Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises

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Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises

Brier Island's Original & #1 chosen Whale Watch. Dedicated to research and education. An experience second to none!

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises is in its 39th year in business and 41st year of cetacean research. Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises is in its 36th year in business and 38th year of research!! Join a scientific survey with Brier Island's Original whale watch as we explore the Bay of Fundy ! it will be an experience that you will never forget! Dedicated to research and education since 1984! Brier Island's Original and #1 Chosen Whale Watch!

10/19/2024

The 2024 season has officially come to a close with the haul out of the Mega Nova for winter storage.

We are already looking forward to the 2025 season! We will be opening our bookings portal in the new year. So stay tuned!

10/18/2024

Old Thom. What an enigma. He is the only killer whale sighted with any regularity off of New England and near the Bay of Fundy. While he frequently associates with Atlantic white-sided dolphins, he has never been seen in the company of other killer whales.

Why is Old Thom seemingly the only killer whale regularly using this region? New England, and specifically Massachusetts, used to have uncommon but somewhat regular sightings of killer whales until the 1980s.

Their ecology was a bit of a mystery. Some were seen hunting pilot whales, humpback whales, and even fin whales, whereas others were observed chasing after bluefin tuna. There is even one instance of a killer whale off Massachusetts feeding on squid out of a trawl net!

Is Old Thom a descendant of these whales? Is he related to the whales further north off Newfoundland and Labrador? Are the killer whales that once haunted New England's waters truly gone, or have they just moved elsewhere?

So many questions. So few answers. Some of these tantalizing inquiries might be answered by a sample of Old Thom's DNA. Alas, he is a bit of a phantom himself, coming and going and showing up periodically to the delight of North Atlantic whale watchers...

Maybe someday we'll know more!

For more readings on killer whales in New England, I recommend "Orcas of the Gulf" by Gerard Gormley.

10/08/2024

And just like that, we wrapped up our 2024 season on Sunday, October 6th. A big thank you goes out to all of you who came out with us in 2024! Without you, we wouldn’t be doing what we love to do. Stay tuned though, because we have some exciting news coming up that we want to share for 2025.

We hope to “sea” you next season!

10/08/2024

Sunday October 6, 2024 1:30pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

Our final trip of the season was a rolly one! The wind had swung around more northerly overnight and we had clear, blue skies but there was quite a bit more sea than we’d had yesterday.

Still, it was well worth the journey out to where the whales have been hanging out and we were very happy to introduce our last guests of 2024 to Badge and Prongs. As we approached the humpbacks we could see some flipper slapping, a couple of breaches and Badge gave a big tail lob just as we reached them.

There were a few more whales not far off from us and we ended up recording five individuals which made returning to shore a little bittersweet. On the upside, we do have at least one and, hopefully, two research cruises coming up to look forward to before the crews season officially ends and we already find ourselves looking forward to next year! :)

Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guideline. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 70-300mm lens.
Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogues.
We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

10/07/2024

Saturday October 5, 2024 1:30 pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Photon, Tether, Gremlin, Jigger, Patchwork, Orion, Cirrus and Mocha.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

10/04/2024

Thursday October 3, 2024 1:30 pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Photon, Tether, Maelstrom, Baton, Sunburst, Cirrus and Mocha.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

10/04/2024

Wednesday October 2, 2024 1:30 pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Scream, Photon, Solas, Flame, Tether, Ridgeline, Maelstrom, Baton, Sunburst, and Cirrus.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

10/02/2024

Tuesday October 1, 2024 1:30 Mega Nova Cruise Photos

After yesterdays trip we were a little worried whether there were whales in the area today.
The single humpback we’d watched had been headed down the back of Brier Island at a steady pace and showed little sign of stopping.
As we set out, we could hear our zodiac captain, Sean, talking to BIWSC owner and captain, Harold, who was sitting near the back shore of Brier Island, with his binoculars, searching the horizon for whales. Sean had heard from Petit Passage Whale Watch that there had been a couple of whales in the area this morning and Harold had spotted them near Batsons Bouy.
Once he heard where whales had been spotted, Captain Eddie decided to set out towards them. At first, our trip was a little rolly but it soon flattened out quite a bit and guests began to get excited as we got close to where the whales were. They were easy to spot as both whales repeatedly breached and tail lobbed. We figured the exciting behaviour would stop before we got close to the whales but, luckily, it didn’t and we were treated to several breaches, a little flipper slapping and an impressive tail lob.
We were very happy to watch Scream and Tether for the better part of an hour. Afterwards, on our way in, guests spotted another humpback who fluked before we could get to the camera for an identifying shot! Our return to shore found us coming in around the southern end of the island and we were also happy to see quite a few grey seals on Gull Rock.
We are so close to the end of the season and are very happy to still be seeing whales close by. There is a research cruise booked this week and we are excited to expand our usual search area to see where else the humpbacks may be. In the meantime, we enjoy the whales we find nearby and especially the joy that watching them brings our guests!

Photos in this post were cropped and taken with a 70-300mm lens and in compliance with whale watching guidelines.
Photos and data are contributed to the Gulf of Maine and North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogs.
We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

10/02/2024

Monday September 30, 2024 1:30pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

It was another stunning fall day on the Bay of Fundy! The sea state was flat, the sky was blue and there was barely a breath of wind. The only thing we could complain about was a scarcity of whales!

As we prepared to leave the dock we got word from our zodiac captain, Sean, that he had searched along the ledges and headed all the way down to the area that we have been finding the whales recently but he hadn’t spotted any.
That news was worrying because this is the time of year that our humpbacks begin to make their way towards their breeding grounds in southern waters and we always worry a little that they might be gone before our season is over.

Luckily, we got word shortly after this that Captain Craig with Petite Passage Whale Watch had spotted a single humpback very close to the Long Island shore so we were very happy to head up that way for a look.

This whale was travelling along the island in fairly shallow water so it didn’t need to bring its tail up when it dove. We followed it along, right past Grand Passage, then past northern light and seal cove (near low tide – so we got some good looks at the seals) and almost to western light before we headed off so another boat could come in for a look at it. It never once brought its tail up out of the water so identifying it wasn’t going to be as easy as it usually is. We did get dorsal shots and the crew were grinning when we watched Shelley head into the wheelhouse and straight for the camera. After she confirmed the ID of the humpback, we commented that we should have started a timer to see how long it took her to find the whale in the catalog!

Before heading in we set out for northwest ledge, hoping that maybe the ebb tide might have brought another whale or two closer to the island but we didn’t see any. There were a few gannets diving, we recorded a couple of small groups of porpoises and Shelley spotted some dolphins but the whales appeared to be elsewhere today.
Luckily, tomorrow is another day and we were thankful for the call from Craig today!

Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos here were cropped and taken with a 70-300mm lens.
Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

10/01/2024

Sunday September 29, 2024 1:30pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

This afternoons cruise found us with a few of the same whales from this mornings trip. We spent most of our time with Tether and Flame but could see Scream, still with Iron, in the distance.

We followed the first pair along for a while before deciding to continue on to the second group, who were only a little over a mile below us. No sooner had we begun to make our way there, when Flame got everyones attention by flipper slapping behind us!

Many times, over the years, we have been lured towards a humpback who is displaying interesting behaviour and we know that the behaviour will most likely stop long before we get near the whale. Today, we were lucky, as Flame continued to flipper slap for several minutes to everyones delight.

It was such a beautiful day on the water and, with so few days left to the season, we wished we could have stayed out longer but it was a lovely trip back to shore.

Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guideline. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 70-300mm lens.
Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.
We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

09/30/2024

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:30 am Mega Nova Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Scream, Iron, Flame and Tether

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

09/29/2024

Saturday September 28, 2024 1:30 pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Scream, Iron and Photon.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

09/29/2024

Saturday September 28, 2024 9:30 am Mega Nova Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Patchwork, Gremlin, Scream, Iron and Photon.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

09/28/2024

Friday September 27, 2024 1:30 pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Photon and Tether

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

09/27/2024

Thursday September 26, 2024 1:30pm Mega Nova Cruise Photos

We left the dock under overcast skies this afternoon, but the wind was light and seas were calm. The humpbacks have been found in an area quite far below the island for the past few days and we were just at the beginning of flood tide, so Captain Eddie decided to head out around the southern end of the island.
Our zodiac captain, Sean, let us know that he’d found whales before we sailed past Gull Rock, which was great news, however they were about 9 miles from where we were, so we had a long sail before our first sighting.
Guests and crew were spotting whales when we were still a few miles away, and we were all excited to be getting closer to them when we were surprised to have a humpback named Sockeye surface directly alongside us travelling in the same direction! After a couple of good looks at him we continued on towards other whales we could see in the area. Once our sightings started we could see whales in the distance on all sides of the boats and despite the urge to go see who they all were we stayed with a pair who were great to watch. They dove under us at one point, didn’t stay down overly long and we even got to watch a little flipper slapping before making our way back to shore!
The whales identified today were Sockeye, Collision, Flame and Pierce.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 70-300mm lens.
Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.
We encourage our guests to contribute their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

09/26/2024

Thanks for sailing with us!

09/26/2024

Wednesday September 25, 2024 Mega Nova 1:30 pm Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Jib, Perimeter and Solas

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

09/25/2024

Tuesday September 24, 2024 Mega Nova 1:30 pm Cruise Photos

Humpback whales sighted on this cruise were: Littlespot, Kalimba, and Badge.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises operates in compliance with whale watching guidelines. Photos posted here were cropped and taken with a 100-400mm lens.

Data and photos are contributed to the North Atlantic and Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalogs.

We encourage our guests to submit their ventral fluke photos to Happywhale.com

Address

223 Water Street
Digby, NS
B0V1H0

Website

http://www.brierislandwhalewatch.com/

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Videos

Sockeye approaches the Mega Nova this morning

A visit from Sockeye this morning #brierislandwhalewatching #brierisland #brierislandwhalewatch

The Tusk Twist

The Tusk twist! Thank you for the video, Jennifer!

Baton feeding

Thursday August 15th Mega Nova 5:30 pm Tour

Thursday August 15th, 5:30 Mega Nova Ilta is kick feeding to create a bubble cloud and then lunging through

From today’s 530pm cruise

From our 530 pm cruise today, Thursday August 15th! Baton is making a bubble cloud using a method called kick feeding and another humpback thought it would take advantage and coordinate a lunge with Baton

Ilta surface feeding

Ilta creating a bubble cloud and lunging through it.

A little flipper slapping by Scream on our 1:30 pm cruise on August 8th.

Lunge feeding

From last night’s cruise Thanks Laura!

This afternoon’s Mega Nova whale watch saw a blue whale, the largest mammal on the planet! Thanks to Rhianna, one of our marine biology students for capturing it on video. More photos to come!

Basking shark

Shortcuts

Our Story

Did you know that Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises is in its 35th year in business and 37th year of research? In fact, we are the second longest whale watch contributor to the Gulf of Maine humpback whale catalog curated and managed by the Center for Coastal Studies. Research and education has always been a very important component of who we are.

It all started in 1984, when researchers arrived to Brier Island to investigate reports of whales in the Bay of Fundy. Those researchers from Allied Whale at the College of the Atlantic, asked several fishermen on the wharf whether they would take them out on the Bay to see those whales. One of those fishermen was Harold Graham, who at the time was taking students out on the Bay to see the whales but also on fishing cruises. He invited those researchers along and they were able to capture photos and collect the data that was needed. One of those researchers returned the following year in 1985, with another who ran a whale watch on the eastern coast of the United States. He talked to Harold about starting a whale watch of his own that could be used as a platform for collecting data on humpback whales, using part of the revenue from that whale watch to fund the research. Even at that time in 1984 and 1985, people were wanting to go out to see the whales.

Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises began operating as a whale watch company in 1986, making us the longest running whale watch in south western Nova Scotia. Data and photographs are still collected on every one of our cruises and contributed to long term research projects. We are also a proud supporter of Fundy East Whale Rescue Team which was founded by our Chief Naturalist and Research Director, Shelley Lonergan who has over 30 years experience studying humpback whales.

Also on our cruises are naturalists that are knowledgeable of the marine life including the many cetaceans, (Whales, dolphins and porpoises) that inhabit the Bay of Fundy. We also have Marine Biology students who help to provide an educational cruise.