and have even had a number of close approaches from fin whale calves.
As for humpbacks, Satula, Flask, and Owl have been moving in and out from Jeffreys Ledge; yesterday we had Whisk, Chimney, and possibly Tigris passing through, but they kept moving throughout the day. We know that most of the humpbacks are still down in the Great South Channel, but hope that they will move closer to us sometime in the near future.
Pilot whales have also been seen in the past few days, and we have even seen Atlantic White-sided Dolphins inside Gloucester Harbor!
Thursday, July 4, 2002
Jeffreys Ledge has been the 'happening' spot for the majority of the past two weeks. Most of the whales which had been feeding on the eastern side of Stellwagen and Tillies banks have moved out, most likely down to the Great South Channel. However, the herring prey base on Jeffreys Ledge has drawn in a number of humpbacks, several of which have been resident for up to 3 weeks now!
The feeding there is quite different than it is on Stellwagen, since herring live well below the surface. Often we will see the whale come up filtering water out of its mouth, holding the prey in. As it spends time on the surface, bubbles will rise up some 30 seconds later in the spot where the whale first surfaced. It is really interesting to see how these animals can change their behavior so quickly to adapt to the prey base!
In the past few days, we have also seen some adult whales that appear to be coming from the Channel, moving through Stellwagen. Mothers seen include Cardhu, Sickle, and Trident; other whales include Flask, Hercules, Leukos, Milky Way, Owl, Pinball, Shockwave, and possibly Knuckles. There have also been several fin whale mother-calf pairs present, and an unusually high number of basking sharks, indicating the presence of large plankton patches.
Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Things continue to be very interesting, as humpback whales are moving up and down the eastern edge of the areas where we typically work. Shortly after the last update, whales moved south, and for several days we were only seeing fin and minke whales. Then the humpbacks reappeared, although not in the concentration that we had been seeing. We did get good looks at Binary and her new calf over the past weekend, and there were several other humpbacks in the area. Similarly, whales have been seen feeding on the to the east of southern Stellwagen Bank, where they had been seen before coming into our area originally. Jeffreys Ledge is also coming alive with activity, and there are at least five humpbacks on its southern edge as of today.
Also noteworthy is the appearance of small sand eels in the stomachs of fish caught in the areas where whales have been feeding. Hence, it appears that the whales are feeding on their typical prey for this area, but why the prey is in an unusual spot remains an open question.
We have also made several matches to individual whales we have not seen in a long time. Clover has made its first appearance in 17 years, and Flex the first in 16. Dianna Schulte, who works with Blue Oceans, has also sent us photos of Bracket, who has not been seen since 1992. Where have these whales been all these years? Stem, the 1977 calf of Istar, has made its first appearance in the area in many years, although he has been seen regularly off of Nova Scotia during that period.
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
What an interesting spring! We've gone through a long period during May and early June with few humpbacks around, but lots of fin whales and, more surprising, lots of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. We typically see lots of dolphins during April and early May, after which they move offshore. They are usually quite uncommon during most of May and June. This year, however, we were seeing them on almost a daily basis! They were often right near the fin whales, and on many days the two species were clearly associating with each other. If you just followed the dolphin group, the fin whale(s) would come up right with them very consistently.
Also surprising was the location of the whales. Rather than being on Stellwagen Bank or Jeffreys Ledge, they were in deep water trenches between the two shallow areas, in an area where we rarely see whales at all. In early June though, our numbers of fin whales started to drop. As they did so, though, a large group of humpback whales appeared on the northeastern side of Cape Cod! These animals probably moved in from the Great South Channel (SW corner of George's Bank). They didn't stay in that area very long; instead, they moved up along the eastern side of Stellwagen (actually, quite a ways east of the bank) to the northern edge of the bank. While they have been moving to some extent, they have been somewhat stationary for the better part of a week.
This is a huge group of adult humpbacks; in a single all-day survey on June 5, we counted a minimum of almost 75 whales! Surface feeding has been almost a daily occurrence, with whales rushing around in aggregations of 30-50 humpbacks. Most surprising about these whales is their prey. 'Our' whales usually feed on sand lance (or sand eels); now, however, they appear to be eating very small (approximately 2" long) silver fish that are likely to be in the herring family. In addition to the whales near the northern end of the bank, there are now also whales along the eastern side of the southern edge of the Bank.
Some of the whales seen have been quite surprising-we have seen the whale named Flex for the first time since 1986! Mother-calf pairs have been frequent; among the mothers we have identified are Bilbo, Cardhu, Giraffe, Lynx, Moray, Onyx, Palette, Scratch, Sickle, Star (first sighting in five years), Trident, and Zeppelin. The list of other whales we have identified is very long, but includes Barb, Ember, Filament, Glo, Iris, Mars, Mural, Porcupine, Regulus, Rocker, Sabre, Salt, Stub, Sundog, Sword, Tear, and many others.
Saturday, May 4, 2002; Earth Day Whale Watch
 The Earth Day Whale Watch was a huge success again this year! We started by exploring the northwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, but not finding anything there, we continued south until we spotted one traveling fin whale. We started to wonder if this year would measure up to Earth Day whale watches of the past few years, which have all been outstanding in their own way. We continued down the Bank and came across a large pod of dolphins, jumping and riding in the wake of the boat. The water was calm and clear, giving beautiful looks at the dolphins alongside the boat.
 We then headed to reports of a humpback whale close to Cape Cod and found Reaper, an adult female, actively feeding in only 60 feet of water! She has a spectacular feeding style; she brings her tail high in the air and kicks the surface twice before diving and blowing bubbles in a half moon shape. She then comes up with her mouth just closing around thousands of small fish. We think that her kicks stun the fish at the surface and the bubbles help to corral them into a tighter group, allowing Reaper to catch more in a single mouthful. Once she comes up, she swims with her head just above the surface and water streaming out of her mouth as she filters the water for fish with her baleen. We call this behavior "dragging" and sometimes birds actually land on her head while she drags (see photo)!
 After getting great looks at Reaper, we moved towards the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, where we found five fin whales and more dolphins. The fin whales were spread out in the area, but we stayed with one individual that started to feed. It repeatedly lunged at the surface, turned on its side with its mouth wide open. Several times it lunged right next to the boat, giving all of the passengers amazing looks at the baleen in the mouth and the throat pleats, (folds in the skin) that stretch from its lower jaw down to its stomach. When the fin lunged, those pleats expanded three or four times their normal size, just like a large balloon, to let water and fish into the mouth. When it filters the water for fish, pushing it out of both sides of the mouth, those pleats shrink back to their normal size. The water was so clear, that we could see it under the surface a split second before it came up, allowing all of us to train our cameras in exactly the right spot!
 Once the fin whale finished with its feeding activity, it joined with two other fins, then three, then four until all five fin whales were swimming side by side at the surface. In addition, the Atlantic white-sided dolphins were surfacing amongst the large whales, giving an amazing look at the difference in size of whales. The dolphins are only 7-9 feet long, versus the fin whales that are 60-70 feet in length!
When we finally had to head back towards Gloucester, everyone aboard was tired from all the excitement, but had a smile on their face from memories of the once-in-a-lifetime experience they had all had. The Earth Day Whale Watch continues its tradition of being one of the best trips of the year!
Monday, May 6, 2002
Reaper was seen on the Earth Day whale watch doing some spectacular kick-feeding only two miles from Cape Cod. She repeatedly brought her tail high in the air to slam it down on the surface, stunning the fish at the surface. She then blew bubbles in order to corral her prey and came up just closing her mouth, trapping hundreds of sand eels in each mouthful. She then swam for several minutes with her head lifted in the air, a behavior we call "dragging", while water streamed through her baleen and out either side of her mouth. We had extraordinary looks at her unique feeding style!
We also saw Geometry on our Earth Day Whale Watch in the same area as a pod of dolphins and at least five fin whales. All of the whales were moving back and forth, most likely feeding beneath the surface of the water.
Bilbo and calf were seen several times on Stellwagen Bank in the last week. Bilbo is one of our largest females, making her new calf look particularly small as it swims beside her. Bilbo's calf has been active at the surface several times; it has been seen both lobtailing and tail breaching, giving whale watchers quite a treat!
Monday, April 22, 2002
 The 2002 season has gotten off to an exciting start. We did our first trip to Stellwagen on April 1, and were amazed to find about a dozen feeding humpback and finback whales (see image) on the southern portion of the bank! It really looked like a mid-summer aggregation, with open- mouthed whales everywhere you looked. Since then we have consistently been seeing feeding humpbacks and fin whales; some of the fin whale lunge feeding we have seen has been spectacular. Atlantic white-sided dolphins have also been appearing daily, usually around the feeding whales.
Also noteworthy has been the presence of a number of highly endangered northern right whales. While boats cannot approach right whales within 500 yards, our special research permit does allow us to approach closer for individual identification. We were delighted to spot female #1240 with her young calf on April 17. Because right whales are so endangered, it is special to see a mother-calf pair at any point. We were also able to help the Center for Coastal Studies attempt to disentangle adult male #1424. 1424 has been sighted sporadically since it was first seen carrying a lot of rope around its body off of Florida in February. On the 17th, the whale was sighted during an aerial survey; we were then asked to stand by the whale until the disentanglement team could get on scene. By the time they got there it was late in the day, and a sudden squall that came through the area hampered the efforts of the Center's team. While they were able to attach a buoy with a radio tag to the fishing gear that was dragging behind the gear, it fell off during the night. We look forward to working with the Center staff to continue efforts to save the life of this special animal.
 Wednesday, April 17, 2002
We went out to Stellwagen Bank on our research vessel, Silver II, and found a right whale mother/calf pair (see image at right). Due of strict government regulations, we can't get close enough to photo-identify them while we are working on public whale watch boats. But since we were on Silver II and have a permit to get close enough for photos on that boat, we got really good looks. We sent the pictures to the New England Aquarium, who maintains a catalog of identifying photos of Northwest Atlantic right whales. They identified them as a mother/calf pair ("Baldy" and her calf, image below) that has not been sighted up her in the North, just in the Southeast wintering area.
 While we were with them, we got a call about an entangled right whale northeast of the Bank. We headed right to it and stood by the right whale for over two hours until the Center for Coastal Studies boat, R/V Shearwater, with the disentanglement team arrived. The team included former Whale Center staff scientist David Morin who went out in the inflatable. We stayed for an hour or so watching the disentanglement team, until we were getting low on light and fuel and headed in. The team managed to put a telemetry buoy on the trailing line, but it apparently did not attach successfully.
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