Just some photos

A new whale for us, identified as Drip.

Greater Shearwater

Quixote

Pierce

Going the Distance

Handstand

Badge

Perseverence certainly pays off, so the adage goes. Our whale watch cruises have been going twenty miles offshore to see humpback whales. And the wait has certainly been worth it! When the humpback whales move into the Bay, they tend to go to that area first prior to moving into the coastal waters of Brier Island. Our most recent cruise was yestersay and we recorded 17 different humpback whales which included our first calf of the season. The mother was identified as Shark. Other whales identified were Badge, Circlet, Patchwork, New Moon, and Spika!

So even though our cruises have been a bit longer in duration, they are well worth the extra time. We go the distance to show you the whales of the Bay of Fundy!

Fog Magic

Yep...you guessed it, we have fog! But, that doesn't deter us from whale watching and seeing whales. In fact, some of our best trips can be in the fog. Just recently, we experienced a "friendly" minke whale that seemed to be doing more people watching than anything. In normal fashion for a foggy day, we shut down our engine and listened for the whales' blows to determine their location. We heard this minke and he/she seemed to make a beeline for us! This whale stayed with us for half an hour, paralleling our course, rolling on its side allowing us to see its eye as it watched us! It was truly an awesome sight!

We have also sighted some humpbacks closer to Brier Island. They were identified as Luna, #0034 and the third has yet to be matched to the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue. No you can't order one but you can match the fluke print to the thousands of photographs that are in it!

So yes, despite its limited visibility, the fog does hold some magic!

Great to see some familiar faces........uh, tails!

Greater Shearwater taking flight

Patchwork

The whale watching has been excellent, even though we have to go 15 miles offshore. The wait is well worth it. We have been seeing some humpbacks on these cruises and many are very familiar to us like Mr. Burns (One of our adopt a whales) who we have been seeing in the Bay of Fundy every year since 1995. Each humpback is identified by a pattern on the underside of their tail which is unique to each individual. They can range from all white, like Mr Burns, to all black and variations in between. Other humpbacks we have sighted thus far are Notchy, Downsweep, Bottelneck, Cacophony, Quixote, Highlighter and Patchwork!

Mr. Burns

First Humpback!

Our first humpback has arrived in the Bay of Fundy ! On June 3rd, while on our whale watch cruise we were watching minke whales when our Captain noticed a spout. As we approached, it became obvious that we were seeing our first humpback of the season. As the whale went for a deep dive, it lifted its tail to reveal the underside, giving everyone ample opportunity to photograph the underside of the tail. From this, we were able to identify our dirst humpback as Platform, an adult female that we have been seeing in the Bay of Fundy since 1997.

Also on our whale watches, we have been seeing minke whales and on June 9 we were treated to a breaching minke whale. this behaviour is not commonly seen with this species so when it does happen it is truly thrilling!

End of May sightings

Canada Goose in Grand Passage

Hello everyone! Hard to believe that we're at the end of May already! We've had a report from a lobster fisherman that a humpback was sighted just off Brier Island. Unfortunately, we didn't have a cruise that day, so we were unable to investigate and find out who the whale was! When we have been going out we have been sighting Minke whales and also a lot of birds. Seals have been quite abundant in the Bay of Fundy as well. There are two species of seals that are common to the Bay; Harbour Seals and Grey Seals.

Grey Seals

Our next cruise will be on Sunday, May 31st.

Lobster fishing boat, Ray's Legacy from Brier Island

Whales and birds and krill, Oh My!

Northern Gannets.

Our whale watching season started on May 18th, 2009. And it was a successful start to the season at that! We covered about 30 nautical miles on our first cruise and actually ended up very close to Brier Island at Moore's Ledge, about 4 miles north of the island. The Bay was quite active that day with many birds being seen, including: Northern Gannets, Puffins, a Razorbill, a Common Murre, Red Necked Phalaropes, Black Legged Kittiwakes and Northern Fulmars

Also on Moore's Ledge we sighted our first whale of the season, a minke whale. this was soon joined by another because of the ample supply of prey species in the area. For the last few days, we have noticed an abundance of krill upon which the herring, birds and whales have been feeding upon.

So even though it is early in the season for whale watching, we have had the pleasure of seeing the smallest baleen species that comes into the Bay of Fundy. A great start to the season!