Tag: best place to see Right Whales

RIGHT WHALES HAPPENING RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Right Whales and Laughing Gulls

Go see the Right Whales! Hundreds are currently off the coast of Provincetown and you can easily view them from the beaches. I had an idea of where best to see the Right Whales after reading several bulletins and articles but very fortunately, we ran into Schooner Adventure Captain Stefan Edick on Provincetown’s main Commercial Street. He had seen them earlier that morning and suggested exactly where to go. After having a quick bite at a favorite lunch spot, Spiritus, we followed Stefan’s advice and headed straight to Herring Cove. There they were, feeding about 1500 feet or so from shore, dozens and dozens. We stayed for awhile and then checked out Race Point Beach. Here they were even a bit nearer the shore, by the Old Harbor Life Saving Station. Perhaps we saw Hundreds, and it was a beautiful sight!! Right Whales feed along the surface of the water, spout lots of snot, and tip their tails when diving. The whales were too far off shore for my camera’s range to get any spectacular shots but it was super fun nonetheless. Also feeding with the whales were Northern Gannets, Laughing Gulls, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Herring Gulls.

These two were swimming together for about half an hour; perhaps they are a mother and calf.

Five at once!

If home this week for school vacation, a day trip to Provincetown to see the Right Whales would make for a wonderful adventure. I don’t think the Center for Coastal Studies is open to visitors at this time of year, but many of the shops are open (including the always interesting Shell Shop). We had dinner at the bar at a very favorite restaurant, Fanizza’s, with lovely views of the beach (there isn’t a bad view from any seat at Fanizza’s). Our fresh seafood dinners were fabulous. Tom had the cod, I had whole belly clams, and they were the perfect end to a perfect day.

A pair of seals swam very close to the beach; they appeared puzzled by so many folks watching the whales and at that, seemed to decide not to come ashore.

Right Whales could still be seen after sundown.

Rare White Whale Calf Found Dead

BREAKING: RARE RIGHT WHALE CALF FOUND DEAD

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

A female two- to three-month-old rare North Atlantic Right Whale calf was found dead in Cape Cod Bay on Thursday. She was one of only four calves born this year to a species in sharp decline. Researchers and whale lovers are especially distressed that the calf was a female, as they are the future of the population.

The calf was found north of Barnstable and was towed to Sesuit Harbor. Cause of death is unknown and a necropsy is planned.

As you may or may not have been following, there have been a record number of Right Whales currently making their home in the waters off Cape Cod, not because there are more whales, but because of the wealth of zooplankton. Each spring, Right Whales return to Cape Cod to feed on tiny crustaceans such as krill. Right Whales are the rarest of all large whale species, with only approximately 500 known world wide. They are endangered for several reasons. Right Whales never fully recovered from being heavily hunted during the whaling era. They have a high blubber content, which makes them float when killed, and produce a high yield of whale oil. Secondly, because they feed slowly by skimming at the photic zone of the ocean, at the upper surface of the water, they are vulnerable to ship strikes and to becoming entangled in fishing gear.

The best place too see Right Whales at this time of year is from Cape Cod beaches, according to Charles “Stormy” Mayo, director of the Right Whale Ecology Program at the Center for Coastal Studies. They may be as close as 150 feet from the shore, which is closer than can be seen from research boats.

Photo courtesy CapeCod.com

GMG FOB Dave Moore shares the following from National Geographic. The recent article (March 10) is very interesting and relevant: “How Many Right Whales Do We Miss.”