This morning we headed to the southwest corner where whales had last been sighted on Sunday’s 5:30 trip. We were in luck!  Before I even finished talking about how to spot for whales we spotted a number of blows.

Osprey kick feeding

There were a few other whale watch boats in the area, as well as a number of humpbacks and fin whales, so decided to spend our time looking at a whale that popped up pretty close to the boat. This turned out to be Osprey, who was first seen in 2007. Osprey certainly did not disappoint. He was lunge feeding, bubble feeding, kick feeding, and even gave us a full breach off the port pulpit!

Fin whale

In addition to this amazing display, we had two fin whales close by who bubble fed and lunge fed multiple times. We also had a fin whale come right off our starboard side and give all of our guests a great look at the chevron pattern on its side. This whale was traveling as part of a pair and slowed down enough for us to really get a good look at their size.

Curious gray seal

Additionally, we spotted a gray seal, which first looked like the fin of a basking shark he was staying at the surface so long! We headed back into Boston with a happy crowd in spite of the swells.

Open-mouth feeding, Provincetown in the background

On the 1:30 pm we headed to the same area but ended up a little further west as a result of earlier reports. As we came towards Provincetown there were again spouts everywhere. We ended up watching a mother and calf. Mom was very relaxed, taking her time while feeding and letting the calf do what it wanted. This included close to boat behavior that involved flipper slaps, tail slaps, rolls, and even a full breach!

Frisky flipper slaps from a calf

While calf fluked multiple times, giving us great photos, mom did not.  I got a glimpse and that, paired with her dorsal, made me pretty sure it was Nile.

Nile and her calf

Nile's calf's fluke

Later on, after we had moved off these guys, one of the other boats confirmed that it was Nile. While we were hanging out with Nile and her calf there were at least 3 other groups, one with 3 humpbacks, one with 2 humpbacks, and one with 2 fins, in addition to a couple of single whales here and there.

While Nile and her calf never joined with the other groups they did get close enough for us to get some decent shots of the members of the other groups. Among these was Yoo Hoo (in the group of three) and Geometry (in the group of two). Yoo Hoo’s group gave us the treat of doing some awesome open mouth feeding through their bubble rings. We also had a great pair of fin whales stop us on our way out and exhibited a couple of synchronized surfacings and dives.

All in all, a great day!

Happy Memorial Day!

Annie Wolf