New England EcoAdventures, 8 Western Avenue, Kennebunk, ME (2026)

09/03/2026

Fall is just around the corner! The weather has unfortunately not cooperated much this week, but we were able to get out for a whale watch yesterday in Kennebunk!

We first came across a pair of humpback whales known as Cacophony and Quill, who were going on long dives and eventually led us to a second pair that was also feeding in the area. One of the whales in this second pair made themselves known right away, lifting their tail flukes high in the air as they went down on dives: it was Orion! In recent years, this whale has most commonly been seen off the coast of Canada, but this year Orion has been hanging out in our waters and has quickly become one of my personal favorites. We have seen this whale on several trips this season, and even got to see some spectacular breaching behaviors from him a few weeks ago!

The second whale in the pair was being much more shy, not lifting its tail flukes while going on dives. As we waited for these whales at the surface, I was telling the passengers on board about the threats these animals face in our oceans today, including vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, which can cause serious injury. As an example, I told them about a whale named Victim, who is missing a significant portion of the right fluke due to a previous entanglement. With just minutes left in the trip, the second whale finally lifted its tail flukes…guess who! Sure enough, it was Victim.

Every trip is full of surprises, and we never know exactly what we might see! We are still offering double whale watches (most days) for a couple more weeks before we switch to one trip per day. Check the schedule and come out on a trip with us before the season’s over! Get your tickets here: https://newenglandecoadventures.com

08/30/2026

What a week! 🐋

The humpback whales have been the stars of the show lately, with plenty of surface activity including flipper slapping, spyhopping, and even breaching seen on many of our recent trips!

On Monday, we started off with a nursery pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, saw a couple of ocean sunfish, and eventually came across a trio of humpbacks: Owl, Orion, and Spoon, who were associated with another pod of AWS dolphins!

On Tuesday morning, we encountered the trio again, but now Owl had left the group and Fan had taken her place. At one point, a fourth whale named Chablis came into the area and was floating just a few feet underwater, right next to Outlier for about 10 minutes, before treating us to some pec slapping! In the afternoon, we once again came across the trio, and watched as Clamp came in and turned it into a group of 4! Finally, we saw Owl, who was now hanging out with a whale named Victim (who is missing much of her right tail fluke due to an injury).

Wednesday morning, we started with a minke whale near Boon Island, then found a humpback whale named Patches and an ocean sunfish! We then came across Spoon and Clamp, and even got to see Clamp’s signature “waggle” that she sometimes does as she dives! We ended the trip with a trio consisting of Owl, Reaper, and Quote. On the afternoon trip, we found ourselves surrounded by whales on the feeding grounds, and it was difficult to keep track of all the individuals and associations! The highlight of the trip, though, was without a doubt when we were watching Fan and Victim, and both whales breached AT THE SAME TIME!! (See previous post for video!) Double. Breach. 🤯 An incredibly rare and amazing thing to see, and something I’m sure no one on the boat that trip will soon forget!

Humpback whales identified include:

Chablis
Clamp
Conflux
Fan
Orion
Owl
Patches
Quote
Reaper
Spoon
Stance
Victim

Thanks to the Center for Coastal Studies for curating the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog

Plenty of seats available! Book your trip here: https://newenglandecoadventures.com

08/28/2026

Wait for it… 👀

On Wednesday afternoon, everyone aboard our Ultimate Whale Watch out of Kennebunk got to witness something truly amazing. Not just one, but TWO humpback whales breaching at the SAME TIME! A double breach!!

We were watching a pair of humpbacks named Fan and Victim when I noticed the whales perform a “power dive” which is often an indication that they’re about to go airborne. Moments later, both whales launched themselves out of the water! A humpback whale breach is one of the most spectacular displays of power in the animal kingdom, and to see two animals breaching at the same time is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Huge thanks to passengers Lisa and Mike for sharing this video! (I was taking photos, and will be posting them soon in my trip report)

Obviously, we can’t guarantee that the whales will do something like this on every trip. These are wild animals, and getting to see them in their natural habitat is a huge privilege, no matter what they’re doing. Each and every trip is different, and we never know exactly what we’ll see. That being said, the only way to have a chance to see something like this is to get out there!

It’s hard to believe, but there’s just over a month left in the season. Recent trips have been full of activity, and there are lots of seats available in the next couple of weeks. Come out on a trip with us! 🐋 Get your tickets here: https://newenglandecoadventures.com

08/23/2026

Fog? No problem! 😎

This past week we battled some patchy coastal fog that reduced our visibility at times, but that didn’t stop us from finding the whales! In addition to humpback whales (and the occasional finback and minke), we have recently had sightings of ocean sunfish, dolphins, and even some sharks!

Tuesday’s trips spent time with a few different humpback whales, who seemed to be alternating between taking quick naps at the surface (a.k.a. “logging”) and feeding using bubble clouds!

On Wednesday, we were treated to some spectacular bubble cloud feeding! With several whales in the vicinity, we would see multiple bubble clouds forming in just a matter of seconds, and at one point we actually saw two clouds forming right next to each other! As if that wasn’t great enough, on the way in from the PM trip we were surprised by a pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins!

Thursday morning, as we made our way out to the feeding grounds, we came across a couple of small sharks (possibly juvenile great whites) and a total of at least FIVE ocean sunfish(!!), then spent the rest of the morning with Satula. In the afternoon, we saw another one of our “regulars” known as Sedge, our first sighting of this whale since June!

Humpback whales identified include:

Alligator
Clamp
Gunslinger
Kickoff
Satula
Sedge
Warrior
Zodiac

Thanks to the Center for Coastal Studies for curating the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog

There are still plenty of seats available on our Ultimate Whale Watch tours out of Kennebunk for this coming week! Come out on a trip with us 😁 Book your tickets now at: https://newenglandecoadventures.com

08/20/2026

Starboy, Satula! 🤩

Check out this recent encounter with one of our fan favorite humpback whales, Satula! This iconic Gulf of Maine whale was our most frequently seen individual last season, and he is certainly on track to defend that title this year. We have been seeing Satula a LOT lately…in fact, he has been sighted on 7 of our last 10 whale watches out of Kennebunk!

A few things to note in this video:

1. Satula is missing his dorsal fin! Humpback whales usually have a small fin located on a hump about 2/3 of the way down their back, but Satula’s fin was lost due to an injury earlier in his life. Along with the unique patterns on their tail flukes, we can also use the size and shape of the whales’ dorsal fins to tell them apart, and Satula’s lack of a fin altogether makes him very easy to recognize and identify!

2. Check out the color in his breath! Sometimes, when the sun hits the mist of a whale’s exhalation or “blow” just right, it produces a brief rainbow! We refer to this as a “rainblow!” Can you spot Satula’s rainblow in this video? 🌈

3. Satula is known for making a low, rumbling sound when he inhales deeply right before he goes down on a dive. Turn your volume all the way up and listen closely, and see if you can hear his “rumble”!

We all love Satula here at NEEA (he is Captain Jack’s favorite whale!) and hope to continue having amazing encounters like this with him this season! Have you met Satula yet? 🐋

Come out on a whale watch with us! Book your trip today at https://newenglandecoadventures.com

08/14/2026

WOW! 🤩

Our trips this week have been full of whale activity, and we have been treated to some of the most spectacular behaviors we’ve seen so far this season!

On Wednesday morning, as we ventured out to the feeding grounds, we spotted a whale slapping its pectoral flippers in the distance and made our way over to investigate. It was a humpback whale named Orion! This whale was extremely active at the surface, and we got quite the show…

In the brief amount of time we spent with Orion, this whale did just about every behavior that humpbacks are known for: pec slapping, lobtailing, rolling over, and even launching itself completely out of the water, a.k.a. breaching! It is truly a sight to behold when a 30-40 ton animal jumps out of the water and hits the surface. It was absolutely amazing to watch, and the fact that this particular whale was so active was right on brand for the day; Orion is a space-themed name (the constellation Orion), and this sighting was on August 12th, a day on which several astronomical phenomena were occurring, including the solar eclipse, planetary alignment, new moon, and the peak of the Perseids meteor shower! What a day! 🌌☄️

Thursday’s trip was also a success! We started our trip with an ocean sunfish, then once we made it to the feeding grounds we found ourselves surrounded by whales! Everywhere you looked there were blows on the horizon, and we got to spend time with at least 7 different humpback whales, including a trio consisting of Fan, Quote, and Spika. Amongst all of the humpbacks, we also had a brief encounter with a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, as well as a few minke whales! The food is abundant out there and our local wildlife is certainly taking advantage of it. We never know exactly what we’ll see out on the water, but we certainly hope this recent activity will continue! 🐋

Humpback whales identified include:

Alligator
Fan
Orion
Patches
Quote
Satula
Spika
Stance
Zodiac

Thanks to the Center for Coastal Studies for curating the Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog

There are still spots available for our upcoming trips! Get your tickets now at https://newenglandecoadventures.com

08/11/2026

WE’RE BACK!! 🎉

Our Kennebunk boat, Outlier, is finally back on the water and will be running daily trips from now until the end of the season in mid October! We had a wonderful first day back today with excellent sea conditions and plenty of wildlife. 👀

We began our sightings with a large pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins! This pod was very active and spread out across a wide area, and several of the dolphins were leaping high into the air, showing off their acrobatics. We even spotted a few adorable calves (which we call “footballs”) in the group!

Amongst the dolphins, we encountered a few humpback whales, starting off with our #1 individual from last season, Satula, who was moseying along and doing some subsurface feeding. We then spent some time with a pair of whales known as Spika and Stance. The pair was taking some quick naps (floating motionless at the surface, a behavior called “logging”) in between dives, but at one point Spika woke up and began doing some pectoral flipper slapping, using his enormous flippers to smack the surface of the water! We’re not entirely sure why humpback whales do this, but it is likely a form of communication. Or maybe he was just waving at us to welcome Outlier back to the ocean! 😁

It was an incredible day on the water; our crew is thrilled to be back out there and eager to see what the rest of the season holds for us! 🐋

Buzzworthy, our Portland boat, has also had some great whale sightings lately! Don’t miss out: Book your trip today at https://newenglandecoadventures.com

07/18/2026

UPDATE ON OUTLIER ‼️

We are currently addressing our Kennebunk boat, Outlier, with our full attention and hope to have her back on the water towards the end of this coming week (possibly Thursday!)

With whale sightings picking up off the coast of Maine recently, we can’t wait to resume running trips out of Kennebunk. We’ll keep you all updated with the latest on Outlier, and will hopefully be back to sharing pictures and videos of our wildlife sightings in no time! Thank you all for your patience, and we look forward to getting back on the water very soon 💙

07/03/2026

This week started off strong, as we encountered a variety of marine life during our Ultimate Whale Watch tours out of Kennebunk on Monday!

On the AM trip, we came across Satula the humpback whale, who was accompanied by a small but active pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins, before getting some looks at a couple of fin whales and a minke whale, as well as two other humpback whales, Sedge and Alligator. All three of our most commonly seen baleen whale species in one trip; a baleen whale trifecta! 🐋🐋🐋

The afternoon trip started off with a minke whale, then spent some time with Satula and the one and only Pinball, an iconic individual who has been one of our most frequently seen whales so far this year. Finally, we saw a lone humpback named Spika, before making our way back to Kennebunk.

Unfortunately, we had to haul out our Kennebunk boat, Outlier, for some maintenance after Monday’s trips. We are hoping to get her patched up and back on the water ASAP! We’ll keep you all updated. In the meantime, our Portland boat, Buzzworthy, is still running trips!

Spots are filling up fast! Grab your tickets now at https://newenglandecoadventures.com

06/29/2026

We’ve had to travel quite far lately to find the whales…but find them we have! 🐋

Wednesday morning, we started off with a small pod of Atlantic white-sided dolphins and a brief look at a minke whale, before coming across our #1 humpback from last season, Satula! The afternoon trip had two humpback whales, Fan and Clamp. As she often does, Clamp came right up to the boat, and we got some incredible looks! (See previous post for video)

On Thursday, we saw a total of 8 different humpback whales! The morning trip got to spend some time with Sedge, Pinball, Clamp, and Satula, who were all darting around, likely chasing schools of fish beneath the surface. In the afternoon, we had Sedge again, briefly encountered a very small humpback (likely a juvenile), then rounded off the trip with a trio of humpbacks traveling together - Valley, Fan, and Alligator!

There are still plenty of seats available for our whale watches this week! Come out with us and meet some of our “locals” 😁 Check the schedule and book your trip TODAY at https://newenglandecoadventures.com

New England EcoAdventures

09/03/2026

08/30/2026

08/28/2026

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