I took my love of whales to a new level this year. Not only did I go on five whale watches out of both Gloucester and Ptown but also started a catalog learning the names of the Humpback Whales I saw too. Every whale fluke (or tail) is like a human fingerprint – unique and identifiable. Thanks to the website Happy Whale I was able to search their data base and also upload my own photos of flukes for identification. Within a few days I got a list back with the names of all but one.

Here are a few highlights from my trips starting with A Plus’s curious calf who surfaced next to the boat with Mom. If you look closely you can see the eye looking right up at us. So many of the calves this season were inquisitive and playful approaching boats and spy hopping to get a better look at everyone.

If this interests you at all, I suggest following the 7 Seas (Gloucester) and the Dolphin Fleet (Ptown) to see more of the daily activity. And if you’re like me and like to know which whales you are seeing that day, I highly recommend the former especially if naturalist Amanda is on board. Hopefully I can get on another boat this Fall before the season ends and they all head back down to their winter home at Silver Bank in the Caribbean.

“Compassion is the awareness of a deep bond between yourself and all creatures.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

There was also lots of pec slapping on several of these trips. This behavior is most likely to communicate with each other but cetologists think they may do it just for fun too.

Here’s another whale (no ID because never saw its fluke) rolling around upside down on its back.

Lastly are a few from our small boat Sunset trip out of Ptown in early July. While you don’t see the whales as clearly as the sun sets and the water is darker, it made from some nice backlighting of their whale blows including some with rainbows too.

Sun setting on Ptown harbor at the return of this voyage.

©Kiki Larouge Photography. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

The most well known Humpback Whale out at Stellwagen is 50+ year old Salt. She was the first whale to be identified and given a name back in the 1976. She was out there again this year and is known for her extensive family tree. I’ve yet to see the Grand Dame herself but did see several of her offspring this season including: Sanchal, Epsom, Etch-a-Sketch & Toboggan.

“Regardless of its purpose, the humpback-whale song is the most complex piece of nonhuman composition on earth. Whether it’s art, prayer, or booty call, the humpback song is an amazing thing to experience firsthand, and I suspect that even once the science of it is put to bed, it will remain, as long as they sing, magic.” ~ Christopher Moore

Timeline 9/23/26