Jay Borden spends his summers on Old Harbor in Vinalhaven and says it’s a great spot for viewing and photographing wildlife, especially birds and marine mammals.
On Wednesday, Borden enjoyed a treat as he was drinking his morning coffee.
“I was looking out on the harbor, which hasn’t yet filled up with its full complement of lobster boats this early in the season,” Borden said. “A splashing about 200 yards off caught my eye, and then a dorsal fin.”
He figured it must be a harbor porpoise making the rounds in the harbor, which is less common in the harbor then out in the sound.
“But then I saw the dorsal pause and just float in place for a moment or two. Not a porpoise,” Borden said.
He grabbed his camera and used the viewfinder to zoom in on the object. It was, in fact, a whale.
“Small, maybe 20 feet in length, but unmistakably a whale,” Borden said.
It was later confirmed by scientists to be a rare pygmy sperm whale.
Borden soaked in the uniqueness of the appearance as the whale swam closer to the shore, then started crisscrossing the harbor. It would sometimes circle in a small corner of the bay less than 50 yards off shore, in perhaps 15 feet of water.
Borden put his camera to work, taking photos and video of the whale. He eventually had to head off to an appointment in town, but the whale remained until early evening.
“I feel like it was an enormous privilege to see it,” Borden said of the sighting. At the time, he thought it was a minke whale. “Asking around the neighborhood, friends who have lived here for 80 years or more have never seen one here.”
He even surveyed a neighbor, Van, a lobsterman in his late 80s. He had to see it to believe it.
“Well suh, it’s a whale all right,” the man said after viewing the photographic and video evidence. “Look at that blowhole.”
Borden, thrilled by the prospect of being able to share the fruits of his efforts, was kind enough to send along a video of the whale that he prepared.
Thanks, Jay, for sharing your video!
UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the whale pictured. The video shows a rare pygmy sperm whale.