Wednesday, September 01, 2010
2010 Whale Watching Gallery
Wednesday Sept 1 2010
Common Dolphins
Today we saw 90 Common dolphins in three groups. One group had about 40-50 dolphins of which 5 were babies that were only four months old. They swam around and played with the boat for over an hour!
Sunday August 29 2010
Dolphin Mania Continues!!
Once again, we found a leatherback sea turtle near the point, and groups of dolphins out near CIA. This time we found two groups- one about 30 Common dolphins and a second group of 10. Both groups had adults, juveniles and infants, including one that was only a few days old.
Totals
40 Common Dolphins
1 Leatherback Sea turtle
5 Greater shearwaters
2 Cory's shearwaters
1 Immature Northern gannet.
Saturday August 28 2010
Dolphin Mania Continues
We located common dolphins west of CIA again today! There were about 45 in total and we spent an hour with then. There were a lot of Mom and calf pairs! Some calves were only 2ft long. We also saw a basking shark breach, but it was only a glimpse.
Totals
45 Common dolphins
1 Basking Shark
Friday August 27 2010
Dolphin Mania
Today was fantastic! We headed West of CIA and found tons of common dolphins. At one point we were surrounded by more than 200 dolphins. For the whole day we had a total of 350 common dolphins! On the way back we saw two Leatherback Sea turtles.
Totals
350 Common dolphins
3 Leatherback sea turtles
2 Least terns
10 Corey's shearwaters
35 Greater shearwaters
6 Northern gannets
Thursday August 26 2010
A tough day- Turtles (briefly) & birds
The day started out well with a leatherback sea turtle right near the point, but the turtle dove just as we got to it and wasn't seen. We headed south and encountered a young Kemp's Ridley Sea turtle about 17 miles out- it too dove and wasn't seen again. While we saw quite a few birds, we never saw any cetaceans- thus it was a tough day.
Totals
1 Leatherback sea turtle
1 Kemp's Ridley sea turtle
18 Cory's Shearwaters
10 Greater Shearwaters
12 Sanderlings
1 Northern Gannet
Saturday August 21 2010
Dolphins!!!
The day started well, with an ocean sunfish just east of the point. We headed east to no avail, then south and west. At 1:30pm we spotted a large group of common dolphins (30-40) including many very young calves. The dolphins stayed with us for an hour- what an amazing display.
Totals
30-40 Common dolphins
3 Greater shearwaters
22 Wilson's storm petrels
2 Northern Gannets
15 Cory's shearwaters
1 Parasitic Jaeger
1 Ocean sunfish
Friday August 20 2010
A Basking Shark and Hammerhead Sharks
Today was a great day on the water. We saw 3 hammer head sharks and a Basking Shark.
Totals
3 Hammerhead Sharks
1 Basking Shark
5 Greater Shearwaters
25 Coreys Shearwaters
10 Wilsons Storm Petrels
25 Sanderlings
2 Semi-palmated Sandpipers
6 Least Sandpipers
Thursday August 19 2010
Dolphins, Turtles, Breaching Sharks and Flying Fish
We headed south towards where whales had been reported. From a distance we saw breaching fish; then we encountered the first of our four turtles- a loggerhead. While watching the turtle, a basking shark breached next to us. A hammerhead swam near us a short while later. On our way back we found a green sea turtle, another loggerhead and 10 common dolphins- and awesome, diverse day.
Totals
10 Common dolphins
2 Loggerhead turtles
1 Green turtle
1 Basking shark
1 Hammerhead shark
30 Wilson's Storm petrels
12 Greater shearwaters
1 Cory's shearwater
15 Wilson's Phalaropes
Wednesday August 18 2010
Seas were calm today with good with visibility. We saw no whales, but we did have the largest number of leatherback sea turtles ever seen in one day. Seven Leatherbacks swam close to the boat with one swimming directly under the bow with fantastic views. We also saw many Cory's shearwaters, Wilsons petrels and one Northern gannet.
Sunday August 15 2010-Tuesday August 17 2010
Humpbacks, Fin whales, common dolphins, Basking Sharks, and thousands of pelagic birds!
The annual Viking Fleet/CRESLI 2010 Great South Channel Whale Watch (our 10th trip in 9 years) was another resounding success! As in every year since 2002, we found quite a few whales (whenever the fog lifted). At times we were surrounded by humpbacks and fin whales, even when we were anchored overnight. The whales were busy feeding at depth and at the surface, on krill and sand eels. Many of the humpbacks were juveniles, and many of the fin whales were cow/calf pairs. 7 of the 15 humpbacks were identified by biologists from the Whale Center of New England, while the others remain to be ID'd. We returned 51 hours after leaving exhausted and exhilarated.
Totals:
15 Humpbacks
15 Fin whales
20 Common dolphins
1 Basking Shark
2000 Wilsons Storm Petrels
1500 Greater Shearwaters
55 Corys Shearwaters
10 Northern Gannets
1 Parasitic Jaeger
Saturday August 14 2010
Birds, blows, White-caps, & Elusive Whales
The Starship headed east towards where we had seen whales throughout July. We found quite a few pelagic birds, saw a few blows from whales, but the whales were too elusive and were never seen again.
Totals
2 Whales (Blows only)
150 Wilson's Storm Petrels
15 Cory's Shearwaters
60 Greater Shearwaters
1 Sooty Shearwater
Sunfish, Breaching fish, Flying Fish
Our first trip in a few days took us out for many hours. The day was gorgeous and visibility great, and we were able to find breaching fish, ocean Sunfish and occassional groups of flying fish, but no cetaceans.
Totals
2 Ocean Sunfish
30 Flying fish
50 Wilsons Storm petrels
10 Greater Shearwaters
2 Corys Shearwaters
Sunday August 8 2010
Sea Turtles and a Breaching Basking Shark
Today started really well with 2 Leatherback sea turtles south of the radio tower at the Camp Hero. We headed to where we found dolphins yesterday. We did find a Logger head sea turtle and a breaching basking shark. We had reports of whales but did not find any today.
Totals:
2 Leatherback Sea Turtles
1 Loggerhead Sea Turtle
1 Basking Shark
35 Wilsons Storm Petrels
12 Greater Shearwaters
1 Corys Shearwater
Saturday August 7 2010
Dolphins, Hammerheads and Basking Sharks
It was a gorgeous day on the water: cool, comfortable and calm. We headed South and West to where whales had been seen earlier. We found over 100 Common dolphins, including many newborns. We also found a very cooperative Hammerhead shark, who stayed next to us for some time. We also found lots of breaching basking sharks all around us.
Totals:
125 Common Dolphins
1 Hammerhead Shark
50 Wilsons Storm Petrels
100 Greater Shearwaters
10 Corys Shearwaters
Wednesday August 4 2010
We traveled to an area about 30 miles from Montauk, SE of Block Island, to where some whales had been seen. We didn’t have any luck there so we headed to the East Mudhole and found a Fin whale. We had some great views of the whale and we also saw a Kemp’s Ridley Sea turtle sleeping next to the boat, near the whale. We also saw two sharks, a hammer head and a blue shark.
Totals:
100+ Corys Shearwaters
200+ Greater Shearwaters
200+ Wilsons Storm Petrels
1 Pomaine Jaeger
Sunday August 1 2010
Fin Whale Calf-Nap Time
It wasn't until 1:30pm that we saw our first whale blows-those of a large fin whale about 1000 yards ahead of us. As we approached the area, we saw smaller, fainter blows- those of a young fin whale calf, no bigger than 30 feet. The calf was resting(logging) just under the surface, next to the boat for nearly 30 minutes before diving and swimming away. He stayed down for nearly 20 minutes, several times, but the calf stayed close enough to u for all to get a good look. A nice way to end this week! We are now at 90.4% success rate in finding cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises).
Totals:
2 Fin Whales (cow and calf)
5 Greater Shearwaters
5 Corys Shearwaters
50 Wilsons Storm Petrels
Saturday July 31 2010
7 Fin Whales, including 2 cow/calf pairs
We headed east towards where whales had been seen yesterday and we found our first whales just about where we expected. 7 Fin Whales were spread out over several miles. These 7 included 2 cow/calf pairs- one pair we had a good look at and recognized them from earlier this month. The calm seas and beautiful skies were the icing on the cake.
Totals
7 Fin Whales
2 Greater Shearwaters
40 Wilson's Storm Petrels
Friday July 30 2010
Hammer Head Today!
It was a long trip out to East of Fareway but once we got there the magic really started. The day began with two small (200lbs) ocean sunfish. Then, as you may have guessed, we saw a hammer head shark! It was insane- the shark approached the boat multiple while it was just under the surface so we had a fantastic view of it. Shortly after the hammer head we found the fin whales. We saw a total of 6 for the day ranging from 45ft to 60ft. It was incredible because they were only a few feet away from the boat hanging out just below the surface. We were able to view the whole body underwater and got an especially good look at the tail. Later we saw a group of 35 common dolphins which were very playful.
Totals:
6 Fin Whales
35 Common Dolphins
1 Hammer Head Shark
2 Ocean Sunfish
10 Greater Shearwater
50 Wilson's Storm Petrels
5 Double Crested Cormorants
12 Wilson's Phalarope
Wednesday July 28 2010
Sunny with a side of Whales
Today was a beautiful day out on the water. There was a cool breeze, great visibilty, and tons of ocean life to see! We started the day off by seeing a massive basking shark breach out of the water. Soon after we saw a small(250lbs) ocean sunfish. Later we spotted a60ft fin whale. While trying to locate a fin whale that had a long terminal dive we found another individual. It was great because the whale came really close to the boat and the passengers got slimmed by the blow of the whale which is always a treat! On our way back we saw 4 common dolphins that rode our bow wave for a while. A sea turtle was also spotted, but it dove before we were able to identify it.
Totals
2 Fin whales
4 Common dolphins
1 Basking Shark
1 Sea Turtle
1 Ocean Sunfish
10 Greater Shearwaters
150 Storm Petrels
Sunday July 25 2010
Dolphins, Turtles, More Dolphins
How can you describe a day with over 450 dolphins and two species of sea turtles (leatherback and loggerhead); not to mention an ocean sunfish and a blue shark. SPECTACULAR!
Totals
460 Common Dolphins
1 Leatherback Sea Turtle
1 Loggerhead Sea Turtle
1 Blue Shark
1 Ocean Sunfish
50 Wilson's Storm Petrels
3 Greater Shearwaters
10 Corey's Searwaters
Saturday July 24 2010
Turtles, Dolphins, and Whales
Heading past Montauk Lighthouse we encountered a 6 foot long Leatherback sea turtle. An awesome start to a great day! Our whales- a mother/calf pair of fin whales were first seen by noon. For two hours we stayed with them as they moved closer to Montauk. Near an area SE of the point, we also encountered a group of 100-120 common dolphins including many newborns. What a day!!
Totals
2 Fin whales
120 Common dolphins
100 Wilsons Storm Petrels
20 Corey's Shearwater
Friday July 23 2010
Finally!!!
We finally found life in the ocean again! Our first sighting occurred at 10:45am at around 5 miles S.W. of Block Island. We saw an enormous group of about 150 common dolphins. It was incredible! There were several calves and the dolphins were very active, porpoising and spinning out of the water. Shortly afterwards we saw another group of 8-12 common dolphins which were also a lot of fun. Later in the day we saw a Mako shark, a blue shark, and an ocean sunfish. The ocean sunfish was probably about 3ft and around 200lbs.
Totals:
170 common dolphins
1 mako
1 Blue Shar
1 Ocean Sunfish
1 Coreys Shearwater
20 Greater Shearwaters
30 Common terns
325 Wilsons Storm Petrels
2 Northern Gannets
1 Dowitcher
12 Wilsons Phalaropes
6 Sanderlings
1 LoggerHead SeaTurtle
Thursday July 22 2010
The day started well with great visibility. We headed SE then continued south and SW but had no luck finding whales. We were able to spot some pelagic birds, especially behind a scalloper but often they were patchily spread.
Totals:
40 Greater shearwaters
60 Coreys shearwaters
1 Sooty shearwater
70 Wilson's Storm petrels
Sunday July 18 2010
While all the landlubbers were soaking up today's heat the crew and passengers on the Viking Starship enjoyed strong breezes and cool temperatures. Once at sea we spotted a sea turtle, 2 fin whales and 1 minke whale, in addition we were treated with the sight of bluefin tuna leaping out of the water and had a great view of a blue shark!
Totals:
1 Minke whale
2 Fin whales
1 Blue shark
1 Sea turtle
75 Bluefin Tuna
6-10 Red-necked phalaropes
1 Northern gannet
5-10 Greater shearwaters
5 Corey's shearwaters
1500-2000 Wilson's storm Petrels
Saturday July 17 2010
A Multispecies Day - Fin, Humpback and Minke Whales
We headed east through the haze towards an area of clearer visibilty and towards where we have seen whales for several weeks. Our first whales we spotted at 12:16. They were a cow/calf pair of fin whales. The calf had significant scars from what appeared to be a boat strike. Our second cow/calf pair were spotted shortly thereafter. In the same spot we saw a fifth fin whale and a Mike whale. On our way back we briefly saw a humpback whale but it didnt stay and we couldn't find it again.
Totals for the Day:
5 Fin Whales
1 Minke Whale
1 Humpback Whale
1 Hammerhead Shark
400+ Wilsons Storm Petrels
70 Greater Shearwaters
15 Coreys Shearwaters
5 Red-necked phalaropes
Friday July 16 2010
Today we had 1 brief view of a fin whale blowing, and then we headed SE to search for more whales, where they had been sighted a few days ago. We spotted our first blows at 1:30pm but the whale eluded us. It turned out to be a nice day on the water- but few sightings.
Totals:
3 Blue Sharks
55 Greater Shearwaters
10 Corey's Shearwaters
150 Wilson's Storm Petrels
1 Manx Shearwater- preening
Sunday July 11 2010
A Bakers Dozen- An amazing End to an amazing week
Today was a spectacular day on the water, with 13 fin whales and 8 Minke whales. We headed east, without fog or rain, and found our first whales just after 11:30. We came across a minke whale and four fin whales, including one of the cow/calf pair that we've been seeing all this week! The whales were feeding on deep dense bait patches and repeatedly surfaced near the vessel, close enough to almost touch them!! We continued to find whales for several hours, even on our way home! Over all it really was a fantastic say and a great end to a week full of brilliant sightings!
Totals:
13 Fin whales
8 Minke whales
65 Greater Shearwaters
5 Coreys Shearwaters
200 Wilsons storm Petrels.
Saturday July 10 2010
Whales, Whales, Whales!
We headed east, through the fog and rain this morning. We saw our first whales- a cow/calf pair around noon in the same region we've been seeing whales all week. Two cow/calf pairs constantly swam around us, under us, and in front of us. They rolled over repeatedly, amazing the whole boat. The whales were feeding in dense patches of food and the pelagic birds were feeding in the leftovers. A spectacular day on the water!
Totals:
12 Fin Whales
1 Minke Whale
500 Greater Shearwater
200 Wilson's Storm Petrels
50 Corey's Shearwaters
4 Sooty Shearwaters
1 Hammerhead Shark
2 Blue Sharks
Friday July 9 2010
Another Amazing Day!
We left a hot and sticky dock and sailed off toward where we saw the whales yesterday. Our first Minke whale was spotted around 11:30am. For the day we saw a total of six Minke whales once again interspersed between Fin whale sightings. At one point the ship was surrounded by Minke whales and several groups of 1-2 Fin whales. The Fin whales dove for about 4 minutes at a time and displayed boat avoidance consistently but we were able to spot different individuals. One Fin whale that had been down for at least 5 minutes surprised everyone by appearing right next to the boat- that was a real crowd-pleaser!
Totals:
9 Fin Whales
6 Minke Whales
1 Ocean Sunfish
1 Blue Shark
300 Wilson's Storm Petrels
150 Greater Shearwaters
7 Sooty Shearwaters
7 Corey's Shearwaters
2 Manx Shearwaters
75 Common Tern
5 Lease Tern
10 Crested Cormorants
1 Common Loon
Thursday July 8 2010
Whale Madness Continues
We drove through the thick fog at the docks into an excellent day with great visibility! The first thing we saw was a small ocean sunfish (150lbs-300lbs). After that we continued our track where we saw the whales yesterday. Fortunately they were there again. We saw a total of 16 fin whales and 10-12 minke whales. There was one mother calf pair of fin whales and also several groups of 3-4 whales in the area. Minke whales appeared periodically while we observed the fin whales. Bluefin tuna were also spotted jumping out of the water. At one point a 9ft blue shark came within 2ft of the boat!
Our totals for the day were:
16 Fin Whales
10-12 Fin Whales
1 Ocean Sunfish
50 Greater Shearwater
300 Corey's SHearwaters
10 Sooty Shearwaters
400 Wilson's Storm Petrels
1 Royal Blue Shark
Wednesday July 7 2010
Today was FANTASTIC!
Driving east into the haze we first encountered a large adult leatherback sea turtle. Shortly afterward an enormous ocean sunfish (probably around 800-1000lbs) was spotted. We were able to get up really close to it and see the eye since it was swimming near the surface. After the we found our first minke whale of the day, one of a total 10-12 spotted.
The fin whales appeared soon after essentially surrounding us. At one point there were four fin whales swimming next to each other. All the whales were over 60ft long. Later 4 fin whales lunged out of the water repeatedly, almost porpoising. In between the fin and the minke whale sitings we found about 3 patches of 100's of bluefin tuna. For the day we saw a total of 9-10 fin whales. At one point we also saw a blue shark, bluefish and striped bass rolling at the surface. It was a great day! Don't forget to check out the fantastic pics!
Totals for the day:
9-10 Fin Whales
10-12 Minke Whales
500+ Bluefin Tuna
1 Ocean Sunfish
1 Leatherback Sea Turtle
1 Blue Shark
100 Greater Shearwaters
200 Cory's Shearwater
200 Wilson's Storm Petrels
Sunday July 4 2010
Minkes Galore- An Even Dozen!!
We sailed to the east of Block Island and found 12 Minke whales once again including a mother and calf pair. The Starship spent 2 hours observing the Minkes-They appeared to be in groups of 4 spread out over several miles. The birds today included Greater Shearwaters, Cory's Shearwaters, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Black-Legged Kittiwakes, Northern Gannets, Least Terns, and Common Terns. We also found a blue shark and skip jack tuna. Todays trip was really fantastic. It is incredibly rare to find so many Minke whales, let alone mother/calf pairs; and just as incredible to find that number twice in four days!! In 23 years of whale watching trips, we've never seen that many Minke whales at once! We will check photographs to see if any of today's whales were also seen on Friday. Click HERE to see the great pictures taken on the trip.
Saturday July 3 2010
A Beautiful Day on the Water!
However we had no success in finding whales, dolphins or porpoises. We sailed to all the areas where whales and dolphins were seen yesterday but to no avail. We saw 15 Greater Shearwaters, 20 Cory's Shearwaters, and 75 Wilson's Storm Petrels.
Friday July 2 2010
An Amazing Day!
We headed towards the area we saw the whale briefly yesterday. At 11:30am we encountered our first group of dolphins- 30 common dolphins. An hour later we encountered our next group- 60 bottlenose dolphins. We headed homeward and just as the day was winding down we found the motherload of whales just 12 miles SE of Montauk. We saw 12 Minke whales, 3 Fin back whales, and 1 Humpback whale. Today's sightings also included Greater Shearwaters, Sooty Shearwaters, Corrys Shearwaters, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Common Terns, Red-throated loons. All in all it was a FANTASTIC and exciting trip. Click HERE to visit the Cresli website and see some of the fantastic pictures taken aboard the Viking Starship today. We have a couple of gorgeous days coming up this weekend- perfect weather to get out there and experience this trip first hand!
Thursday July 1
Birds, Wind, White Caps, 1 whale and 1 Sunfish
The Viking Starship crew headed SE to an area where whales were spotted a few days ago. We found a few Wilsons Storm Petrels and Greater Shearwaters. We then headed east, where we found an Ocean sunfish, Corys Shearwaters, Manx Shearwaters and lots of storm petrels. Finally we spotted a blow, probably from a fin whale about a mile from us so we headed there but were unable to find the whale again. The totals for today were: 1 whale(unknown species), 1 Ocean Sunfish, 5 manx Shearwaters, 10 Greater Shearwaters, 20 Corys shearwaters and 50 Wilsons Storm Petrels.
2010 Update
The Viking Fleet and CRESLI are offering special family friendly marine cruises focusing on the sights of the ocean! Enjoy a day on the water with your family looking for whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sea birds and sunfish. Along the way you can view the Montauk lighthouse and all the landmarks of the east end. A qualified naturalist / marine biologist will narrate the tour, conduct a plankton tow and answer all of your questions! The Viking boats are equipped with clean restrooms, comfortable seating and full galleys onboard. We recommend reservations. You can either do so by phone or online. The trips sail from July 1 until Labor Day on the following days- Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat and Sun. The fare is $59 for adults and $25 for kids 5- 12 years of age. Children under 5 are always free.
On these trips you have a chance to spot the following species:
Cetaceans: Humpback, Fin, Right, Sei and Sperm whales; Common, Bottlenose, Atlantic White Sided, and Risso's Dolphins; Leatherback, Green, and Loggerhead Turtles; Basking, Great White, Hammerhead, and Blue Sharks. Bluefin, Yellowfin, and Bigeye Tuna;White Marlin, Ocean Sunfish, Portuguese Man-of-War, and other marine life.
Birds: Cory's, Greater, Sooty, Manx, and Audobon's Shearwaters; Wilson's and Leach's Storm Petrels; Northern Fulmar; Northern Gannet; Red-necked and Red Phalaropes; Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers; South Polar Skua; Greater Black-backed, Herring and Bonaparte's Gulls.
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Our Whale Watching and Marine Cruise is now completed for the 2009 season. Thanks to everyone who joined us on our very successful trips this summer. Don't forget to check back in Spring for our 2010 Schedule. Hope to see you then!!
Tuesday September 1
Today was another spectacular day Whale Watching on the Viking Starship! We found a large fin whale very quickly into the trip (est. @ 70 ft long) and we were able to watch it for over an hour as it displayed some great blows and people were able to capture many great photos. There was also a minke whale swimming in the same area. We then went searching for more cetaceans and found another smaller fin whale. This whale lunged once, followed by a couple of breathing sequences. After leaving the fin whale, we headed back towards Montauk, only to find ourselves surrounded by 80-100 bottlenose dolphin (inshore subspecies). They put on a great show, porpoising, breaching, and tail slapping. As usual, we found many pelagic birds, but counts were made. Total for the trip: 2 fin whales, 1 minke whale, 80-100 bottlenose dolphins
Monday August 31st
Excellent visibility and calm seas were no help today. We travelled to the areas where we had been finding whales and birds, but were unsuccessful again today. Few birds, and a breaching basking shark were all that were seen. Today's total; 1 Basking Shark, 12 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Greater Shearwater and 60 Wilson's Storm Petrels.
Sunday August 30th
A tough day. Torn between the desire to find whales and the potential for high seas- we decided to head out knowing that conditions were safe enough albeit rough. We reached the whale grounds by 11am, but by then many people were unwell and we decided to conduct a slow turn back while looking for whales. We found a blue shark and some pelagic birds but no whales. Totals for today's trip included 1 blue shark, 20 Cory's Shearwaters, 20 Greater Shearwaters and 70 Wilson's storm petrels
Tuesday August 25th
One of the best days of the Year
We had reports of a few whales not far from where we were headed. Our first whale, a fin whale, was seen just after 11:00am. We saw about four fin whales, but they were staying down for long times. Within an hour, we found some minke whales. We began our way home and were pleasantly suprised by an amazing congregation of 12 fin whales and 2 more Minkes. The totals for todays trip were 15 fin whales and 4 Minke whales, 75 Corys Shearwaters, 3 Greater Shearwaters, 1 Manx Shearwater and 200 Wilsons Storm Petrels.
Sunday August 16th
Dolphins & Whales
An amazing trip! We headed out and found a group of 100 Common dolphins at 10:30 am. By 10:50 we found the first pair of the 9 Fin whales seen during the trip (3 cow/calf pairs + 3 singletons). We also encountered at least 8 Minke whales. What a day! Totals for the day: 9 Fin whales, 8 Minke Whales, 100 Common dolphins, 200 Wilson’s Storm Petrels, 200 Greater Shearwaters, and 60 Cory’s Shearwaters.
Tuesday August 11th
Basking Shark, Dolphins, and Humpbacks
A long day, but well worth it!! We headed to several whale areas before finally finding something breaching a few miles from us. It was a massive basking shark, somewhere between 15-18ft. After leaving the basking shark, at 1.30pm, we found 60 Common dolphins a few minutes later. They gave us some good views as they rode our bow wave and wake. On our way back we found a humpback calf who checked us out repeatedly diving under as and coming up next to us. A short while later we found mom aswell. All in all today we saw 1 basking Shark, 60 common dolphins, 2 humpback whales, 150 Wilsons Storm Petrels, 25 Corys Shearwaters and 10 Greater Shearwaters, 1 manx shearwater and 2 Northern Gannets.
Monday August 10th
A long trip to Coxes Ledge wasn’t successful. We traveled and looked hard, but found no whales today. We’ll try again tomorrow. Totals for the day; 1 Blue shark, 1 Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle, 200 Wilson’s Storm Petrels, 50 Corys Shearwaters, 50 Greater Shearwaters. 1 Manx Shearwater, and 3 Northern Gannets.
Sunday August 9
1 Fin Whale- Briefly
A day of unlimited visibility and reports of whales was promising. We headed towards where whales were seen yesterday and found a fin whale shortly after 11:00am. The whale blew twice, then dove. We waited for 30 minutes for the whale to resurface, but it didn't, at least not near us. We then headed to the east of another whale sighting from yesterday, but to no avail. In total on todays trip we saw 1 fin whale, 1 Pomaine Jaeger, 150 Wilsons Storm Petrels, 50 Corys Shearwaters and 15 Greater Shearwaters.
Tuesday August 4
Dolphins, tuna, Pelagic birds and FOG
We left the dock under sunny skies, looking forward to getting offshore to find cetaceans and pelagic birds, and to avoid some of the oppresive heat on land. As we neared the Montauk Point Lighthouse, pea-soup thick fog rolled in. We knew that the fog was patchy and we were determined to find clearings and life. We continued out, and once we found a clearing, we found cetaceans - Short beaked common dolphins. A group of 30 dolphins swam towards us, around us, and under our bow for some timed, giving everyone an excellent view of adults and calves, We headed further out and again found fog; then clearing; then more fog, etc. For many hours and many miles, we searched for other cetaceans and openings in the fog. We returned to the area we visited yesterday and with good
visibility, once again, we found lots of tuna and pelagic birds. Although we had reports of fin whales in the area, we didn’t find them today. We had to “settle” for some amazing views of dolphins, tuna, pelagic birds, and the interactions between them. Our totals for the day: 30 Common Dolphins, 96 Greater Shearwaters, 67 Cory’s Shearwaters, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 169 Wilson’s Storm Petrels, 2 Black Terns, 2 Parasitic Jaegers (bird counts courtesy of Shaibal Mitra).
Monday August 3
Tuna, Herring, Dolphins, and Whales
Conditions were perfect today- great visibility, good seas, and a cool breeze. We headed to the area in which we have been seeing whales for the past 3 weeks. As we got there we saw thousands of tuna jumping out in all different directions- acres of tuna. They were feeding on herring which in turn were jumping up in small groups and large shoals, also called "bait showers" and we knew that we should soon see cetaceans. We found a group of 30 common dolphins at 11:45. At 12:15 a minke whale blew briefly and left. At 12:20 a 75 foot fin whale made an appearance- we were able to observe it for some time and several before we headed home. Our totals for the day were- 1 Fin Whale, 1 Minke Whale, 30 Common Dolphins, 300 Wilson't Petrels, 500 Greater Shearwaters, 300 Cory's Shearwaters, and 1 Immature Northern Gannet.
Sunday August 2
Fin Whales and Dolphins
The Viking Fleet/CRESLI whale watch went on the 140' Viking Starship to accommodate all of our passengers. Conditions were excellent and our first whales were seen just after 11:00 am. Six fin whales, including 2 mother/calf pairs were found during the two hours on the "whale grounds". The whales were occasionally elusive, but we did get some views, even though some would stay down for over 15 minutes. Just next to the lighthouse we found over 100 bottlenose dolphins on our way back in. Totals for the day: 6 Fin whales, 100+ Bottlenose dolphins, 250 Wilson's Storm Petrls, 250 Greater Shearwaters, 300 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Immature Gannet.
Tuesday July 28
Dolphins & More Dolphins
A long ride to get clear of the fog brought us to where we expected to find some cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and we did. A group of 30 common dolphins spent 30 minutes swimming around us porpoising, riding our bow waves, and giving everyone a good view. We spent several more hours searching and found another group of dolphins nearer to home. They too rode our bow waves, giving people a good view. Totals for the day: 40 Common dolphins, 200 Cory's Shearwaters, 200 Greater Shearwaters, 1 Manx Shearwater, 500 Wilson's Storm Petrels, and 2 immature Northern Gannets.
Monday July 27
Camera Shy Fin Whales
Today's good visibility made it easier than yesterday to find whales. Our first blows were seen at 11:30am. The whale blew several times before submerging for more than 10 minutes. Our second whale- a 60ft fin whale- did the same, a few blows and then a long dive of 10+ minutes. Our third encounter was a a fin whale that stayed down for twenty minutes. They were elusive and camera shy but we did see them. Totals for the day- 3 fin whales, 200 Cory's Shearwaters, 200 Greater Ghearwaters, 500 Wilson's Storm petrels, 1 Mature Northern Gannet, 1 Parasitic Jaeger, and 1 Sooty Shearwater.
Sunday July 26
Fin Whales in the Fog
Conditions started out well enough with 5 miles of visibility but as we got to the whale grounds mother nature and physics conspired to bring us some fog. The sea surface temperature was in the mid 50's and the fog closed in. After searching the whale grounds, we headed east, then south in an effort to find whales and openings in the fog. We decided to head back and on our way to the dock-just where we expected- we found 3 fin whales. A 70ft cow and her 30ft calf, accompanied by a 50ft individual. We have to give credit to one of our passengers that saw the whale in the fog off the stern. The trip was a communal effort- everyone helped to make it a success. Totals for the day: 3 Fin Whales, 200 Wilson's Petrels, 50 Greater Shearwaters, 100 Cory's Shearwaters, and 1 Gannet.
Monday July 20
Another Winnier- 25 Fin Whales!
Once again we had reports of whales 18 miles out, but decided to head to the area we had been seeing whales, birds, and bait. Out first whales had been spotted at 11:05- fin whales- just about 10 miles out. We spent an hour with our first group of 9 fin whales then moved slightly to another group of 7. We then went on to observe a widely scattered group of 9 more fin whales. We had whales everywhere we looked and it made for one of our best trips thus far. Today's totals: 25 Fin whales, 200 Cory's Shearwaters, 200 Greater Shearwaters, 5 Sooty Shearwaters, and 100 Wilson's Storm Petrels. For some info on Fin Whales click HERE
Sunday July 19
Whales, whales, and more whales!
We had reports of whales near where we left them last week, so we headed out back that way. We saw our first blows at 11am- it was a mother and a calf humpbacks. There were also fin whales near by and after spending some time with the humpbacks we headed towards them. We saw a total of 5 fin whales including one mother/calf pair that spend some time very close to us. We laft them after awhile and checked out the humbacks again- before calling it a day and heading back home. Our totals for the day were- 5-7 Fin whales, 2 Humpback whales, 410 Wilson's Storm Petrels, 270 Greater Shearwaters, 80 Cory's Shearewaters, 13 Sooty Shearwaters, and 4 Gannets.
Tuesday July 14
What a Trip!!
The Viking Star got a report of many whales about 16 miles south of the point today. We headed there and found our first whale just about 10 miles from the point. Within two hours of being there, we had seen 14 Fin whales, including 4 cow and calf pairs!! Our biggest females were nearly 80 feet long and we had at least 4 more whales which were in the 70-75 range. With reports of whales still to the south, we headed out again and found 5 more whales, 2 cow and calf pairs and a singleton, before heading home. In total today we saw 19 Fin Whales, 100 Corys Shearwaters, 50 Greater Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater and 5 Manx Shearwaters. All in all, it was a fantastic trip!! During July and August the Viking Star will sail every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 9.30am. To make reservations for our Whale Watch trips, call our office on 631 668 5700 or alternatively, reserve your tickets online by clicking HERE.
Monday July 13
Fin Whales at Coxes Ledge
The Viking Star headed to Fairway buoy- southeast of Block Island, near the western edge of Coxes Ledge. Whales had been spotted there yesterday and the day before. At 12:09 we saw our first blows- those of a fin whale. There were a total of 2 fin whales- a mother and a calf. The mother was staying underwater 5-12 minutes per dive while the calf was diving for 3-7 minutes on average. We were able to stay with the whales for about an hour, after which we had to head back to the dock. Today's tally: 2 Fin Whales, 400 Cory's Shearwaters, 200 Greater Shearwaters, and 150 Wilson's Storm Petrels.
Sunday July 12
So close and yet, so far
A fellow boat reported seeing humpback and minke whales seen at Coxes Ledge yesterday, so we were determined to head in that direction, but had to contend with 4 -5 foot seas rolling from the SW. We decided to head south to the area where whales were seen last week and then east, providing us with a bouncy ride south, and a better ride east (instead of a potentially bouncier ride by heading ESE from Montauk directly to Coxes Ledge). While seabirds (our usual assortment of Cory’s, Greater, and the occasional Sooty Shearwater, and Wilson’s Storm Petrels, and a few Gannets) abounded, we didn’t find whales and had to turn at 13:10 for the 3 hour trip back to the dock, looking all the while. Just as we passed near Montauk Light, we got a report that there were whales at Coxes Ledge almost 2.5 hours after we left and about 0.5 miles from where we turned around. We know where we are going tomorrow. Today’s totals: ~200 Wilson’s Storm petrels; ~150 Cory’s Shearwaters; ~100 Greater Shearwaters; 5 Sooty Shearwaters; 2 immature Northern Gannets.
For photos of the pelagic birds from our last 2 trips, click here
Click HERE to read Russell Drumms article about whale watching with the Viking Fleet featured in the East Hampton Star!!
Whale Watching Reports
July 7th 2009
A valiant effort came up short today, with regard to finding cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). The Viking Star and its crew of Viking and CRESLI personnel headed to where we had been seeing whales, dolphins, pelagic bird, and many sand eels; but only the birds were in the offing.
While we had reports of dolphins another two hours out from where we were, that was too far to travel, so Captain Carl and Dr. Artie decided to head east (the direction the humpback whales had been slowly heading on Sunday), but to no avail.
There were plenty of pelagic birds seen on this leg of this first third of the trip, including a Pomarine Jaeger and scores of Greater and Cory’s Shearwaters, and many large rafts of 50 + Wilsons Storm-Petrels, but no cetaceans or sand eels (at least not the large areas of sand eels patches from the surface to 150 feet down).
We headed South to the 30 fathom contour; the west into the center of Block Channel and then North to Montauk Point. Once again, the pelagic birds were numerous, including several immature Northern Gannets, and a black tern just south of the Montauk Point. No whales, but a good trip any way.
July 6th 2009
Whales & Dolphins
The Viking Star headed toward the area where we sighted whales the day before. On our way we heard of whales near yesterday's sighting spot- they were even closer in today. As we headed into the Whale Grounds, thick fog rolled in and we had to try and listen for the whales. Once the fog lifted, Captain Joe and Naturalist Dr. Artie decided to head towards the reported sightings that morning. In due course we found 5 humpback whales (including 1 mother/calf pair) some of which were seen by us yesterday. The humpbacks were followed by 60 Atlantic white-sided dolphins and hundreds of shearwaters. End tally was 200 Corys, 100 Shearwaters, 20 Sooty, and a few dozen Wilsons Storm Petrels. Another great trip!
July 5th 2009
On the Inagural trip of the 2009 Whale Watch season in Montauk NY (our first local regularly scheduled trip in 7 years) the Viking Fleet and the CRESLI crew found several large feeding groups of Humpback Whales about 2 hours out from the dock. We spent 2 hours with a group of 14 Humpbacks including 3 mother and calf pairs who were feeding ferociously on dense patches of sand eels. Bubble cloud feeding, kick feeding and surface lunges were seen almost continuously. On our way to the Whales and flying over the bubble clouds and Whales were hundreds of Corys, Great Shearwaters, about 75 Wilson's Storm Petrels, about 20 Soothing Shearwaters and a few immature Northern Gannets. Another group of about 15 Whales were seen in the distance. Captain Joe returned to the dock at about 3.30pm with some very happy Whale watchers. This was a phenomenal start to our 2009 Whale Watch Season so come on out and join us. The Viking Star is sailing every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 9.30am. You can check out some awesome shots HERE .
Viking Family Whale Watch and Marine Cruise 2009
Join the Viking Fleet on a true family friendly Montauk adventure! The Viking fleet and CRESLI are now offering special family friendly marine cruises focusing on the sightings of the ocean! Enjoy a day on the water with your family looking for whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sea birds, and ocean sunfish. Along the way view Montauk lighthouse and all the landmarks of the east end. A qualified naturalist/marine biologist will narrate the tour, conduct a plankton tow and answer all of your questions! The Viking boats have clean restrooms, comfortable seating, and a full galley on board. Parking is free of charge. We strongly recommend reservations. Call or purchase your tickets online at vikingfleet.com.
*Departs from the Viking Dock in Montauk Harbor aboard the 110ft Viking Star.
July and August ONLY
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday - 9:30am – 3:00pm
Rates:
Adults: $49
Kids (5-12): $19
Kids (under 5): Free
2009 Offshore Whale Watch One special Trip only
For 2009 we will have one offshore whale watching trip August 16, 2009.
We hope to see the following:
Cetaceans: Humpback, Fin, Minke, Right; Sei, Sperm and Pilot Whales; Common, Bottlenose, Atlantic White Sided and Risso’s dolphins; Leatherback, Green, and Loggerhead Turtles; Basking, Great White, Hammerhead, and Blue Sharks; Bluefin, Yellowfin, and Bigeye Tuna; White Marlin, Ocean Sunfish; Portuguese Man-Of-War; and other marine life.
Birds:
Cory’s, Greater, Sooty, Manx, and Audubon’s, Shearwaters; Wilson’s and Leach’s Storm-Petrels; Northern Fulmar; Northern Gannet; Red-Necked and Red Phalaropes; Pomarine, and Parasitic Jaegers; South Polar Skua; Greater Black-backed, Harring, Bonaparte’s Gulls.
This offshore trip is on the 140’ Viking Starship that can sleep up to 65 passengers in navy bunk style. Excellent food will be available at reasonable prices. Passengers may bring their own food as well. The trips will be lead by a seasoned mammal biologist and professor. Volunteers from CRESLI will assist in photo-identification, spotting and data collection.
August 16-18, 2009 (51 hours)
Price: $310, for CRESLI Members it is $275
Departs from the Viking Dock in Montauk Harbor at 7:00 PM on August 16th and head to Martha’s Vineyard (MV) to pick up and drop off passengers. We expect to arrive at Oak Bluffs in MV at around 12:30 am on the 17th; we leave MV at 1:00am and proceed to the GSC. We should reach the whale grounds around bay break; spend the next 24 hours amongst the whales and birds of the GSC. The following morning, we will have the option of either remaining on the whale grounds =, or returning early to MV got land-based birding, hiking, or other activities. The vessel will ultimately depart MV at 4:30 pm on August 18th and return to Montauk at 10:30 pm on August 18th
For information and reservations for the offshore multi-day Great South Channel trip, click here…
http://cresli.org/cresli/GSC_offshore.html
