Great Start to the Season!

Whale watching has been great since we commenced our 2013 season in May.  The humpbacks made an early appearance and we are hoping that  they will stay in the area.  But they do need to eat and will follow the food wherever it may be.  So far, we have sighted 7 mother and calf humpback pairs and we have documented 44 individual humpbacks so far.  Not only are we seeing humpback whales near Brier Island, we are also see minke whales and fin whales.  We have also sighted Atlantic White Sided Dolphins, Atlantic White Beaked Dolphins and Harbor Porpoises.  We have also witnessed a variety of behaviours such as breaching, flipper slapping, tail lobbing and tail breaching.  Looks like a great beginning to the season!

Whales, whales and more whales!

Please forgive my tardiness in the updates!  The most up to date can be found here with many more photos than we can post on the blog.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brier-Island-Whale-and-Seabird-Cruises/107534885958440

Our cruises have been amazing and to date we have identified 74 individual humpback whales with many more that need to be matched.  Also we have documented 7 new calves in the Bay of Fundy which is a record for June.  I'm sure we will see more to the remainder of the season.

Going for a deep dive!

Foggy arrived with a calf in June!

The last couple of days we have had to go further offshore than usual but the extra effort has been worth it.  Today we saw 10 different humpback whales.

The Mega Nova is up and running!

The 2012 season is in full swing and we sure have been having some great cruises!  The first cruise for the Mega Nova was an all day research cruise where we covered 89 nautical miles of the Bay of Fundy, surveying the usual places where humpbacks, fin whales, and minke whales are concentrated.  Our first area was a place that is known as the Prong and is located about 18 miles north west of Brier Island.  We sighted many whales there and as we continued southwest to Northeast Bank we recorded many more.  In total we documented 62 individual humpback whales, 12 fin whales and many minke whales.   A very successful day with plenty of whales and prey for them to feed on.

Unknown

Unknown Juvenile

Squiggle surface feeding

The first whale watch cruise was on June 14th and was successful as well.  We sighted 7 different humpbacks and a fin whale.  We were able to identify 4 of the humpbacks and they were:  Sundog, Squiggle, Shot Put, and three Dots.

Great Trips on the Zodiac!

Hello everyone and thanks for reading our blog!  We have been having some great trips on our Zodiac (TM) and are anxious to start whale watching on our 50 foot vessel, the Mega Nova on June 14th.  The humpbacks are slowly arriving with different individuals being sighted.  There were also Atlantic White Sided Dolphins and June is early to be seeing this species!  There are also Sooty Shearwaters, Puffins, Wilson's Storm Petrels and Northern Gannets.

First documented Humpback of the Season

What a great day on the Bay! On today's whale watch, Captain Jamie documented the first humpback whale of the season. This whale was first sighted last year when it was brought to the Bay of Fundy by its mother whose name is Photon. It's very exciting when we recognize these calves when they return and it's even better knowing that it survived its first year on its own. Passengers, and Jamie were also treated to good looks at a couple of fin whales, the largest baleen whales we regularly see in the Bay of Fundy.

A New Season about to Start!

Hello everyone and please forgive me for the lack of posts for last season!  Our updates can also be found on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brier-Island-Whale-and-Seabird-Cruises/107534885958440 The 2011 season was our best ever with sightings of 11 different species of cetaceans. Our research is focused on the curious humpback whale and we were able to document 168 individuals, including 17 calves!

I will do my best in the upcoming season to keep these blog posts regular.

Our 2012 season is scheduled to start on May 12 when we will use the zodiac only and the 50 ft Mega Nova will begin cruising June 12th (STC) If you would like to make reservations, you can call us toll free in USA and Canada 1-800-656-3660.  Hope to see you in 2012!

The humpbacks are here!

Happy Canada Day! Cruises have been fabulous in the Bay of Fundy as we continue to sight different humpback whales everyday! We are so pleased to report that we have sighted 5 mother calf pair already and it's only July 1st!

WE also conducted a research cruise and documented 19 individual humpback whales with lots of activity to boot!