Field Notes – January 2021

27 January 2021
R/V Shearwater

The Right Whale Ecology Program at the Center for Coastal Studies recently started the 2021 season with the full team at the beginning of this month. Due to weather and COVID-19 travel restrictions associated with some of our team moving from out of state we haven’t been able to get out into the field until our vessel survey of Cape Cod Bay on January 27. Prior to this trip, we completed two habitat surveys of the bay and collected plankton samples at regular locations: the first survey in December no right whales were spotted, and the second survey earlier in January five right whales were sighted.

During our most recent survey, our goal was to head towards areas of the bay where right whales had been previously reported and conduct plankton sampling at special stations near any right whales we found. While the morning started off as a beautiful grey day, the weather conditions became challenging as the day progressed due to building winds and seas. Even with the shifting weather, we were still able to spot at least 15 individuals. We found most of these whales about 4 nm NW of Dennis. The right whales were taking long dives, with short surfacing intervals that made taking photo identification shots difficult. We suspect that several of them were engaged in feeding deeper in the water column.  In addition to right whales, we also saw several harbor seals and a breach from an unidentified large whale.

Our first vessel trip with the whole team was a great official kick off to our season, and we’re looking forward to getting back out there as soon as possible!
Natasha

31 January 2021
Aerial Survey

We took off mid-morning out of Provincetown and headed down the ocean-side of Outer Cape. Conditions were great but marine life sightings were pretty quiet, so it wasn’t long before we found ourselves in the southern portion of Cape Cod Bay working our way north. We had some ocean-effect fog limiting our view, so our southern two track lines were truncated, but it didn’t stop us from finding right whales!

Click on images for a larger view.

#1056, Snoopy

#4313, Monomoy and # 3401,Tux

#1612, Juno

 

 

 

 

 

 

In total, we found 31 individuals, most of these in a NE diagonal across the bay. Initial sightings from the track usually included whales raising their flukes when heading down on a dive, so  we expected long down times and prepared for extended periods of circling while waiting for them to come back to the surface to breath. Luckily for us, about half of the individuals were surface active groups (SAGs), meaning whales were down for shorter bouts, making resightability high.

We had some of our old favorites like Tux (#3401) and Snoopy (#1056). Both are adult males that we see regularly here this time of year. Tux was one of the key players in a SAG where Monomoy (#4313) was the focal female with attending males jockeying for position next to her. Monomoy was recently named by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC) and her name is based on her dynamic callosity pattern, similar to the shifting sands of Monomoy island, the sand spit south of Chatham, MA. Her name can also be considered a familial name since she was born in 2013 to Nauset (#2413). Nauset, another regular visitor to CCB, was named for her lighthouse-like bonnet callosity (similar to Nauset Light found in Eastham, MA). As an eight-year-old, Monomoy is expected to reach sexual maturity anytime now. We would be lucky to know whether this SAG results in her first calf or was just a practice run; either way, it’s promising to see a maturing female in the middle of SAGs in hopes it brings new calves in the years to come.

The weather forecast looks dismal for the coming week but we hope to find a break soon to get back in the air and see who is sticking around and what new faces may appear.
Amy

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