May 31, 2011

Well, we certainly had an eventful day on the water! Not only was it a beautiful, crystal clear day, we had the chance to see a great deal of wildlife. Our visit to Petit Manan started out with spotting numerous puffins sitting on the rocks, in the water, and flying in the air. Razorbills were present in good numbers, at times flying close the boat, allowing us close looks. Arctic terns filled the air as we spotted some of the researchers out on the island. Biologists with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were also on the island.



Heading offshore our eyes were glued and focused on the horizon, looking for any signs of whale activity. Suddenly, a blow was spotted in the distance. Eventually, we started spotting numerous blows, at one point we almost losting count! After a weekend of fog we were thrilled to finally see some whales, but we were not expecting to see so many!

We estimated seeing nearly 10 finback whales and 9-10 minke whales! The finbacks were feeding in groups to two and three, along with some solitary whales. Why so many? Captain Larry spotted a thick layer of bait on the fish finder. There seemed to be enough to sustain these large whales, considering a finback whale will consume nearly 6,000 pounds a fish a day!


Northern gannets were diving all around us and we sighted a few small groups of greater shearwaters. At one point, two juvenile finbacks surfaced close the boat, slowly swimming below the surface. It was amazing to have such close looks at these enormous animals! This was truly a trip to remember and our best so far this season. Trips like these make us eager to get back out on the water again!

A big thank you to Walter Churchill for these fantastic photos!