We had a fantastic trip on near glass calm seas on Tuesday. In addition, it turned out to be a five species day! The first whale we watched was a humpback that we saw last week, Sedge.
After some great looks at Sedge, we decided to continue on to see what else we could find. We had a quick glance at a minke whale. Soon after, we encountered another humpback, Hornbill. Hornbill was first identified in 1977, which makes him one of the earlier of the identified individuals in the Gulf of Maine. We can make a very educated guess that this whale is male, as it has never been seen with a calf. We noticed he suddenly changed the direction in which he was swimming a few times, and that sometimes indicates that a whale is feeding (and chasing after a school of fish). We eventually saw him on our fish finder, approaching a large mass of bait.
After leaving Hornbill, we were lucky enough to find a trio of Atlantic white sided dolphins. We were just wondering if they belonged to a larger pod when we moved away and found a group of about 100 or more just a little ways away. Not far from the dolphins, we had a great look at a fin whale. Finally, we came across a grey seal who stayed at the surface long enough for us to stop and have a quick look before it dove down into the water. With the number and variation of animals we saw, there was something for everyone on this trip!