Nature Note #120: Whale Watch

This was one of the best weekends I've had all year. Not only did I get to spend some quality time with my girlfriend, Alison, I also saw five life birds and went on a whale watch for the first time in nearly a decade. Despite the fact that I carried what I can only estimate as being a 20+ lb. backpack all day and was exhausted by the end of the day, it was still an amazing experience!

We did the whale watch with the same company Alison had done so with her work colleagues the previous week. The company, called Dolphin Fleet, offered 3-4 hour cruises to the waters off of Race Point in Provincetown and to the southwestern section of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary outside of Cape Cod Bay. We boarded at 10:00am and after a fifteen minute wait, we were backing out of the docks and into the harbor and beyond. As we past the breakwater, our naturalist pointed out the large flock of resting Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus). She explained how their heavier bones, reduced oil glands, and long necks aided in their quest for fish underwater. As we passed, several birds swam in the water off of the rocks with their necks only visible above the blue waves.

As we entered the bay, the sun got brighter and hotter, but we still remained draped in our long sleeves and remained seated as we journeyed into the bay. Almost within the first half an hour, a whale appeared! It was a Finback (Balaenoptera physalus) and it was an amazing sight. It was amazing when people weren't clambering for a better view on one side of the boat or another and crowding out most of my views. But we weren't there for whales. We were there for the birds and boy, did they show up!

This Finback named Loon has been visiting for several years to feed in the Sand Lance (Ammodytes spp.) rich waters of Cape Cod Bay

A shearwater being photobombed by Loon the Finback Whale

I managed to sight several species of shearwater throughout the trip with Cory's (Calonectris diomedia) and Great (Puffinus gravis) Shearwaters being the most common. Cory's Shearwater is a large ocean-going or pelagic bird with a brown head, back, and wings, creamy white belly, and long, flesh-colored tubenosed bill. They glide and soar over the waves on stiff wings looking for squid, fish, and offal left by fisherman in search of larger oceanic fish. While common in more recent years, they were originally a rare sight off of the New England coast. As of last weekend, Blair Nikula and other birders reported a "wave" of shearwaters moving off of Race Point with estimates in the thousands. Whether it was a migrating swarm or feeding frenzy, I'm not certain, but that certainly makes my total of nine Cory's and thirteen Greats pale in comparison.

Great Shearwater were formerly called "Greater Shearwaters", but this change was made in the American Ornithologists Union's 2010 bird checklist. Despite this name change, their appearance has remained the same with a dark cap, white neck division and belly, dark brown wings and tail, and black, tubenosed bill. What was most noticeable to me was their large size (almost on par with the Cory's) and powerful flight. Though they seldom beat their wings, their knowledge of the air was apparent as they barely skimmed the waters surface with their wings and were constantly vigilant for any passing prey.

The other two species that I saw were much fewer in number and smaller than the first two species. They were the Sooty (P. griseus) and Manx Shearwaters (P. puffinus). The first is so named because of its overall dark plumage, but it does have a light patch of the underside of each wing. The other is a recent immigrant to the waters off our coast. As their name suggests, they originate from the waters around the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom, but they were only recently reintroduced there after the accidental introduction of rats decimated the original colony. They have nested along the Gulf of Maine since the 1970s and are now a regular sight along our coasts in the late summer months.

Due to their smaller size, greater speed, and increased rocking of the boat as we progressed on our trip (during which I nearly faceplanted causing Alison to reprimand me for standing in the middle of the metal benches rather on the sides near the rails), I didn't get any shots of them either. As the journey wore on, the increased pitching of the ship made me quite nauseous and I had to sit for a good fifteen or twenty minutes to feel better. Several other passengers felt worse and even vomited during the trip as well. I'm glad I did better than them in that respect.

As for the whales, the group managed to see several more Finbacks, a Minke Whale (B. acutorostrata) feeding in the waters off of Race Point,  and a couple of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). By this point, the huge form of metal that was the boat was in some pretty rough seas and I didn't see much of these rorquals save for occasional glance through the legs of the nearby admirers. What photos I did get were mere glances of the dorsal fins of these mighty creatures as they dove to feed on the plankton and other small food that sustains them. I loved whales when I was younger and remember giving my dad a hand carved Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) for a birthday or Father's Day gift. Even though I had a diminished enthusiasm, it was still amazing to see them in real life and realize that despite our intense interest in these creatures, they for the most part don't seem to be aware of us and even when they are, don't mind or care when we're there. They're out there to live and while we are mighty and powerful ourselves, without that boat and the captain's knowledge of the water, all of us on that boat would never imagine the size, majesty, and power of these creatures that live out in our own Cape Cod Bay.

One of the Humpbacks we observed dives near Race Point, P'town.

The breath of a recent exhalation hangs in the air after a surfacing by the same Humpback.

Another Finback graces our presence beside the boat.

Perhaps my favorite thing that I saw when the whales were present was the "pad" of flat water that they left after diving. I remember after going on several whale watches as a child that I tried to replicate this phenomena in our backyard pool with little success. I wondered at the time if it was because of their overall size or their broad, powerful tails. I still don't know to this day, but would love to find out.

As we returned to the harbor, I saw my last lifer of the day. Flying on graceful wings of silver, a dark-billed tern flew past with another as the boat glided away from the rougher waters. I scanned through my field guides and finally felt confident enough to say that they were Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii). Five lifers in one day! I hadn't had this much luck since going to the Biggest Week with Alison last year or at birding by myself at Parker River two years prior. I was thankful to be able to do something like this and with someone I love as well. It was an amazing day. As we headed back to the harbor, I snapped a photo of the Pilgrim monument on Highpole Hill. This monument was built to commemorate the actual "first landing" of the pilgrims in Massachusetts. After a stay of several weeks, they moved on to what would become "Plimoth Plantation" to greener pastures and better soil (LOL. Better soil in New England?! Only if you like farming rocks! jk...).

So ended an excellent day. After we got off, we wandered around the cafes and stores of P'town until late afternoon. We then visited the Birdwatcher's General Store in Orleans where I wandered around wondering what to buy while the PBS documentary about Pale Male, the now-famous story of a young Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) that nested for nearly a decade outside Central Park in New York City played in the background. After wandering around for half an hour (by which time Alison had purchased her items and was waiting in the car), I bought some new binocular straps for my 10x40s that had come loose during the trip. As I dozed off on the way back, I looked back over my memories of that perfect day and was so glad to have experienced it (despite the waves).