Week 161 7/30/18
What did our Colorado family want to do when visiting Massachusetts? Go on a whale watch, of course. John and Julia miss the ocean and all of their parents joined in the trip.
We bought tickets in advance for whale watch out of Plymouth. We arrived in plenty of time and queued up to board the boat.
The naturalist and pilot were very good. She told us about the whale physiology and behaviors that we were seeing and also helped us communicate about where to look for something about to happen.
All of the whale watching boats seem to be in touch so they could share info on what the local whales are doing, where they can be found etc.
Julia took this photo of the harbor as we left. The trip to Stellwagen Bank took about an hour.
We had a spectacular day. The three whales we saw were very close to the boat. All were humpbacks. Individuals are identified by markings on their unique tails.
The first two humpbacks we watched were a mother and calf. Because the calf was still nursing, they stayed together all the time. The adult would normally dive for 10 minutes or so to feed, but these two stayed near the surface because the calf wanted to play. That can be a problem because a nursing mother needs tons more food per day.
Here she is spouting.
The third humpback we watched was an adult female who hunted for fish using a "bubble net." Bubbles are made by the whale in a circle surrounding a school of fish. We looked for bubbles like this in a ring because it is the first step before seeing the whale surface.
After the fish are confused and trapped by the bubble net, the whale comes up from below and swallows them.
Here is the calf playing.
Here are the mother and calf together.
We were ready for a seafood meal in Plymouth after getting back to land. We all indulged in a great meal at a casual place. Julia had lobster.
Leaving Plymouth I remembered reading about a large monument that is rarely visited. The GPS said it was right around the corner! Most people go to Plymouth Rock which is just a rock with the date carved on it. But this thing was huge! It is the National Monument to the Forefathers and is the largest solid granite monument in the United States - 81 feet tall.
