Brookline Bird Club’s 7 Seas Whale Watch Trip Report, 2024

Photo: Black Guillemot, Johnny Owens

On a beautiful Saturday morning July 27, 46 club members and friends boarded the 7 Seas sailing vessel Privateer IV out of Gloucester Harbor on a whale watching and sea birding adventure!  We traveled along the coastline up into Ipswich Bay to Halfway Hump.  To our delight there were great looks at many birds, including 4 species of Shearwaters, and even a few species of mammals.  Photos were shared to the Brookline Bird Club Facebook page.  Here is a listing of what we saw:

What we saw – birds, whales and more!:

  • American Black Duck – 32
  • Common Eider – 13
  • Black Scoter – 1
  • Black Guillemont – 1
  • Laughing Gull – 1
  • Herring Gull – 300 (underestimate)
  • Great Black Backed Gull – 42
  • Common Tern – 18
  • Wilson’s Storm Petral – 6
  • Cory’s Shearwater – 14
  • Great Shearwater – 26
  • Sooty Shearwater – 1
  • Manx Shearwater – 3
  • Northern Gannet – 1
  • DC Cormorant – 500 (underestimate)
  • Little Blue Heron – 1
  • Great Egret – 21
  • Tree Swallow – 3
  • Great Blue Heron – 1
  • Humpback Whales – 2
  • Minke Whale – 1
  • Harbor Seal – 1
  • Atlantic White Dolphin – 30 (estimate)
  • Mola Mola – 2 (awesome looks right next to boat)
  • Harbor Porpoises – several small pods

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Upcoming Field Trips

  • Fruitlands Museum, Harvard

    Cosponsored with Boxborough Birders. We will look for local avian non-migratory species and early migrant arrivals. Expect to walk about two miles on trails through meadows and woods, with some steep sections. Prepare for ticks. We will bird at the meeting location for about 30 minutes so any latecomers can catch up.

  • Westborough WMA in Two Parts

    Part 1: 7 AM -10 AM / Part 2: 10:30 AM -1:00 PM. We will hike at a slow pace through mild moderate trails in search of sparrows and other migrants. For the first part we will hike the Eastern trails between Lake Chauncy and Little Chauncy(about 3 miles). Then we will again meet at

  • Belle Isle Marsh and Vicinity

    Led by DCR staff. We will search on foot up to one mile on flat, easy terrain, for migrating or resident songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and marsh birds at this birding hotspot and state park. This is a traveling program by car or bike. Prepare for ticks and mosquitoes. Ages: Adults and kids 8 years+ with

  • Millennium Park

    Join us to observe resident birds and spring migrants in a unique urban habitat that is a favorite for many bird species, including uncommon and rare flycatchers, swallows & warblers. Birders of all levels welcome. The trails are generally flat and easy to walk, with some rough patches. A water bottle, sunblock, insect repellent, waterproof

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