Whale Watch

My Advanced Biology class talked me into taking them on a whale watch.  It was an amazing experience.  It was a beautiful day and we saw 13 humpbacks and 1 minkie whale.  We even saw a mother and her calf.  The naturalist on board said that it was an exceptionally good ride.  They usually see 2 or 3 whales and call it a good ride.  We went out of Gloucester and the harbor there was beautiful.  The kids were perfect and only 3 people threw up (out of 40)!

At first I tried taking lots of pictures, but I wasn't able to see the whales as well so I stopped and just watched!

They identify and name each whale based on the pattern on their fluke(tail).  Each whale has a unique pattern on their fluke just like each of us has unique fingerprints.



There are a couple ways to tell where the whales are going to surface.  The first is to watch where the birds are.  The gulls try to grab extra fish from the whale just like they try to get our food at the beach.  The second way is to look for large bubbles under the water.  They look like lighter colored water.  The whales blow air through their blow holes under the water that surround and trap schools of fish.  They then break through the bubble to eat.

Some of my kids.

Laura, who I did my student teaching with and was my mentor, came with her AP Bio class.

Gloucester Harbor