The Seasons over.

Unfortunately, our whale watching season is now over. There are still some whales out there in the Bay of Fundy, we can see them from the shore. It makes you want to be out there, but the seas are rough and the weather is cold. Most of the whales are now headed south.

RIGHT WHALE SHOW A FINE ENDING FOR AUGUST. To the delight of the passengers and crew, the afternoon cruise on Monday August 31st encountered a large group of right whales in the bay off of Long Island. Between 25 and 30 whales were actively pursuing a lone female right whale in their courtship efforts. Some of these whales approached close to the boat, which made for a thoroughly memorable experience for those on board. To see one or two of these endangered whales is a special treat so to be witness to such a number of whales of this species makes one quite impressed. Below are images taken by Penny and Shaelyn Graham during this tour.

What a priviledge to have these magnificent marine mammals in the bay, with some coming so near to the boat!

The "V"

pattern

of the

right whale

spout.

Right whales, August 31st.

HUMPBACKS EVERYWHERE! It has been a great couple of weeks for whale watching as many humpbacks are feeding and frolicking off of Brier Island. The sightings include mother and calf pairs and other species seen have been minke and fin whales, dolphins and even a school of tuna. The birds have been actively feeding as well and some days the water has been dancing with feed. Hurricane Bill fortunately did not impact the islands with damaging winds, although coupled with a surge and high tides, the seas were rough. The ocean rolled and crashed onto the shores and waves drew onlookers and made for awesome photographs and salty faces. Whale watching was of course cancelled for a couple of days. The weather now feels rather fall like but the whales don't mind, as evidenced by their continuing activity in the bay.

Sunset over the village of Westport, Brier Island, late August 2009.

The "Chad & Sisters II" in Westport's harbour.

Playful humpback!

Humpbacks lunge feeding not far from shore.

The Bay of Fundy Inn

Northern Point at sunset, as seen from the "Chad & Sisters II"

Brier Island was a windy place to be when a small hurricane traveled up along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. It was a wonderful wave watching day!

The waterfront building where Capt. Joshua Slocum worked as a youth helping his father make fishermens boots.

The lighthouse at Northern Point emerges from the Bay of Fundy fog.

The Mariner Cruises vessel "Chad & Sisters II"

Although July is one of the months of summer, its weather this year was decidedly not summerlike. Foggy, cool and wet days for most of the month didn't keep the whales away, however, and humpback, minke, and fin whales were present in the bay and a large variety of seabirds, including dovekies and a skua. An ocean sunfish was seen on one of the tours in mid July and more recently we had a porbeagle shark sighted on a tour. August has been sunny and warm so far, with the odd fog day, and the waters around Brier Island are now busy with a number of humpback whales sticking around the area. A sunset cruise earlier in the week was the best trip of the season so far and one of the whales, a humpback named Bungee, was especially friendly and active. Passengers got a great trip that evening and surely some fantastic photos, as well as the "delightful" spray of whale breath, will provide them with memories for years to come.

Graceful greeting... a humpback extends its flipper skyward.

Summer sunset, photographed by Penny during a sunset tour in early August.

A whale brings its tail out of the water close to the Mariner Cruises vessel "Chad & Sisters II", while in the background people on a fishing boat also view the grand ocean mammal.

It looks like a waterfall is cascading down over this whale's tail.

Humpback at play, waving its flippers about.

Backstroke!

Close approach!

Humpback Pair

Up until the past few days the humpbacks were concentrated many miles offshore across the Bay of Fundy, which made for lengthy trips each day. While well worth it once the amazing spectacle of the whales was realized, it is great to now have a number of humpbacks much closer to Brier Island. The minke whales have been especially playful and even demonstrating their breaching skills, which they rarely do. Harbour porpoises, Atlantic white-sided dolphins and many species of seabirds are also being seen at this time. This morning an 8:00 a.m. cruise took place, with a focus on birds, for a large group of birders from West Virginia.

Fin & Fluke - two humpbacks in the bay

Shearwater

A cormorant atop a buoy on a foggy Fundy day.

A large piece of driftwood is the perfect resting place for this gannet.

Seal at Gull Rock during a low tide.

Humpbacks are here!

As the last weekend of June comes to an end sightings of minke and fin whales continue, along with the fantastic bird viewing, including a South Polar Skua. And now the humpbacks are getting closer, with Luna and humpback whale # 0344 in the area. Below are photos from the cruise on June 28th.

Puffin, June 28th cruise

Today, June 16th, was the first cruise of the 2009 season. Under sunny skies the guests aboard the Chad & Sisters II were treated to the playfulness of a friendly minke whale, as well as viewed three other minkes and a number of seabirds. Sighted were: puffins, Wilson's Storm Petrels, Northern Fulmar, Northern Gannets and Greater & Sooty Shearwaters. Humpbacks are being seen many miles offshore and will arrive closer to the island soon.

Such perfect form. These ocean mammals, despite their massive size, exhibit a majestic beauty.

Feeding frenzy! Photo taken during one of our cruises last summer (2008).

Playtime!

Another beautiful breach captured by
Becky Cook. Humpback whales are the
whales that breach most often.
(photo courtesy Becky Cook)

This prize winning photograph was taken by Becky Cook, who worked at Mariner Cruises for three summers. The original image is in full colour and it won the top place in a photo contest. (Photo courtesy of Becky Cook)