Wednesday, July 16

The air and water were noticeably cooler as we awoke and headed toward the Great South Channel. Pulling on our sweatshirts, we were out on the bow quickly, as Lisa spotted a blow that looked V-shaped a few miles away. As we neared, the shape was unmistakeable, and most on the ship recognized it as that of one of the remaining 300 Northern Right Whales on the planet. We managed to approach, keeping a careful distance, and saw that there were actually 4-5 whales,

almost 2% of the entire global population. We got some photographs to document the whales for research purposes before calling the Coast Guard as the sighting obligated us to do so they could re-route shipping lanes to protect this rarest species of baleen whales. The Greater Shearwater numbers were back in the thousands as we continued on -- up from fewer than 100 during the entire previous day in deep water. We also began to see occasional Northern Gannets on the horizon now that we were back in cooler, shallower waters. Gulls had returned, and a Parasitic Jaeger moved in to harass them behind the boat.

Near mid-morning, we ran into our first groups of Humpback Whales. While these whales were probably commonplace to most of the whale-watchers on the boat, they were new to a novice like me and the great views we got on this day were fascinating to all. We ran across several different groups during the course of the day, the most memorable of which were "lunge-feeding" small fish out of the top layers of the water. The Humpbacks do this by taking a shallow dive and releasing a stream of bubbles underwater. As the mass of bubbles rises to the surface, the whales lunge directly upward through it, capturing the surprised fish in their giant mouths and often coming 10 feet out of the water before sinking slowly back to disappear. Seeing these baleen-feeding giants active in this unique feeding style supplies the visual definition of the phrase "gaping maw."

Humpbacks' deep-diving style also plays a role in making them the novice whale watcher's dream. After surfacing for breath 4 or 5 times, the whales tip forward and raise their giant white flukes almost straight up in the air, seeming to hang there for a minute to give everyone the chance to get a great view or take a clear photograph. This also assists researchers in identifying the whales, since the marks on the underside of Humpbacks' flukes are as unique as human fingerprints. Humpbacks can be tracked relatively easily for their entire lives through the use of these identifying fieldmarks, and Lisa frequently explained the names and histories of the many whales we encountered during the day.

Butch Pearce's unwavering watch from the chum slick at the back also picked a few Arctic Terns off the horizon. Just before lunch, the white "headlights" of a deep chocolate-brown South Polar Skua appeared off the stern of the boat, and the bird gave us a good show, moving toward the bow and then back to the stern for several minutes, then returning again for another appearance about 10 minutes later. As we neared the course home, we came across a several more groups of 4 or 5 Humpbacks bubble feeding. The first Sooty Shearwaters we had seen in several days dominated the flocks of gulls and Greater Shearwaters. As we watched, the birds knew even before we did where the bubble nets blown by the Humpbacks would appear, and we could focus on the spot to get great looks at the whales lunging out of the water to feed on the fish confused by the bubbles. The birds, managing to stay just out of the way of the whales, hurried in to pick up the scraps the whales had left behind.

After watching a few more Humpback groups and some Minke Whales on our way back, we returned to Gloucester at about 8:00 PM, a bit grubby and a couple hours behind schedule, but thankful that we had had only sprinkles of rain and had had calm seas for the whole trip. I couldn't help thinking as we entered the gates to return to harbor once again that it was a shame that only a few birders were on this trip; this trip is truly a chance of a lifetime, and with the experienced pelagic eyes of the North Carolina crew, was an incredible birding experience. A trip like this only reinforces the idea that, as in many places, the birds are out there -- it's just the birders who aren't. There's no telling what the next trip out this way might turn up. In addition, the chance to see the cetacean species up close is enough to give the hardest-core birder an appreciation for whales and other marine creatures - it certainly opened my eyes to another aspect of pelagic trips. We exchanged addresses and said our goodbyes to the members of our little shipside community as we neared the dock, and felt the initial quivers of the "land-sickness" as we stepped off the boat for the first time in three days. Although it would only take until the next afternoon for this feeling to fade, we knew that the memories of our experiences on this voyage would stay with us for much longer.

Birds

Cory's Shearwater: 16
Greater Shearwater: 4051 +
Sooty Shearwater: 770 +
Manx Shearwater: 7
Wilson's Storm Petrel: 9240 +
Leach's Storm Petrel: 131 +
White-faced Storm-Petrel: 1
Red-Billed Tropicbird: 1
Northern Gannet: 10-11
Arctic Tern: 2
Bridled Tern: 1
Parasitic Jaeger: 1
South Polar Skua: 2

Fin Whales: 18
Sperm Whales: 3
Northern Right Whales: 4-5
Humpback Whales: 31-32
Minke Whales: 5-6
Pilot Whales: 28-35
Baleonopterid sp.: 4-5
Mesoplodon sp.: 2

Bottlenose Doplhins: 219-261
Common Dolphins: 13-15
Risso's Dolphins: 544-687
Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins: 61-70
Basking Sharks: 22-23
Mola Mola (Ocean Sunfish): 15
Blue Shark: 6
Leatherback Turtle: 1
Portuguese Man O'War: 2-4