On my morning PiPl check, I met up with a super nice gentleman, Bill, who walks the beach every morning. He loves wildlife (including PiPls), is a Coast Guard veteran, was a fisherman, and grew up on a marsh. Bill pointed out the whale (or he thought possibly a large dolphin), breaching and blowing blow holes off in the distance. Bill mentioned there had been a crowd along the back shore earlier and that there is tons of good bait fish off the coast right now.
Can a marine specialist please help us identify what we are looking at. Please comment in the comment section if you have a moment. Thank you so much!
Editor’s Note – Piping Plover volunteer monitor Val Cabral shares that this is a Humpback Whale. Thank you Val for writing!
How exciting at see an Osprey swoop in and snatch up a large fish precisely where the whales were fishing. All were too far away to get some really fine shots, but you can at least get an idea from the photos.
PiPl Update- all three fledglings are doing beautifully on this, their 39th day 🙂 The three spent the hours of five to seven mostly foraging in the area front of the enclosure, and also preening within the enclosure. Papa was on the scene, too.
July 10, 2019 Good Harbor Beach Sunrise
I wonder what kind of fish is bringing out the whales and the Osprey?
Marine mammal is a humpback whale, dorsal fin clearly visible in one of these photos, really cool! The eagle is actually an osprey – you can see the white on the belly as well as the brown streak behind the eye. Also super cool to see!
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Thank you Kim, your posts are always so interesting. I became a Plover monitor this year because of all you have posted in years past. It peaked my curiosity. I look forward to the Plover season of 2020. ❤️🐥🐥🐥
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The pictures marine mammal is most definitely a humpback whale. The pectoral fin is very long and mostly white. The dorsal fin is also on a bit of a fleshy hump on its back.
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