This morning’s 10 am whale watch on the Aurora started with a humpback whale in Boston Harbor!

Juvenile whale in Boston Harbor

The 9 am whale watch also observed this juvenile whale near Logan Airport.  By the time we headed out the whale was near Deer Island and there were three Massachusetts Environmental Police boats nearby to monitor the whale and keep small recreational boats away from the animal. Laura was on the trip with me and was able to get a photo of the whale fluking near Deer Island.

Finback whales are the only asymmetrically-colored mammals in the world!

We observed for a short time and decided to head to the north portion of Stellwagen Bank, where we found a deep feeding finback whale. The passengers got great looks at the bright white jaw of the finback and the unique chevron pattern on the side of the animal that is unique to each individual (this is the only asymmetrically colored mammal – the left side of the finback is a darker grey).  See the attached photo of the finback’s right side (you can see the white lower jaw, as well as the swirling grey chevron on the side).  An exceptionally rare and exciting start to the day!

On the Aurora's 3 pm whale watch, we did not see the humpback in the harbor and continued to the north portion of Stellwagen Bank. We started off with great looks at two to three minke whales and moved on to observe a single deep feeding humpback that was staying close to the boat and giving the passengers great looks! There was also a second humpback and a single finback whale in the distance.  Finally some great weather and in perfect time for the holiday.

Overall, a great day and looking forward to more soon!

-- Christine Palmeri