Seabird & Whale Tales Tale’s Excursion
Sunday, September 14, 2008

Summary from Wayne Petersen, David Clapp, and John Jahoda

Disappointed by having to postpone by a week the scheduled annual fall Tails of the Sea pelagic adventure due to weather, our boatload of intrepid mariners willingly set forth from Plymouth one week later, despite a somewhat dicey forecast for the second weekend in a row. Under heavily overcast skies and with a serious threat of rain, the adventure began at 8:30 a.m. as we rounded the end of Plymouth Beach, where small numbers of Double-crested Cormorants and a scattering of Laughing Gulls joined the larger numbers of Great Black-backed, Herring, and Ring-billed gulls assembled at the end of the spit. Virtually absent were the vast clouds of Common and Roseate terns that last year afforded such a memorable sendoff for our cruise. With the tide down, the growing extent of Brown’s Bank was apparent to the east of Plymouth Beach, and it was here that small numbers of terns were feeding, including at least one Forster’s Tern and several Black Terns. Black Terns witnessed a major influx this late summer, with counts numbering in the hundreds on outer Cape Cod during previous weeks.

As we set a course across Cape Cod Bay bound for the southern portion of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, rain-filled clouds eventually prevailed and light showers soon began to fall. The wind also increased from the south – a condition that prevailed for most of the day. Typically, however, enthusiasm ran high and birders and whale watchers alike cheerily chatted amongst one another, drank coffee, and diligently searched the soggy horizon for birds and whales. Apart from a scattering of gulls and a distant Northern Gannet or two, the first bird of real interest was a displaced landbird – a slim, long-tailed creature with russet in its wings – a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, obviously somewhat disoriented but clearly making its way back to shore. The appearance of landbirds out of sight of land is a relatively routine event in the fall, particularly following light northwesterly winds that tend to deflect them offshore; however, all agreed it seemed most surprising to encounter one under the conditions that prevailed at the time.

Once we neared Stellwagen Bank seabird activity increased, and the ephemeral sighting of a Sabine’s Gull instantly got the attention of the more serious birders on board. Despite the weather a number of commercial and private tuna fishing boats were “parked” on the southern edge of the bank, all hoping to land a mighty Bluefin Tuna, a fish potentially worth thousands of dollars at the dock if the size was great enough. Sadly most of the really large Bluefins have become sufficiently rare due to overfishing that they are seldom encountered on Stellwagen Bank these days. Everyone was fascinated by the use of the fishing “kites” being deployed by many of the boats as an innovative way to tend fishing gear in the water. Apparently this fishing apparatus has long been used in more southern waters, but their deployment by Massachusetts fishermen seems to be relatively recent.

Locating the tuna fishermen was tantamount to finding seabirds and whales. Within minutes of navigating among the fishermen, shearwaters of four species began to appear, along with feeding terns, and our first jaegers. Several distant whale blows reinforced the fact that there was undoubtedly plenty of bait beneath the surface. Great excitement was also quickly generated by the appearance of another Sabine’s Gull, this time a hooded adult that was able to be seen and enjoyed by all who cared to look. These lovely small gulls are high arctic breeders whose eastern Canadian Arctic population typically migrates rapidly south in late summer along the outer continental shelf on its way to pelagic wintering grounds thought to be off the coast of southern Africa.

The large number of Cory’s Shearwaters observed was indicative of the incursion of this warm-water species on Stellwagen Bank all summer. Normally this eastern Atlantic Ocean breeder only occurs in large numbers over the warmer surface waters south of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Besides Cory’s, we also witnessed numbers of Greater Shearwaters, up from the Southern Hemisphere for the austral winter, along with a few Sooty and Manx shearwaters as well. All of these “tubenosed” species were drawn to the food-rich waters of Stellwagen Bank, just as were the terns, jaegers, and whales.

The appearance of feeding terns, in this case a mix of both Common and Roseate terns, invariably attracts jaegers – kleptoparasites that shadow the movements of the terns in order to steal their hard-earned fish. Our sharp-eyed passengers readily picked out a number of jaegers as we cruised in search of whales, and both Parasitic and Pomarine species were identified, all in a bewildering array of dusky plumages that only the most experienced in our group were readily able to identify. At one point, we even had a jaeger chasing a Sabine’s Gull – one of the more memorable sightings of the day.

Our first cetacean sightings were of Humpback Whales, and with the help of Krill Carson, Laura Ganely (Whale Center of New England) and Joanne Jarzobski (Capt. John Boats), we were actually able to glean the genealogy of several of these gentle leviathans. We were even treated to the sight of 2 young calves that are new to the population this season. Neither calf has been named yet, which is something that is traditionally done for all Humpbacks in the population once their distinctive and definitive tail fluke patterns have been photographically documented. And now this naming process for calves is delayed two or three years since the tail pattern of these young animals is not permanent until they are juveniles.

By the end of the day no fewer than 21 Humpbacks had been tallied, with many identified by name. Those humpbacks that were identified included: Gimlet, Canopy and her calf, Lupine, Draco, Pele, Milkweed, Belly, Lightshow and Apostrophe with her calf. Over the course of the trip, our SAWT passengers were treated to the entire range of humpback behaviors including spinning head breaching, chin breaching, tail breaching, flipper slapping, lobtailing and open mouth feeding by Apostrophe who combines surface lunging with dramatic kick feeding techniques.

Several of these animals were whales that had been previously identified on Stellwagen Bank, or else on their winter calving areas off of the Dominican Republic. Amazing stuff! While enjoying the various behaviors of the Humpbacks (including an especially active and rowdy group of 5-6 together comprised of Canopy and calf, Draco, Pele and Lupine), we were treated to brief glimpses of Minke Whales actively swimming and feeding adjacent to the Humpbacks. And at one point, several Atlantic White-sided Dolphins briefly put in an appearance, but unfortunately they did not linger for many of us to see.

As the wind increased and the visibility decreased, making observations became more difficult. By late afternoon we eventually headed for Plymouth while enjoying a final cup of fresh bisque or chili and a hot beverage. Kudos to the chefs, captain, and crew… … and especially to Krill Carson, for hosting yet again another wonderful marine adventure! Also, thanks from the many appreciative winners to all who so generously donated raffle items.

Congratulations and thanks to Krill Carson for organizing these twice annual marine adventures. I know I speak for everyone onboard when I say she does a terrific job with these educational and most worthwhile trips!

Bird Sightings:

In addition to seabirds, the group enjoyed some splendid views of Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, and Atlantic White-sided Dolphins.

Whale Sightings:

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