June 22nd and 23rd 2011

This week continued to be great for whale sightings! Both trips on the 22nd and 23rd had the opportunity to show passengers a number of different whales.

It was another beautiful, sunny summer day on Wednesday the 22nd. The waters were calm and the skies were clear. Once the whale watch ventured offshore, passengers had the chance to see three different humpback whales! The first sighting was of two male humpbacks named Gemini and Viper! These two humpback whales were spending a good amount of time at the surface taking several breaths and then lifting their large tails or flukes of the water in order to dive.

Gemini

Gemini diving with Viper at the surface

Soon after watching these two humpbacks, the whale watch came across another familar whale, Triton, a individual we've been seeing since 1981 and first sighted on Stellwagen Bank which is off the coast of Massachusetts. This was our first sighting of Triton this season. Since we tend to see this whale often, it has become one of our Adopt-a-Whales!

When coming back in from the 2nd trip, the boat witnessed an interesting interaction between two male harbor seals. It was a battle royal at the head of the harbor! These two were fighting. Males can become very agressive, especially as mating season approaches. It was quite a sight!




Though a bit cooler and a little choppy, the whale sightings on our two trips were still great! On the first trip we came across Gemini, traveling alone. This is not unsual to see with humpback whales. The associations between humpbacks don't usually last a lifetime, but research shows that certain females will spend almost an entire season together. After numerous looks our time grew short and we had to make our way back to Bar Harbor for the 1:00 trip.


On the second trip we covered some different territory. We first came across a finback whale, but it ended up taking a long dive. But shortly after the finback went down we spotted a humpback lobtailing in the distance. Lobtailing is when the whale takes its tail and smacks it down on the water. So we decided to investigate. On the way, we found a minke whale! As we came closer to where the humpback was located, one whale turned into two! As they lifted their tails in order to take a deep dive, we got a glimps of the tail markings and discovered the two whales were Triton and Viper! Triton's tail is very distinctive, due to the number of rake mark scars. These were the result of a run in with killer whales or orcas. This most likely occured when Triton was young.

Triton

While waiting for them to surface again, one of the whales breached! A very exciting behavior to witness! Overall, a great day on the water!


If you want to view more photos from the 22nd and the 23rd, visit our Facebook and Flickr page!

Photos: Walter Churchill