Humpback Whale off Cape Cod, Massachusetts
The unfortunate loss of a finback whale on Dyer Prince Beach, Eastham in Cape Cod Bay (see Finback Whale Strands on Outer Cape Beach) prompted Turtle Journal to look back at our summer visits to Stellwagen Bank off Cape Cod to spend time with finback, minke and humpback whales. Okay, we’ll admit it. The fact that the morning dawned with zero (0) degree temperature … No, not zero wind chill, but zero period … strongly hinted that a virtual return to warm conditions would be in order. So, we thought it might be temporarily palliative to take a look back at the whales of summer.
Humpback Whale Prepares to Dive on Stellwagen Bank
Provincetown hosts several fleets of whale watch boats with highly skilled captains and well trained naturalists to provide eager visitors with a memorable experience without undue interference with the whales. On the mainland, Plymouth Harbor hosts similarly well qualified boats and crews. Both fleets head for Stellwagen Bank which offers safety and plentiful food for several species of whales, including right whales, finbacks. minkes and humpbacks, as well as dolphins and pilot whales.
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Pair of Finback Whales off Provincetown, Cape Cod
As sleek and swift as thoroughbreds, finback whales grace Stellwagen Bank off the northern tip of Cape Cod. Unlike powerful humpbacks, they can perform a deep dive with merely an arched back rather than the full fluke show. The whale that was spotted in Wellfleet Harbor on Wednesday, initially identified as a minke and guided out to the bay by the harbormaster boat was likely the same finback whale that was discovered beached in Eastham on Thursday morning.
Humpback Whale Feeding on Stellwagen Bank off Cape Cod
Humpback whales are especially attracted to Stellwagen Bank for summer feeding. These magnificent marine mammals hunt in groups as they encircle their prey in bubble nets and then dash to the surface with mouths agape.
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Humpback Whales Feeding on Stellwagen Bank off Cape Cod
There are few natural experiences as exciting as watching some of the planet’s largest, brainiest animals hunting prey a few feet from your lens. And there are few places on this globe as exquisitely beautiful as Cape Cod Bay on a sunny August day. As a humpback raises it fluke on a dive to the bottom of Stellwagen Bank, we head back to port in Provincetown.
Humpback Whale Fluke