Despite the bumpy ride we had two nice whale watches today. During our visit to Petit Manan Island in the morning we had many puffins, razorbills, and terns. One puffin and two razorbills came flying by right next to the boat for great close looks! As we ventured offshore we came across 4-5 finback whales! They were spread out, feeding on prey about 300 feet below the surface, but we managed to get some good looks.
Our afternoon trip turned out to be a memorable one for many of our passengers! While passing Egg Rock we spotted 2 bald eagles! When we reached the feeding grounds it did not take us long to find a whale. We first came across a finback whale. While watching this finback whale we saw at least a dozen gray seals and they came up very close to the boat.
This whale allowed us great looks, surfacing close to the boat! After a few nice looks we ventured off to do some more exploring. It is a good thing we did because we spotted four other blows in the distance.
As we approached a whale suddenly breached, jumping clear out of the water! It was a humpback whale and it breached numerous times as we came closer.
We noticed it was quite small and soon realized it was a calf as its mother surfaced nearby! And then we wondered......is the mother Siphon? And it WAS! We were so excited that Siphon had arrived with her 5th calf!
Siphon is a female humpback we've been seeing in our area almost every year since 1988! We can identify humpbacks by looking at the unique markings underneath the fluke or tail. Like a fingerprint each tail pattern is different. This type of whale research was pioneered at Allied Whale, a non-profit marine mammal research group based out of Bar Harbor, in the 1970's. Over time we started naming whales, based on their tail patterns. This less invasive research allows marine scientists to track their migration routes and learn a great deal about their life history.
Siphon's calves have been known to be very active. This one certainly was! It continued to breach and lobtail numerous times! Siphon's 4th calf was born in the winter of 2007 and its name is Egret. Next spring will give us the chance to name this calf.
We observed 2 finbacks that surfaced nearby as well as many different sea birds including 2 jagers! Northern Fulmars, northern gannets, shearwaters, and petrels were some of the other species we saw. But we were so excited that Siphon returned and we hope see her and her calf throughout the season!
