Another day of sunshine.  However still feeling the effects of yesterday’s rays, so no beach today – that said, couldn’t stomach the idea of indoor activities at an ocean location…wrong, just wrong.

How ‘bout a whale watch?  I’d be on the water but could avoid additional sun exposure if necessary.  GREAT idea! (thanks Stephen)

Boarded our ship at 10am – half-day adventure on the North Atlantic, sailing an hour+ northeast of Provincetown.  My third whale watch – North Pacific humpbacks in Hawaii last January & orcas off the San Juan Islands in June 2015.  Lucky in life 🙂

No more than 20 minutes into our voyage, whale spouts far in the distance.  Boat stopped another 20 minutes in, where we watched a large pod of humpbacks feed.  So many whales, super close to our ship.  Just WOW!

Learned all about bubble net fishing – a technique humpbacks use to hunt as a skilled pack.

this technique…unique to humpback whales, the animals exhale through their blowholes while swimming in a tightening spiral so as to create a cylindrical wall of bubbles under the water. The wall of bubbles acts as a net that fish are reluctant to swim through. The whales then suddenly swim upwards through the bubble net, mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in each gulp. This technique can involve a ring of bubbles up to 30 m (100 ft) in diameter and the cooperation of a dozen animals. Some whales take the task of blowing the bubbles, some dive deeper to drive fish towards the surface, and others herd fish into the net by vocalizing.

Eye trained for lime-green patches of ocean, 15-20 seconds later the circular circus of whales emerge, mouths open, fish feeding.

Way beyond my expectation to see so many humpbacks.  Whale of a day!  Captain partially blamed our good fortune on global warming.  Whales are traveling farther south from Canada’s Maritime provinces – while their food chain’s migrating northward along the US Atlantic seaboard to avoid warmer ocean waters.  A perfect storm for whale feeding!

Back mid-afternoon in P-town – late lunch & a nap.  Big plans for tonite – it’s my BIRTHDAY! 🙂

Whale of a Tale: North Atlantic Humpbacks