Hello all, it’s now the end of August, not quite sure how we got there, it seems to fly by faster and faster every season! I thought I would do a little recap of the past few weeks.
We have had days of fog, some days of frustrations as wildlife is WILD and difficult to find and then some days with incredible and even magical sightings.
I have always been open and honest about our sightings, sharing the good with the frustrating, and this season has not been easy. In the past week the wildlife has become slim but we are hopeful things will turn around soon. This sometimes happens with the BIG tides on a full or new moon and when the tides slack off sometimes wildlife settles back down. For all of the wildlife it’s all about the food, they have to eat and if the food isn’t here or more abundant elsewhere then they may feed there. We are seeing seals and porpoise, bald eagles and some great seabirds. We are still having whale sightings but they are a bit more challenging to find and again, we hope that changes soon.
I want to share some pictures from the past 2 weeks
On August 21st we had a MAGICAL encounter with Old Thom, the solitary orca of the Bay of Fundy. This is not something we would ever advertise out of St. Andrews, in 25 years I have met him 4 times. As Captain Mat says, “You don’t find Old Thom, Old Thom finds you”
Old Thom, he is pure magic – image by DDion
Old Thom – image by DDion
Old Thom – image by DDion
We have had some encounters with humpbacks over the past 2 weeks
humpback in the Grand Manan Channel – image by DDion
pair of humpbacks – image by DDion
young humpback – image by DDion
A humpback we have seen in the area for a few years. This young one was entangled (and disentangled the same day by the Campobello Whale Rescue Team) in 2024 and then hit by a small vessel a week later – image by DDion
humpback off Long Island – image by DDion
humpback – image by DDion
humpback in Long Island Bay – image by DDion
Minke whales continue to be the most common whale we are seeing
Slice, a well known minke whale – image by DDion
minke was traveling with Slice – image by DDion
The scenery (when the fog cooperates) is always incredible
Swallowtail off the northern end of Grand Manan, NB – image by DDion
East Quoddy Head Light off the northern end of Campobello Island, NB. The mirage you are seeing is called fata morgana, often seen on water and created when the warm air interacts with the cold water – image by DDion
Seabirds are a highlight for some of our passengers. On August 25 we had an unexpected visitor join the Quoddy Link off the Wolves in fog, turned out to be a black-throated green warbler and it hitched a ride until we got back to St. Andrews.
black-throated green warbler – image by CNeufeld
black-throated green warbler – image by CNeufeld
black-throated green warbler visiting with Captain Mat in the wheelhouse staying out of the dampness of the fog – image by CNeufeld
northern gannet – image by DDion
Thank You to everyone who has joined is aboard the Quoddy Link and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out through email at info@quoddylinkmarine.com, by phone at 1-877-688-2600/506-529-2600 or contact me through our Facebook Page
Cheers,
Danielle
Quoddy Link Marine
Whale and Wildlife Tours
St. Andrews
New Brunswick
Bay of Fundy
