Dead Humpback Whale Calf

Lisa Clark reports...
A dead Humpback Calf has washed up on the shores near Western Light.

Orca, and Humpbacks

Hi Everyone
Sightings of a lone Orca whale again near Brier Island. Humpbacks are also still in the area along with dolphins.

Orca in the Bay of Fundy

On September 14th Brier Island Whale & Seabird Cruises sighted an Orca Whale with a pod of dolphins.He also sighted lots of pilots whales. For pictures and more information visit Brier Island Whales Blog...
http://brierislandwhales.blogspot.com/

My unexpectant parting gift...

Hi Everyone
Well yesterday was my last day for whale watching. Will be going to Newfoundland to continue my studies in fish and wildlife. Will try to put on more of our trips when i can for everyone. Hope everyone has a great fall! See you next summer...
This was my parting gift last night. Peajack Breaching by the boat.

Mother and Calf Right Whale

AS we were coming back from a fantastic cruise the final finale was seeing one of the most endangered whales in our area. A North Atlantic Right whale mother and calf pair was sighted swimming through our harbor! Here is some pics!

Right Whales sighted

Hi Everyone
Well today was a bit choppy but we had some really good looks at the whales anyway. We also got a chance on our 1:30 cruise to see 2 Right Whales! Here is some pics of the day...

Breaching whales, new mother and calf pairs

Hi Everyone
Yesterday we had some good cruises although it was a bit rough we still managed to get some good views. On our evening cruise we seen a new mother and calf pair. Flamingo and her calf! That brings the mother and calf pairs in our area up to 12! Fantastic! On our way in we sighted a whale breaching, and then we sighted Flash and her calf. On the zodiac they had a Sperm whale sighting, which is unusual for our area. Ususally we just get baleen whales but once in awhile a toothed whale will travel through our area but they don't stay long. All in all a great day!

Who is watching whom!

Hi Everyone
Well these last few days have been terrific! Great weather, whales and people.The whales we have sighted have been close to our island and in numerous numbers. Some new whales have come into our area including some new mother and calf pairs which is always exciting. We have had some incredible close approaches and i wonder who is actually watching whom!

Sunset Cruise

This is for the the Tennessee boys who was on our sunset cruise. Here is some pics from that cruise, enjoy!

BREACHING Humpack Whale

HI Everyone
It was a foggy day today but we perservered and Capt. Todd Sollows found a whale actually it was breaching by his boat and called us. So we steamed up to where the whale was last sighted and encountered Rooftop who was tail lobbing and flipper slapping. We watched her for awhile and then we steamed further and found Haze. We finally steamed towards the Island when i sighted a calf briefly. Then all of a sudden its mother came up to the surface and we knew it was Flash and her calf. Then all of a sudden the little calf breached by the boat twice! What a great ending to our whale watching trip.

Close approaches

Pinpoint

Hi Everyone

Well we had another incredible trip on the bay today even though the weather was quite foggy. We had a curious humpback whale today he close approached our boat and blew bubbles and turned over to have a look at us. Guess he was people watching! We found out later that this was the 2004 calf of Horizon named Pinpoint. We also sighted Grommet and Filigree.

Lunge Feeding

Hello Everyone
Well we certainly have had some beautiful weather in our area hopefully it will stick around for awhile. Today out on th whale watch we steamed up long island shore passed Boar's head lighthouse in Tiverton and made our way up along Digby Neck. What a feeding frenzy! Quote and her calf along with Rooftop was lunge feeding over and over again so we got some great looks at the baleen inside a humpback whales mouth. These baleen plates act as a filtering system and sieves out water and keeps their food inside. The humpbacks were dining on Krill which was plenitful in this area. We also sighted many fin whales feeding in the same area.On the way in we sighted a minke whale so that made three different species of baleen whales for our sightings today. Harbor Porpoises were a treat splashing not to far from our boat. Lots of Northern Gannets diving, Greater Shearwaters, Puffins, Razor-billed Auks, Common Murres, Manx Shearwater, and Northern Fulmars. All in all we had a pretty spectacular day. Here is some pics of the day. Enjoy!

Fin Whales

Hi Everyone
Well today was rainy and cold but it didn't dampen our spirits although it sure dampened my pants haha! Went out whale watching and sighted 2 adult Fin whales feeding in around the buoy area. These are the largest baleen whale we usually get in our area and it was great to see them so close to the boat. They really are majestic whales.We also sighted some Harbour Porpoises, Northern Gannets, Wilson's storm petrels, and greater and sooty shearwaters.

Sightings from today

Hi Everyone
Today started out foggy this morning but i did manage to see 2 catbirds in my back yard before heading out to work. On the whale watch today we steamed towards the rip 4 miles off Western Light we finally seen the sun! Our sightings today include 1 Minke whale and 2 Humpback whales. One was Gremlin and the other still need to be identified. Pelagic birds in our area were Sooty and Greater Shearwaters, Wilsons Storm Petrels, Puffins, and Northern Gannets. All in all it turned out to be a good day.

Possible Minke Whale

Christine reports...
Tonight at Lavena's Catch Cafe I chatted with Craig Theriault, who is a lobster fisherman in the winter, and the captain for Petite Passage Whale Watch in the summer. He said today he saw a whale breaching in the Bay of Fundy off Flour Cove, Long Island, (Digby County). He thought it was a Minke.

Minke whale

Hi Everyone
This morning i sighted a Minke whale going through the passage. As i traveled up Digby Neck i sighted a Rough-legged Hawk dead on the side of the road. In seawall i sighted a Great Blue Heron fishing in the salt marsh.
The rain is really coming down now, oh well at least we have had a pretty good November. All of the lobster traps are piled high on the wharf getting and everyone is getting ready for the dumping day last monday in November is when district 34 opens the lobster fishery in our area. I hope everyone has a safe and prosperous season.

Fin Whale entanglement

This is a story Christine Callaghan put in our Island's newspaper called,"Passages". I asked if i could post it on my blog for everyone to enjoy. I would like to thank Andy Moir and Chris Callaghan for sending the story and pictures Todd for reporting and staying with the whale,Mackie and Jerry for their dedication and everyone else involved in the disentanglement of this whale. Great job everyone!

Fin Whale Entangled
By Christine Callaghan

The twelve passengers who set out aboard the Fundy Cruiser, on a whale watch with Pirate’s Cove Whale and Seabird Cruises on October 9th, got more than they bargained for. It was overcast, but the seas were calm. Captain Todd Sollows headed for an area where we had been finding humpbacks on recent trips, about six miles off. Scanning ahead, he spotted a blow in the distance. Bingo! However, at almost the same time, he caught a very brief glimpse of something else at the surface, between us and where the humpback was. Then, along the starboard side, we saw a long length of rope at the surface on the water. Todd veered off, to avoid getting the line tangled in the propeller. All of a sudden a small pink buoy, not much bigger than a grapefruit, broke the surface of the water, and then went under again. I didn’t connect the dots at all, but Todd’s years of experience at the helm immediately told him one thing: entangled whale. He admitted later that he would have much preferred to continue on toward the humpbacks, but of course his conscience wouldn’t allow him to do that. When he explained the situation to the people, they immediately expressed their dismay at the plight of the animal, and their willingness to stay with it, in hopes that we could somehow help it. By this time, it had been several minutes since whatever it was had surfaced. When it did appear again, for just a single blow, we were able to identify it as a fin whale. (Finback whales are the second largest in the world, after the Blue Whale, and can be almost ninety feet in length. Known for their speed, they are called the “greyhounds of the sea”.) Unlike usual sightings, this whale wasn’t even showing its dorsal fin, and it was so thin we could see its backbone. Obviously it was exhausted, and had been dragging gear for a long time. Todd got on the radio, and contacted Shelley Barnaby and Harold Graham, of Brier Island Whale and Seabird Cruises. There is disentanglement gear in Westport, but since they were out on the water it was unavailable. Also, whale watch operators and crew on this side of the Bay need additional training in using the equipment safely. Anyway, a “phone tree” has been established, so Shelley called the Marine Animal Rescue Society, who notified Head Harbour Marine Mammal Rescue on Campobello Island, on the New Brunswick side. At first they advised us to try to gaff the buoy and cut it off, hoping that the rest of the gear might then slip off. Todd was reluctant to do that, though, since the only way we could keep track of the animal was by occasionally spotting that little pink balloon. And keeping track of the whale was a challenge, as its pattern was to surface for a single breath, then to disappear for several minutes, sometimes travelling a fair distance. When it went down, so did the little balloon. Eventually, we were able to get right alongside of it, and one of our passengers leaned over the side and snapped a shot of a mass of rope and a large balloon wrapped around the submerged tail. When Todd saw that, he knew there was no way cutting off the small buoy was going to solve this problem. He radioed Campobello to tell them how badly the whale was entangled, and Mackie Greene and Jerry Conway agreed to come across in their zodiac with disentanglement equipment. By this time we had spent about two hours with the finback, and our passengers were looking longingly at humpbacks in the distance. Todd radioed Tom Goodwin of Ocean Explorations, who was also out that day, asking if he and his passengers would mind “baby sitting” while we gave our people a look at some whales. Tom agreed, and as he approached he spotted the length of trailing rope. Todd was able to tie a large balloon to it, making it much easier to keep track of the whale. By now it was late afternoon. Todd realized that it would take about an hour for Mackie and Jerry to make it over from New Brunswick, and that they might need his assistance when they did arrive. So he radioed his father, Alger, to come out in Pirates Cove’s second boat, to take our passengers ashore. While we waited, our patient people finally got a good look at some humpbacks. Alger arrived, and he and Todd traded boats. Some of the passengers begged to observe the rescue attempt, and Todd let them go along. As much as I would have loved to stay, I headed in with Alger and the other guests. I heard the rest of the story from Todd and three Dutch travellers. Tom advised Todd of the whale’s whereabouts, and headed back to shore. Todd spotted the big balloon, and stayed with the animal. Mackie and Jerry’s zodiac appeared on the horizon and sped to the location. They were able to snag the length of trailing rope, and attached two big balloons close to the whale, before cutting the rest off. Todd and our passengers hauled the loose rope aboard, more than 600 feet of it. Todd deliberately gave the rescue craft some distance, so as not to further stress the animal. The whale, of course, wouldn’t understand that these vessels were trying to help it. It picked up speed and dove, dragging the two balloons down. Dusk was approaching, and Todd knew that it would take an hour to get back to shore, and that there was nothing further he could do, so he headed in. Realizing they needed to slow the whale down further, Mackie and Jerry were able to attach a sea anchor, (like an underwater parachute), to the gear still trailing behind it. That created enough drag that suddenly the two big balloons that they had attached, plus the mass of rope and the balloon that had been so tightly wrapped around the whale’s tail popped to the surface. They were pretty well satisfied that they had freed the whale of most, if not all the gear that had entangled it. Let’s hope that beautiful creature is again swimming fast and free. “Good Job” to all involved.

Last day of Whale Watching

Hi Everyone
Yesterday on our last day of whale watching was a clear and crisp with a little bit of wind. As we steamed out into the Bay of Fundy i noticed lots of harbour porpoises, pockets of Greater and Sotty Shearwaters, Adult Northern Gannets diving, lots of Northern Fulmars, 5 Red Phalaropes and an Atlantic puffin flying by. We steamed down below the buoys and came across Foggy and Luna travelling together. I found it was appropriate seeing Foggy for our last trip ( i have a soft spot for foggy). Here is some pictures from the day...

Wonderful day in Brier Island

Hi Everyone
Today was a nice clear day so i decided to go out whale watching after my hike to Northern Light. Lots of birds moving in our area, goldfinches, blue jays, black-capped chickadees, pine siskins, song sparrows. Near the lodge on the shore in the trees i sighted 8 Great Blue Herons fishing.Claire Diggins sighted a kettle of broad-winged hawks with some turkey vultures near Western Light.
Before i went whale watching i sometimes go off on the wharf where the old ferry slip is and take a look around. You never know what kind of creatures you might see. This morning i sighted salps in chains floating in the waters and got some pictures of them. I also sighted gooseberry jellies, comb jellies, shrimp and pollack. Today we went off the buoys and sighted two humpback whales; Littlespot and Clamp. They were having an afternoon siesta. Also sighted two fin whales in the distance. Lots of birds on the water also today. Greater and sooty shearwaters, Northern Gannets, a common tern, we even had a pine siskin fly by and about 8 puffins. About 4-5 Atlantic white-sided dolphins was spotted headed towards the buoy as we watched the humpbacks. On our way in we stopped at seal cove and got some good looks at the grey and harbor seals which were hauled out on the rocks.