2004 July Trip Report CLICK HERE to view the report from our recent 3-day Canyons Whale and Bird Trip! Week ending 01 August 2004 - Another week of surprises and changes this past week! Fin whales and minke whales were the most often sighted species again - with visits from humpbacks on Monday and Tuesday to start the week off! Monday afternoon we saw old-time favorite humpback whale, Fringe, traveling by herself. The next day - in celebration of our Yankee Spirit Captain's birthday - an unidentified humpback mother and her calf were seen! The calf spent most of its time rolling around and showing curiosity toward our boat - poking his little head up out of the water to get a better view! A most wonderful sighting for sure Including the unknown mother, there have been 15 new calves sighted so far this season! Other mothers sighted** were: Apostrophe, Appaloosa, Carbon, Columbia, Dome, Dusky, Freckles, Glo, Milkyway, Onyx, Palette, Rune, Scribble and Ursa. Birdwise, sightings have been fairly consistent. We're seeing Wilson's storm-petrels, a few Greater shearwaters, and several Common terns. We've also been seeing Common Eiders and Bonaparte's gulls primarily inshore. Sightings of Greater black-backed gulls, Ring-billed gulls, Herring gulls and Double-crested cormorants remain consistent. Many Snowy and Great Egrets, Canada Geese and a couple pairs of Mute Swans are also still being observed in our marsh area Week ending 25 July 2004 - What to say...A week of ups and downs whale- and weather-wise. Fog was fairly prevalent and caused us to cancel quite a few of our trips this week. Whale sightings were good some trips, not so great on other trips. Very very unpredictable these creatures! We had several days where we saw several whales (primarily fin whales and minke whales) on the morning trip, but by the afternoon they weren't there at all or had shifted many miles away! The only causes we can suggest are odd weather patterns which are affecting the production of the whales' prey - the small baitfish like herring, mackerel and sand eels, which, in turn, forces the whales to move around to find sufficient prey. We also sighted a couple of harbor seal pups in our area this past week. They are weaned after only 6 weeks or so, and sometimes the pups will wander far offshore in search of food! Very cute! Birdwise, sightings have been fairly consistent. We're seeing Wilson's storm-petrels, a few Greater shearwaters, and several Common terns. There have also been some Least terns sighted on our trips to Jeffrey's Ledge. We've also been seeing Common Eiders and Bonaparte's gulls primarily in Gloucester Harbor. The more common birds like the Greater black-backed gulls, Ring-billed gulls, Herring gulls and Double-crested cormorants remain consistent. Many Snowy and Great Egrets, Canada Geese and a couple pairs of Mute Swans are also being observed in our marsh areaWeek ending 18 July 2004 - This week belonged to the fin whales and minkes! Less than ideal weather early in the week brought quite a few cancellations, but we ended with some very beautiful, calm days - which always are a welcome addition to our trips! Though we haven't been seeing humpback whales on a regular basis, we've received some reports from the fishing vessel, the Yankee Capts, that there are quite a number of humpback whales just southeast of Cape Cod. In the past, we've done overnight trips to this particular area called the Great South Channel. We're hoping to organize a trip there in early September. Be sure to e-mail us if you're interested in possibly participating! Birdwise, sightings have still been up and down depending on the day. We're seeing Wilson's storm-petrels, a few Greater shearwaters, and several Common terns. We've also been seeing Common Eiders and Bonaparte's gulls, primarily in Gloucester Harbor. The more common birds like the Greater black-backed gulls, Ring-billed gulls, Herring gulls and Double-crested cormorants remain consistent. Many Snowy and Great Egrets, Canada Geese and a couple pairs of Mute Swans are also being observed in our marsh areaWeek ending 11 July 2004 - A mixed bag again this week - with sightings of a little bit of everything! We saw fin whales, minke whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, basking sharks, a couple harbor seals and a very special sighting of a mother and calf Northern Right whale pair! Northern Right whales are the most endangered whale in the North Atlantic with just a little over 300 animals in existence. We were surprised and thrilled to have this very special sighting just 12 miles from Gloucester on Sunday afternoon. Birdwise, sightings have still been up and down depending on the day. We're seeing Wilson's storm-petrels, a few Greater shearwaters, and several Common terns. Once in a while a couple Northern Gannets might fly through, primarily juveniles. We've also been seeing occasional Common Loons, Common Eiders and Bonaparte's gulls. The more common birds like the Greater black-backed gulls, Ring-billed gulls, Herring gulls and Double-crested cormorants remain consistent. Many Snowy and Great Egrets, Canada Geese and a Mute Swan or two are also being observed in our marsh area.Week ending 04 July 2004 - A mixed bag for this particular week - with sightings of a little bit of everything! We saw fin whales, humpbacks, minke whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, basking sharks, ocean sunfish (also called Mola mola!) and even a couple harbor seals! Although the humpbacks only made an appearance on one day, it was great to see them! We identified two of the three humpbacks that were sighted on July 1st - they were old-time favorites, Peninsula and Coral. We're hoping they'll set the trend for the rest of the summer! Birdwise, sightings have still been up and down depending on the day. We're seeing Wilson's storm-petrels, Greater shearwaters, Sooty shearwaters and Common terns - and only a couple Northern Gannets, primarily juveniles. We also are seeing occasional Common Eiders and Bonaparte's gulls. The more common birds like the Greater black-backed gulls, Ring-billed gulls, Herring gulls and Double-crested cormorants remain consistent. Many Snowy and Great Egrets, Canada Geese and a Mute Swan or two are also being observed in our marsh area**Sightings with asterisks are courtesy a network of researchers including: Jooke Robbins, Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA; Regina Asmutis, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Plymouth, MA; Katherine Gilmour, Whale Center for New England, Gloucester, MA; Cynde Bierman, Whale Conservation Institute, Gloucester, MA; Jen Hafner, Blue Ocean Society, Rye, NH and Lisa Fox & Deanna Leonard, Center for Oceanic Research and Education, Essex, MA
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