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Sperm Whale June 1, 2009 Sperm Whales are easy to identify from a distance because of their angled blow. We saw them on four of the 19 trips. Sometimes when we have calmer days offshore, these whales are easier to spot; we had few such days this spring!
Gervais Beaked Whale On May 30, a slow day for birds, we were treated to a beaked whale show! We had four females and one young Mesoplodon europeaus swimming around us (close!) for quite awhile! While females do not show erupted teeth like males, the dorsal coloration is diagnostic for specific identification. Although this image shows the head well, the coloration is best studied over time or by looking at several photos.
Gervais Beaked Whale Here, the eruption of the teeth is obvious making this a male Gervais Beaked Whale! This was one of a mixed group seen on June 2, 2009.
Pilot Whale Pilot Whales were seen on five of the 19 trips. These are the Short-finned Pilot Whale. We have never seen Long-fins off Hatteras.
Bottlenose Dolphin We did not see many Bottlenose Dolphins this spring. They were only encountered on about half of the trips during this set.
Bottlenose Dolphin Typically our most commonly seen cetacean, here you can see their namesake snout!
Flying Fish
Flying Fish