It’s time to start thinking about the highlight reel moments, and this one makes the list for sure. You can hear the disbelief in my (Laura) voice as my co-naturalist (Other Laura) confirms that I was seeing my first and VERY long-awaited white shark! Sightings of this species have been steadily rising in our waters. ⁉️Did you know that both white sharks and gray seals, one of their primary prey species, have historically been known to live on the coast of New England? 🦭 Many of us grown up in the shadows of seal culling which ended in 1962 and have witnessed the return of this species to their natural habitats in our lifetimes.It’s a fascinating study of righting a wrong induced by humans. What made this trip even more special was that my mentor Cynde of @thewhalemobile had joined us on this trip. I was searching around for her to gain another expert’s species confirmation, and I will never forget the moment when we made eye contact and she enthusiastically nodded, YES! 🦈 #whalewatching #shark #capecod #wildlife #ocean #nature #sharks
Scary sightings on the docks today 👻
#capecod #sharks #dog #sharksofinstagram #dogsofinstagram #wildanimals
Yesterday we spent a sunny fall afternoon with a surface active humpback whale named ‘Hammock’ who ended our trip with tail throws and lobtailing to the delight of our passengers 🐋 On our way home we had a bonus sighting when we stumbled upon a pod of common dolphins!
Summer might be winding down but the wildlife hasn’t noticed 🍃 September is a crew favorite month of whale watching, and the only thing better than the multitude of whales has been sightings of seals, turtles, and 5️⃣ shark species in the last couple of weeks alone! #capecod #whalewatching #shark #
You can hear the excitement from the crew and passengers as the whales and dolphins choose to come right near us! As a proud member of Whale Sense (whalesense.org), we are committed to responsible whale watching practices. All photos were taken in compliance with established guidelines and regulations.
Whales have started feeding at the surface again and it’s been incredible out there this week! We’ve had bubble net feeding as well as kick feeding, a feeding behavior endemic to the Gulf of Maine. While sightings of these behaviors can never be guaranteed, odds have increased. If this is a bucket list sighting for you, go get on a whale watching boat!
A few friendly reminders:
Our boat is in neutral here, and we have jet engines with no propellers. We float in the water and sometimes get VERY lucky when the whales set up to feed right next to our boat. There is a theory that they may even be using the boat to help further trap the fish! 🐟
With an uptick in whale behavior during the summer season, there is always an increase in small recreational vessels that follow out the whale watch boats. While we strongly advise against this, if you won’t heed our warning, please use extreme caution around whales. If you aren’t fully aware of what to look for to know where and when these whales will surface, you are risking either hitting them with your vessel or disturbing their behavior. The safest thing to do for our marine life is go out with a reputable whale watch. Whether it’s ours or another, all we care about is protecting our local marine life 🤍
🐋 Humpbacks observed include:
3.14
Spirit
Nile
Spell
Sprinkles
Freckles
Azreal
Crown
Abyss
*As a proud member of Whale Sense (whalesense.org), we are committed to responsible whale watching practices. All photos were taken in compliance with established guidelines and regulations.
*HWWC proudly contributes its data to the GOM Humpback Whale Catalog curated by Center for Coastal Studies.
🎥 Video by: Kali Palmer
on 7/20/24
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#hyanniswhalewatcher #whalewatch #whales #travel #humpbackwhales #vacation #ocean #animals #bubblenetfeeding #bubblefeeding #whalewatching #savethewhales #wildlife #capecod #stellwagenbank #newengland #humpback #baleen #stellwagen #whalewatcher
7/12/24:
A windy day offshore- but that didn’t stop the whales from checking us out! We were just floating along when we got checked out by some of our favorites!
As a proud member of Whale Sense (whalesense.org), we are committed to responsible whale watching practices. All photos were taken in compliance with established guidelines and regulations.
HWWC proudly contributes its data to the GOM Humpback Whale Catalog curated by Center for Coastal Studies.
Video by: Derek Baradgie
#stellwagenbank #whales #humpback #humpbackwhale #whalewatcher #hyanniswhalewatcher #stellwagen #whalewatching
7/7/24 Tons of lobtailing and flipper slapping fun with Nile today ❤️🐋
Happy 4th from us here at the Whale Watcher!
We were lucky to spend our time on the water yesterday with basking sharks (check out the video below!), atlantic white-sided dolphins, breaching humpbacks, and a fun mom/calf pair. A true example of how diverse and fun our waters can be. Every trip is different and exciting. Come get on a boat! 🐋
As a proud member of Whale Sense (whalesense.org), we are committed to responsible whale watching practices. All photos were taken in compliance with established guidelines and regulations.
*HWWC proudly contributes its data to the GOM Humpback Whale Catalog curated by Center for Coastal Studies.
🎥 Video by: Kali Palmer
7/3/24
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#hyanniswhalewatcher #whalewatch #whales #travel #humpbackwhales #vacation #ocean #animals #shark #baskingshark #dolphins #whalewatching #savethewhales #wildlife #capecod #stellwagenbank #newengland #humpback #baleen #stellwagen #whalewatcher
6/27/24 Beautiful day on the water! Our boat was not in gear, and these humpack whales chose to come check us out! All whale watching guidelines and regulations were followed. We are a proud member of Whale Sense. #humpbackwhale #whalewatcher #hyanniswhalewatcher #whalewatching
#humpbackwhale #whalewatcher #hyanniswhalewatcher #whale #whalewatching
6/18/24: Look who’s back! Pele, Jabiru, Milkweed, Bounce, Nile, and 3.14 arranged and rearranged themselves in a dance we had trouble keeping track of. We’ll take an association (not pod) of bubble net feeding humpbacks any day!
As a proud member of Whale Sense (whalesense.org), we are committed to responsible whale watching practices. All photos were taken in compliance with established guidelines and regulations.
HWWC proudly contributes its data to the GOM Humpback Whale Catalog curated by Center for Coastal Studies.
Video by: Laura Lilly
#humpbackwhale #whalewatching #oceanlife
