Turtle Journal

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

Cape Cod Today reports, “Whale stranded on Eastham beach dies“

02/05/09 · 1:06 pm :: posted by editor

Finback Whale Strands on Eastham Beach by David Curran

EASTHAM – Members of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW) marine mammal rescue team examined a dead 40-foot male finback whale on the ice at Dyer Prince Beach in Eastham.  When first discovered Thursday morning, the whale was alive. 

Finback whales are long and streamlined and second only to the blue whale in size and weight. Their sleek build enables them to swim up to 23 mph.  Adult males can grow up to 80 feet and weigh up to 70 tons.  Like other baleen whales, finbacks feed on krill and small fish.  They are most commonly seen along the coast of New England from March to November.

It has been a busy past few days for the team.  Four dolphins stranded themselves in Eastham Wednesday and were released by CCSN in Provincetown that afternoon.  Also on Wednesday, a minke whale was spotted in Wellfleet Harbor.  The harbormaster was able to direct it back out to sea before CCSN arrived.

The Cape Cod Stranding Network, an IFAW project, maintains a 24-hour stranding hotline. To report a dolphin, whale or seal in distress, call 508-743-9548.  The network offers tips for those who encounter such an animal.

Finback Whale Strands in Eastham on Outer Cape

Photo by David Curran

Caution:  A more graphically disturbing video of the stranded whale was captured by the Cape Cod Times video team below.  Viewer discretion is advised.

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Finback Whale Discovered on Dyer Prince Beach in Eastham

Video by Cape Cod Times

Four dolphins stranded in Wellfleet, released in Provinctown 02/04/09 · 3:23 pm :: posted by editor

Cape Cod Stranding Network rescues four stranded dolphins on the Outer Cape

(See Turtle Journal Yesterday: Dolphins Take Refuge from Powerful Nor’easter in Protected Wellfleet Harbor)

PROVINCETOWN – Around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, members of the Cape Cod Stranding Network (CCSN) released four dolphins back into the ocean at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown.

The dolphins had stranded earlier in the day in Wellfleet, the same town where a Minke whale was spotted swimming through the harbor.

One of the dolphins was discovered in Duck Creek, while the other three were found stranded at Chipman’s Cove.

Above, Katie Touhey of CCSN checks on one of the dolphins prior to its release.

The Cape Cod Stranding Network, an IFAW project, maintains a 24-hour stranding hotline. To report a dolphin, whale or seal in distress, call 508-743-9548.  The network offers tips for those who encounter such an animal.

Photo by David G. Curran.

Don Lewis Filming Dolphins at Height of Nor’easter

Gale force winds howled across the Outer Cape.  Sweeping in from the North Atlantic, storm clouds pelted Wellfleet with horizontal snow; flakes so heavy they seemed to richochet like shotgun pellets when they smashed against the wooden pier.  Sue Wieber Nourse spotted the first dorsal fin when it poked through the broil near the harbor buoy.  First a pair of dolphins skimmed across the foam, then another, and so on until we counted no fewer than six good size specimens.  Visibility hampered species identification, although these critters left the intuitive impression with Don that they may be a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins.

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Dolphin Pod Takes Storm Refuge in Wellfleet Harbor

The dolphins patrolled like sentinels, back and forth between the harbor buoy and the commercial fishing pier.  None of the animals appeared in distress, but Wellfleet’s huge tidal swings augmented by a blistering nor’easter pose a threat to anyone or any creature at sea.  So, with the tide still falling, we alerted the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, just in case the rescue of a beached animal might be in the cards.

A harbor seal surfaced about 25 feet from the pod with a quizzical expression as though silently asking, “Who the heck are you and what are you doing in my harbor?”