Our Annual Coastal and Pelagic Bird Trip

Good afternoon everyone, I wanted to share a brief update about our Annual Coastal and Pelagic Bird Trip which was on the morning of Saturday, September 27th.  The weather was perfect and the slower speeds due to oue of our engines being down was no issue with a trip like this!  The highlights of the trip were a 1st winter LITTLE GULL, huge rafts of eider ducks, jaegers, multiple great cormorants and 1000's of Bonaparte's gulls.  We also saw three minke whales, lots of porpoise and seals but our focus was on birds.   Look for more photos and an in depth description of our trip on Nick's Quoddy Link Bird Blog 

Here are a few photos that I took yesterday

A raft of eider ducks, there were more here, all I could get in 

Black guillemots in their winter plumage 

Bonaparte's gull

Bonaparte's gull showing characteristic white leading edge of the wing 

On the other trip we did yesterday we did was a chartered trip with a group of international students. We spent time off Spruce Island in Head Harbour Passage with a minke whale and we also saw lots of porpoise and both harbour and grey seals.

One harbour porpoise, the one on the bottom is a reflection 

Check out the characteristic surfacing of the minke whale!

minke

Now for an update on the Quoddy Link herself, we have a mechanic coming down tomorrow (with the parts) and hopefully the boat will be up and running with TWO engines by tomorrow or Tuesday at the very latest!

Thanks you everyone for checking in and thanks to everyone for your patience over the last week with our boat troubles,

Cheers,
Danielle

Still whales around!

Good afternoon everyone, well, we have had quite a frustrating week dealing with some engine issues.  We do have 2 engines, as we are a power catamaran, so we have been able to do a few trips on ideal weather days on one engine (longer and slower trips but with ideal weather is has been quite relaxing moving at a slower pace...it is NOT a safety concern).  Now that the issues with the engine have been sorted out and the mechanic will be down to help with repairs on Monday we are hoping to back up and running at full speed by next Tuesday or Wednesday.  We do have scheduled departures this weekend, and they will be on one engine and we will be paying close attention to the weather on Sunday afternoon.

We have done a few trips in the past few days and I wanted to share some photos with you of the life in Head Harbour Passage.

A small sampling of the gulls in Head Harbour Passage on the flood tide 

Minke whale surfacing amongst the gulls

Minke whale 

Minke whale 

We have our annual bird cruise this Saturday morning so I will let you all know how it goes!  I will also let you know when the boat is up and running at full speed!

Cheers,
Danielle

Still fin whales and a young humpback!

Good afternoon everyone, the whale watching continues to be wonderful out of St. Andrews.  On Monday, September 15th we found a young humpback whale off South Wolf, the first humpback sighting in our area of the 2014 season!  We also saw this whale on Tuesday, September 16th and we were treated to some incredible surface activity including tail breaching and tail lobbing (our Scout Boat found the humpback and this young whale was breaching fully for over an hour before we got there and we were so happy the surface activity continued for over 20 minutes when we got there).  The photos are currently at Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies in hopes of matching this young whale to the catalogue.

Here are some photos of the humpback we saw

Humpback tail breaching and passenger photographing from the upper deck

Check out those pectoral flippers

We were not able to locate the humpback on Wednesday, September 17th but we found fin whales and got some incredible views.

Fin whale just about to surface

Fin whale calf 

Fin whale calf just under the water, you can see the markings right under the water 

Fin whale approaching the Quoddy, you can see the asymmetrical colouring of the lower jaw 

We are still seeing lots of porpoise and seals as well.

Grey seals 

Harbour seals 

Thanks so much for checking in today!  There is still time to join us on the Bay before our 2014 season comes to a close, call 1-877-688-2600 for reservations.

Cheers,
Danielle

Underwater footage of the fin whale calf

I told you all I would share this....check it out!  THANK YOU NICK

More time with the fin whale mom and calf

Good morning everyone, we continue to spend time on every departure with the mother and calf fin whale pair that has been hanging out and feeding off South Wolf (there has also been up to 6 other adults in the same area feeding depending on the tide).

Here are some photos of the recent finback sightings including lots of the calf we have fallen completely in love with!!

Fin whale calf

Fin whale calf 

Fin whale calf, you can see the start of the chevron on the left

This fin whale calf often raises the front of his rostrum out of the water

Check out the blowholes!

Beautiful fin whale calf 

Beautiful fin whale calf 

Fin whale mother and calf.  Note the chevron on the left hand side of the the calf, a very unique marking 

Barrel roll from calf 

Mother and calf and another adult (blow)

Partial breach from the calf 

partial breach from the calf, check out the tiny pectoral flipper 

Another barrel roll, they have such beautiful flukes 

Partial breach from the calf 

Also, hopefully very soon I will have some underwater footage of this "little" whale to share with all of you!  THANK YOU NICK!!

As well as our whale sightings we continue to see lots of porpoise as well as both harbour and grey seals and bald eagles around the Islands.

Thanks so much for checking in and I will share that underwater video as soon as I can!

Cheers,
Danielle

Mother and calf fin whale pair

Hello everyone, we have spent the past few days with a mother and calf fin whale pair that have completely stolen our hearts.  This is the same calf we saw on Sunday, September 7th off the Wolves in it's own.  This calf has some of the most beautiful markings that I have ever seen on a fin whale.  We have also had some other fin whales feeding the area although they are moving around quite a bit and effort has to be made to locate them (we don't mind searching at all, which is why we tell you our trips average about 3 hours but sometimes may be a bit longer due the patience that is needed for wildlife)

Here are some photos of the finbacks from the past few days

Fin whale

Fin whale mom and calf pair 

Left hand side of the calf fin whale 

Fin whale mom and calf pair 

Fin whale mom and calf paur 

Fin whale calf approaching the boat 

Passenger watching a fin whale from the lower deck of the Quoddy Link 

FInback whale 

Fin whale mom and calf pair 

Fin whale 

Fin whale calf approaching the boat 

I also got a short video clip of the mom and calf pair.

Post by Quoddy Link Marine.

And I never shared this video with you guys from August 22 of a Mola mola!

Post by Quoddy Link Marine.

Thanks so much for checking in today!  We are still running 2 trips a day with a special 20% discount off our morning departures in celebration of our 20th Anniversary!  Come experience the Bay of Fundy catamaran style.

Cheers,
Danielle