[dovate.com] » whales
Did you know that Bowhead whales can live for more than 200 years? That was one of the many facts I heard for the second time in as many years during a whale watch up in Maine. I’ve seen whales from Alaska to Newfoundland and I never get tired of it. Those giant, gray swimming things with the fancy tails and the blowholes are just cool to see up close. And once you spot them spouting and splashing around nearby, the tourist boat and all of the people on it aren’t so annoying anymore. Whales. They unite.
My recent trip started with a Fin whale. Fins are second largest animal on the planet, being on average a few feet shorter than the Blue Whale. Then it was off to check out a group of Humpbacks. Made famous by Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Humpbacks are smaller than fins, but just as impressive. There were 3 in all and our boat’s naturalist immediately identified them (by fin and tail pattern) as the whales Arrowhead, Asymmetry and Breakers. All 3 regularly hang out in Maine during their annual migration from regions north to their winter home down in Puerto Rico.
Also seen were a ton of Gannets, a really lost hummingbird (20 miles out to sea) and an exhausted Cedar Waxwing that landed on the boat and hitched a ride back to dry land. In closing, here are a ton of whale photos:

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The Fin Whale ^^^
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And Humpbacks ^^^