FIN WHALE NOTES: 1 AUGUST – 12 SEPTEMBER, 2008
John C. Conlon
September is passing quickly! Days are cooler, shorter and considerably less busy on the boats. Our fin sightings have come and gone in waves. Early August, like the later part of July, had many fin whale sightings. Many of those sightings were in the Race Point Channel. Change, however, is one of life’s few consistencies.
Now that we are in mid-September, we are seeing few, and on some days no fin whales. Not only are these whales not along our line of travel but for all the searching we do we are often not seeing them at all. The overall number of fin whales is high this year, though there has been variation in sighting consistency over the season. We have had minimal sightings of the fin whale’s closest relative, the Minke whale, across the summer. This is a noticeable change over the past two summers when we had steady sightings and relatively high numbers of both species. This year we have even higher numbers of fin whales while we have much lower numbers of minke whales.
As photographic data comes in, we now have a minimum of four additional individual fin whales bringing our yearly total to 48. One additional fin whale is Sunspot. She had a calf in 2007 and we regularly saw her in the Race Point Beach area last year. Sightings of her have been far fewer this year. We should also remember our four mother and calf pairs. One of whom (unnamed though previously known, 07 064) we continue to see occasionally. If all these records hold up, that will bring our grand total to 56 individuals including the calves so far this year.
On a very different note, I often say fin whale presence in our area and human interest in fin whales changes over time. With that in mind it is interesting to look at the human interactions with fin whales in local waters in the 1800s. In a paper titled, Humpback and Fin Whaling in the Gulf of Maine from 1800 to 1918, published in Marine Fisheries Review (64(1), pp 1-12), Reeves, Smith, Webb, Robbins and Clapham described in detail the period’s hunting of fin whales. Fin whales were certainly more heavily hunted between the 1860s and 1890s than the preceding period. Through those years there was a substantial menhaden fishery and during those years menhaden oil and whale oil were considered interchangeable. Ships could quickly adapt from fishing to whaling. Those authors report that “in 1885 the Fanny Sprague caught 245 bbl of mackerel in one week and took a large fin whale the next week”.
During those 119 years the majority of whaling activity would have been between the late winters through the autumn. This is the time period when most fin and humpback whales are in local waters. During the earlier half of that time period humpbacks and occasional right whales would have been the preferred target. Both would have been easier to approach, were easier to secure when killed, and yielded proportionately more oil per whale than would fin whales. Humpbacks yielded twice as much oil per unit of length and right whales were so depleted by 1800 that they were rarely taken in the 1800s. According to records, fin whales were taken more regularly beginning in 1846.
If we look at catches by Provincetown vessels and landings in Provincetown by any vessels we see marked changes between 1846 and 1896. During this period explosive harpoon technology would be incorporated into the industry in the 1850s and 1860s while the use of steamers would become more noticeable among the schooner fleets in the 1880s. The exact numbers of fin whales taken are difficult to gauge. A reference to 1880 states, “40 mainly FW” taken, is just one example of the difficulty. Having said that, a minimum of 5 fin whales were landed in Provincetown between 1846 and 1872. By contrast at least 70 fin whales were landed in Procvincetown between 1880 and 1896. Another example of the difficulty though is a reference to 1887 when 102 whales were “Delivered to Provincetown oil works; probably FW and HB”. This later note is in reference to only one year.
Two additional notes are also worth consideration here. First, some of these catches were non-directed. Whales killed but not secured by the whalers would later be picked up by other vessels. Other fin whales would become entangled in fishing gear, a serious problem that persists to this day. Still other fin whales would become trapped in fish traps. In any case the non-directed effort would yield profits from a dead fin whale. The second consideration is that records and publications became more widespread over this time period. Meanwhile, older records would become more difficult to find as time passes and that assumes that other older records still exist at all. This second consideration of records leaves the caution that any of these overall numbers could be conservative especially if we consider that the aforementioned “102”, “probably FW and HB” were not added to these numbers and it is, again, only one example.
If hunting of fin whales occurred locally today those whalers might have done well in the Race Point Channel during July. They would likely not have taken any fin whales locally from late August through mid-September. Their experience would be similar to our own through this time as our sightings have been rare. We find each new year what we researchers and whale watchers have found pretty much every year since whale watching began locally in the late 1970’s. Indeed it is also what those whalers knew through the 1800s. Fin whale numbers can vary, sometimes greatly, within any given area and can also vary over time. Likely much of that variability is in response to food distribution in general and sand lance distribution in particular, though back in the 1800s the fin whales would more likely have been responding to herring–like fish rather than sand lance. We will soon see how our last month and a half of whale watching is regarding fin whales. How many fin whales and where are they, only the future will tell.
DOLPHIN FLEET BIRDWATCHING NOTES: 1 to 16 SEPTEMBER, 2008
John C. Conlon
These past two weeks have offered a lot of wind and much of it has been out of the western quarter. The number of birdwatchers has dropped as has the number of trips. The latter is a result of both wind and declining numbers of passengers. When the boat does go out in the wind our birdwatchers are a determined group. Birdwatchers scan the water with well trained eyes and binoculars. And those birdwatchers often find and work with other birdwatchers on the boat.
The most auspicious sign of approaching autumn was, coincidentally, on the first of September. Six white-winged scoters crossed our path as we moved along north of Peaked Hill. It was my first sighting of any scoters this year. We very rarely see these ducks during summer months. Most are nesting in central and western Canada and on into interior Alaska. As nesting season ends white-winged scoters migrate toward their Pacific and Atlantic coastal wintering areas. Now is the time to start seeing them here. Offshore we generally find white-wings on the wing. They are really quite easy to spot. They measure some 21 inches in length, 34 inches across the wing, and weigh approximately 3.7 pounds with the males averaging larger than the females. Their brown and black bodies appear black in the bright ocean light. The white wing patch on the end of the secondaries makes them unlikely to be confused with anything else we are likely to see. Look for the delicate white patch beginning below and running aft of the eye.
The added notable sign of fall for that same day was that Peter Trull, the Dolphin Fleet’s other birding guide, decided that the first of September was a good day to wear his stocking hat for the first time this season. We joked about it. While I have been doing the “Birdwatching Notes” Pete has been doing counts for us and posting those counts on www.massbird.org. We will post those counts here on our own website as well. As we work into autumn birders should remember to bring their stocking hat and an extra layer of clothes as the temperature drops into autumn.
Before getting too far from the subject of ducks and early winter arrivals… Look for increasing numbers of common eiders. The half dozens here and there in Provincetown Harbor during the summer are now rafts of 20 to 30 or more. Northern gannets are also more regularly seen. Again, three, five or half a dozen at a time; generally second and third year gannets. Not big numbers, but more steady sightings. We will certainly see many more scoters, eiders and gannets as we move toward October.
The second of September gave us great looks at a pair of parasitic jaegers. They were cruising some 20 feet above the water’s surface just inside Race Point. Another pair of parasitic jaegers on the 16th of September gave similar looks. The behavior of jaegers pirating terns in spectacular chases makes jaegers easy to spot in the distance. Once you get accustomed to their form and flight you more easily spot their dark bodies and tapered wings in the distance. We will also see more jaegers as autumn progresses.
We have seen several aggregations of three to five hundred terns. These “sea swallows” as they were so long-ago called are generally along the bars running between Race Point and Peaked Hill. It is, however, mid September and all our regularly sighted tern species are beginning to aim for their respective wintering grounds. But they are still here and I had some great looks at several roseate terns this afternoon.
Though not a seabird we should keep an eye out for swallows especially as we round Race Point. Tree swallows in particular migrate through this area by the hundreds of thousands in autumn. So not only look for them as the boat rounds Race Point but be especially aware as you drive along Pilgrim Lake outside Provincetown. Indeed be sure to scan the area of Pilgrim Lake anytime you are driving into or out of Provincetown.
We have people from all over the world come to whale watch with us. Last week, the Dolphin Fleet was written up in an article in “The National”, a newspaper out of the United Arab Emirates. Click on the link for the full story. http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080914/FOREIGN/465407512/1014/SPORT
Several days of high winds and overall poor weather have decreased the number of trips that we have been able to send out over the past few weeks, but on 13 September the Dolphin Fleet ventured out of Provincetown Harbor. On today’s trip, our naturalist Gwen writes, ”The weather today started out quite questionable but steadily cleared and the seas were calm. As we rounded Race Point and headed east we found a single humpback whale flipper slapping. We also got a great close approach from this animal. Next we came up on a mother and calf humpback whale pair. The calf seemed to be nursing. Next, we spent a few moments with another mother and calf pair. Finally, we ventured to a group of 7-10 humpback whales. They were very surface active. There were several juveniles within a 1/2 mile radius. They were trumpeting and breaching too!”
On September 14 both the Dolphin VIII and the Dolphin VII headed out for morning trips and headed northeast at Race Point only to come across what is fast becoming our favorite group of humpbacks of the season. Canopy, a ten-year-old female humpback is here this year with her first calf, and this pair has been accompanied by an entourage of between 3 and 5 other humpbacks over the last month or so.
Today, Canopy and her calf were joined by Pele, Draco, Milkweed, and, later, a fourth humpback named Lupine. Because humpbacks tend to form small, unstable groups, group dynamics and composition are of particular interest to humpback whale researchers. Although Pele’s age is unknown, we know that Canopy, Milkweed and Draco are approximately the same age. Both Canopy and Draco are ten years old, while Milkweed is eight. Minke whales have been known to associate with members of the population of similar age, and watching this group has caused some of us to wonder if humpbacks and other baleen whales might do the same thing.
We also don’t know the sex of Draco or Milkweed. Milkweed has a history of associating with mother and calf pairs for long periods of time. Last year at around the same time period, Milkweed was frequently seen in the company of Hancock, Perseid, and their respective calves. Male humpbacks that associate with mother and calf pairs tend to have better reproductive success, so perhaps Milkweed is accompanying these animals in hopes of successfully mating during the winter.
The wind kicked up throughout the morning to the point where trips were cancelled until September 16th. That morning, the Dolphin VII started its trip with a pair of humpback whales, travelling steadily in one direction. One was a whale named Elephant, and the other was an unidentified individual. Although we didn’t stay with them long, we got a chance to see the Elephant slightly roll over on its side, revealing the unique pattern on the underside of its fluke or tail.
When we returned in the afternoon, we found that Milkweed had left Canopy and calf to join up with Whisk and her calf. We watched group dynamics shift as Tracer and Ragweed came into the area and joined up with the trio, finally forming a group of five. Just as we were getting ready to leave, one of these humpbacks surprised everybody by breaching right off the bow!
As it came time to head back to shore, we had to stop one more time once we came upon a small group of Atlantic white-sided dolphins. As we mostly see large baleen whales on our trips, seeing these dolphins was quite a treat! Atlantic white-sided dolphins are approximately 8 feet long and are easily recognizable by the tan and white markings on their side. Hoping to catch them riding the wake of our boat, we carefully drove the boat in a circle and watched as the dolphins started surfing along behind us!
On September 17th our group dynamics had shifted again and Whisk, Canopy, and their respective calves had joined up together again. However, this time, Milkweed was nowhere in sight. The calves were very active today, breaching occasionally, while Canopy and Whisk concentrated on finding food. Humpback whales spend much of their lives foraging for food, and this is particularly critical for humpbacks that have calves. While In the process of giving birth, nursing, and migrating north from their food-free winter mating grounds, they have been known to lose up to one-third of their body weight. Therefore, it is critical that they spend the summer restoring their energy reserves in the form of blubber so that they can return to the mating grounds in the winter and possibly become pregnant again.
In addition to the humpbacks, some passengers also got a chance to see a fin whale in the distance. Although fin whales can be seen off of Cape Cod all year round, they have been scarce in recent weeks. As the second largest animals on the planet, they are exciting to see, although their elusive behavior makes them a bit of a challenge for whale watchers. John Conlon is the Dolphin Fleet’s resident fin whale expert. See his fin whale update for more information on recent fin whale sightings.
On September 18 high winds and rough seas made our morning trips very challenging. As soon as we passed Race Point, we saw a big splash off the port side of the boat and many of us got a good look at a Minke whale breaching. A trade-off of braving rough seas is that it often leads us to active whales. Minke whales are less likely to breach than their humpback counterparts, but for some reason, windy days are sometimes best for watching these small, torpedo-shaped baleen whales launch themselves out of the water, finishing by landing belly first.
Although we could see the spouts of a group of at least five humpbacks to the north of us, the strong northeasterly seas made it impossible to reach them in a timely manner. Although some of passengers on the upper deck were able to see another humpback breach close to the boat, we had to head back to shore hoping that the following week would yield to calmer seas!
As we go out every day and experience these animals, sometimes in high numbers, in their natural habitat, it can be easy to forget that these whales are still facing a number of threats. For an insightful and eloquent article on the history and current status of whale conservation, please follow this link.
