SOCKEYE - is named for a deformity of his jaw that mimics the Sockeye Salmon. Sockeye's smaller upper jaw actually fits down inside his huge lower jaw, creating a whale-sized underbite! Sockeye was first sighted in 1984, and has grown into a healthy adult male. His odd jaw has definitely not impaired his feeding ability!

June - Humpbacks were scarce throughout the Spring this year. It wasn't until mid-June that we finally had a report of one of our adoption whales being sighted. Friends from the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, MA reported seeing Sockeye throughout the week of June 17th in an area called the "Triangle", located off of the tip of Cape Cod. For most of the time that he was observed, he was alone and feeding. Later in the week Sockeye joined up with a large female named Sod.

July - During our overnight excursion to the Great South Channel on July 16 & 17, we were surprised to find Sockeye traveling alone in an area with no other whales. This is very reminiscient of our sighting last year. We don't know why Sockeye seems to be such a loner, but it was still nice to see the big guy. This was CORE's first official sighting of Sockeye for the year!

August - Sockeye has been sighted by our staff several times this month, feeding on the southern end of Stellwagen. As soon as we have more detailed information, we will let you know!

OWL - named for two black dots on either side of her tail, resembling owls' eyes. Owl was first sighted as a calf in 1986 with her mother, Falco. Owl gave birth to her first calf in 1993, and her second in 1998.

March - Our friends from the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown reported an exciting sighting during a survey to locate right whales on March 26th.  On the southern portion of Stellwagen Bank, JIB, Owl's 1998 calf, and another juvenile humpback approached their vessel and was curious for a short period of time. This is the earliest sighting of an adoption whale family member that we've ever had!

June & July - Unfortunately, no sightings of Owl or her extended family have been reported yet this year. One of our associates, Michelle Anderson, has reported that there are over 100 humpbacks feeding in the Northeast area of George's Bank, 180 miles from land! As it's very likely that Owl is out there, being such a social individual, we're hoping that she heads inshore soon.

August - Owl returns! Owl was sighted on the 2nd on Jeffrey's Ledge with a brand new calf! While Owl never fluked during the whole time we observed her, there was no mistaking the unfortunate scar on her back.We were excited to see Owl and her new calf bubble-cloud feeding at the surface on the western side of Jeffrey's Ledge. This was the best feeding that we have observed this year on the Ledge, as it seems the herring is really low in abundace.  Owl's calf is at the age where they will begin feeding on prey, in addition to nursing. It was amusing to watch the calf take advantage of the bubbles that Owl had blown to trap the fish. While it was apparent that the calf was beginning to eat fish, it also still wanted to nurse and wasn't about to let her forget it. Even during the most intense lung-feeding, the calf attempted to nurse when Owl was traveling on the surface, presumably to the next school of herring! Fortunately late in the day, the calf finally fluked, showing us an almost completely white tail. The picture we obtained will ensure that this calf is given a name in the Spring!

SHARK - is named for the black markings on the tip of the right side of her tail that resemble the profile of a shark's face. Shark was first sighted as a calf in 1983 with her mother, Apex. Shark has had four calves.

June - Although we had no sightings of Shark this month, Apex was sighted with a new calf on the Southern portion of Stellwagen Bank by friends at the Center for Coastal Studies. As most of the whales have been on the southern end of the bank this summer, we are fortunate that we have colleagues that are willing to share sightings from areas that we cannot reach on a half-day trip!

July - The first sighting of Shark and her brand new calf (!) was reported by Dianna Schulte of the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation on July 10th. Shark and calf were sighted on the Northern end of Stellwagen traveling towards Jeffrey's Ledge. Sadly, Shark and her calf must have taken a detour, as that was the only sighting of them so far this summer. Stay tuned for pictures of Shark's calf!

On the 31st of July, friends from Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises reported seeing Shark and her calf traveling with two adults, Squiggle and Sigma, up in the Bay of Fundy off of Nova Scotia! Now we know where Shark was headed earlier this month!

BADGE - is named for the black markings on the left side of the tail that look like a badge on a military uniform. Badge was first sighted in the feeding area off of Gloucester in 1987 - small at the time, he was probably a calf in 1986.

June & July - Unfortunately, no sightings of Badge have been reported this year as of yet. With his associates Pinball, Satula, Hornbill & Flask showing up in the past couple of weeks on Jeffrey's Ledge, we're hoping that it's only a matter of time before he makes an appearance. We'll let you know as soon as we hear something!

August - No reports of Badge sightings have been made yet this year. Sightings of humpbacks on Jeffrey's Ledge (one of Badge's "local haunts") have been unusually low this season. In the past several years, it has been common for humpbacks to show up on the Northern end of the ledge during early August. Unfortunately, the reports from associates closer to that area haven't been good. Our friends from Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises have reported many humpbacks in the Bay of Fundy this year, as herring in that area has been plentiful. Many of the individuals reported up that way are whales that we see on Jeffrey's Ledge, so it's possible that Badge is feeding in that area. We'll let you know if we hear anything!