Sunday, March 17:
Our first afternoon of Week 8 had us out in our whale boats, Pec & Fluke, looking for friendly humpback whales. There were plenty of whales to be seen, with lots of mothers and their calves cruising around the Silver Bank. After a nice afternoon on the water we were happy to have a couple of green shirts come out at our daily Sundowner celebration, in honor of St. Patricks Day! Our wonderful guests this week included program directors from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute’s Marine Mammal Research & Conservation Center with whom I’ve had the honor of working for many years on long-term dolphin studies in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida. It was a pleasure to finally welcome them to the Silver Bank.
Later, after dinner, I gave our evening presentation, with tonight’s subject being humpback whale behaviors. One of the featured whales in the presentation is a humpback we have seen numerous times over the years which we have nicknamed Mystery Whale because she was not in any of the northern ID catalogs until our photos came along. Where does she spend her summers? Here on the Silver Bank she always seems to be engaging in some big, splashy behavior, fluke high in the air. And why do I mention this? Please read on…!