Great day on the water this afternoon!

For our 1:30 pm trip we planned on going south, but quickly changed plans when we heard of some whale reports back north from some fellow whale watchers. And we had some great luck! By the time we arrived back at the NW corner in the afternoon, we had a ton of activity.

Glo-Stick and calf

We first came upon Glo-Stick and her 2014 calf! This is our first sighting of Glo-Stick this season, and I believe the first time ever she’s been seen with a calf. This would mark four generations tracked in Glo-Stick’s family tree.

Glo-Stick's fluke

Glo-Stick was born in ‘97 to Scylla, who was born to Istar in ‘81. As some of you may remember from my reports last year, Istar was found dead off the coast of New York last spring with injuries most likely from a ship strike. Glo-Stick’s famous grandmother was very productive with 11 calves in her lifetime, and estimated to be 41 years old at the time of her death.

A frisky Glo-Stick at the water's surface

Nevertheless it was great to see Glo-Stick with a calf, who surprised us with a bit of playful activity including rolling at the surface and swimming near our boat briefly. After this, Glo-Stick seemed to pick up speed while her calf milled behind her (see photo of the pair at top), and then we observed the mom bubble cloud feeding while her calf trailed behind. This calf has a lot to learn in its first year of life, so perhaps it was learning feeding techniques today.

Apostrophe's fluke

We then left the pair to find Apostrophe and Subterranean traveling/deep feeding in the area. We also got spectacular looks of many diving northern gannets chasing after prey, and to wrap-up our great afternoon, we were treated to some flipper slapping from Subterranean and a quick look of a fin whale passing through.

Northern gannet

Subterranean flipper slapping

Also a BIG special thanks to the Calvineers, Mr. Bill McWeeny (from the Adams School), and right whale researcher Amy Knowlton, who joined us today! We were very excited to have them onboard,  and they gave an outstanding presentation about their mission and the right whale Calvin. Great job!

The Calvineers with teacher Bill McWeeny and Aquarium right whale researcher Amy Knowlton

— Laura Howes