Right whales off Devereux beach

[Joseph Berkovitz]

The last few days have seen a bunch of right whales playing around Marblehead. It’s been widely reported. I have been away in Maine and just came back to hear the news — drove down to Devereux Beach, and promptly saw a whale (through binoculars)! It looked to be somewhere between Tinkers and the Great Pigs. 

I had my boat on the car by coincidence, but I guess one isn’t supposed to approach right whales too closely, or maybe at all. So I didn’t go out. Anyway it was cool to see one so close to home. 

[PeterB]

Right whales can be distinguished from other whales we might see  around here (humpback, fin, minke, pilot  whales)  because they have no dorsal fin:  So, if you see a whale above the surface  with no dorsal fin -   it appears as  one big black mound or blob, its likely to be a right whale. It would be a special treat to see them in this area!
 Right whales are also slower swimmers: fin  whales, minke whales, and pilot whales are generally feeding on the move , and right whales move  more slowly or loll about . So if you see a slow moving black  blob or mound on the ocean , its more likely to be a right whale.   Humpback whales loll about too but their appearance is noticeably different, very long pectoral fins and sharper snout, and more dramatic when surfacing and breaching.  

[Joseph Berkovitz]

I admit that I didn't check too carefully besides Wikipedia, and just reproduced the statement by a local reporter that it was a right whale.

However... this whale does conform to the points you gave: no dorsal fin, big lumpy blobby head, slow-swimming with head tilted up at 30-45 degrees, follows a meandering, wandering path.  Also I have seen humpbacks, minkes and fins on other occasions and this definitely didn't seem like any of them.

I saw it (or, at least, an identical looking whale) again this morning east of Tinkers, visible from Marblehead Neck. So it (they) seem to be hanging around the neighborhood for a while.

[NPearson]

On the subject of cetaceans,  we had a very close 'swim-by' from 3 porpoises in Gloucester harbor on Sunday - a real thrill 

[PeterB]

On Saturday  five of us paddled from Riverhead Beach out to Tinkers Island and back in search of right whales, but we didnt see any that day . Nevertheless we had a nice sunny-weather outing , and had some fun amidst the rocks and ledges along Marblehead neck.  

[NPearson]

What’s the ‘whale welfare’ advice on this.  If you’re paddling and get an unintended close encounter with a whale, that must be fabulous.  But if (as discussed here) you see a whale and jump in your boat to paddle near it, is that ok? Does this alarm or distress the animal?  What is a safe distance? 

[Joseph Berkovitz]

500 yards. 

Lots of facts here - thanks for prompting me to google that for us all :-)