Photos & Videos
These photos and videos have been shared on social media channels.
Happy Holidays from SBNMS!
Follow our 2024 tagged great shearwaters as they travel across the globe for migration this holiday season!
📸: Credit: Laura Howes/NOAA
Have you heard of the #ChristmasBirdCount?
Each winter, NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary participates in the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count. This year, our S4 (Stellwagen Sanctuary Seabird Stewards) Volunteer Team collected data on December 16th. This data is part of a long-term data set established in 2011 and will help us to better understand seabird presence in the sanctuary and how trends may change over time. Despite the cold conditions, our seabird team had a fantastic day on the water! We observed several alcid species, including dovekies, razorbills and common murres. Other bird sightings included common eiders, northern gannets, and lots of gulls.A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers who make this trip possible!
🎥: Highlights from our 2024 Christmas Bird Count trip. Credit: Caitlin Fitzmaurice/NOAA, Bird photos: Derek Garvey
SBNMS kicked off the holiday season with a visit from Santa! 🎅
On Saturday December 7th, Santa safely made it to Scituate Harbor with the help of NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary's R/V Auk crew and Scituate Harbormaster staff! Every year, Santa arrives in Scituate from sea during the town's annual "Holidays in the Harbor" event. The harbormaster vessel docked alongside Auk to bring Santa into Scituate Harbor where kids and families were cheerfully awaiting his arrival!
📸: Image 1: SBNMS staff members Amy and Dave with Santa on the Harbormaster vessel, Image 2: Santa being safely transferred from Auk to Harbormaster vessel, Image 3: Santa and HM Crew arriving from sea. Credit: Amy Meloski/NOAA
#ThrowbackThursday
Take a look at this photo from a seabed mapping trip in partnership with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in December 2014- ten years ago!!
The seabed mapping project started in 1993 and includes NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and surrounding regions. These maps will help us to get a fine-scale look at topography, sediment distribution, and more! The mapping area is divided into 18 quadrangles, and the latest map for quadrangle 2 has just been published! Check it out here: https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/sim3530
📸: Credit: Michael Thompson/NOAA
Happy Anniversary to us!
Today we celebrate 32 years of SBNMS!
National marine sanctuaries are special areas in ocean and Great Lakes waters around our country; they are often called America's underwater parks. Sites have been designated for their aesthetic beauty, the bounty of their natural resources, and/or the wealth of their cultural resources. Although some areas within national marine sanctuaries restrict certain activities to protect sanctuary resources, all are managed for compatible use such as recreation, tourism, travel, and commerce.
📸: Credit: Caitlin Fitzmaurice/NOAA
Happy #WhaleWednesday! 🐳
Did you know that we can recognize individual Humpback whales based on their tail,or fluke, patterns? As these whales lift their flukes out of the water to go on a deep dive, we can snap a picture of the patterning. In the Gulf of Maine, Humpback whales are named based on their tail pattern.
Can you guess the name of this whale? Hint: Look for the uniquely shaped marking on the left fluke!
Answer: This Humpback’s name is Nile!
📸: Credit: Center for Coastal Studies
What is a national marine sanctuary? National Marine Sanctuaries are sites "of special national significance” for conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific, educational, cultural, archaeological, or aesthetic qualities. Each sanctuary is unique - from the species that live there, the habitats it includes, the communities that enjoy it, and the stories it holds. Share what sanctuary means to YOU for #NationalMarineSanctuaryDay
📸: Matt McIntosh/NOAA
Skeleton shrimp, witch flounder, and wolffish, oh my!
These creepy sea creatures are some of many that call NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary their home!
💀: Skeleton shrimp are not truly a shrimp, but an amphipod. These skinny, long-legged crustaceans are adapted for climbing. They can be found on hydroids, seaweed, sea stars, and even on spider crabs!
🧙♀️: Witch flounder are a type of flatfish. They start their life as a traditional fish with an eye on each side of their body, but as they get older one eye migrates from the left side over to the right side.
🐺: Wolffish are named for their wolf-like teeth that stick out of their mouth. They use their multiple rows of teeth to feed on invertebrates that they find along the bottom of the sea floor.
📸: 1. Skeleton shrimp: Sabrina K., 2017 Marine Art Contest. 2. Witch flounder: USGS, 3. Wolffish: Peter Auster/UConn
A longfin squid sits on the sanctuary seafloor near a blood star, which can be found in varying colors. Credit: USGS.
Goosefish encounters a North Atlantic octopus. Credit: Peter Auster/UConn
This week we are celebrating #CephalopodAwarenessDays!🐙🦑
Cephalopod Awareness Days are celebrated each year from October 8th-October 12th! At NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, you can find the Atlantic octopus, shortfin squid and longfin squid! Cephalopods are experts at camouflage, meaning they can change their color, pattern, and even texture. This allows them to blend in with their surroundings and provides protection from predators.
Happy #WorldSmileDay! 😊
We hope you're smiling as big as this basking shark!
Basking sharks are the largest shark species found in NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary! But don't worry, they don't have any teeth! Basking sharks feed using their gill rakers, which act as filters. These huge (more than 20 feet long!) sharks feed on teeny tiny organisms called zooplankton.
📸: Credit: Rebecca Belleni
Outreach Event Recap! 🐋
SBNMS joined the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival in New London, CT from September
7th-8th. During the event, we hosted anatomy tours of Salt, the life-sized inflatable
Humpback whale. Over 700 visitors learned new information about marine life and the
importance of National Marine Sanctuaries! We received lots of great whale questions and
even made some new puppy friends! 🐾
We'd like to give a special shout out to the Ella T. Grasso Technical High School students
that joined us as volunteers for the event, and all of the help we received during set up
and tear down from volunteers through the US Navy, Coast Guard and National Guard! Thank
you!!
🎥: Credit: Caitlin Fitzmaurice/NOAA, Laura Howes/NOAA, Samantha Tolken/NOAA, Alice Stratton/NOAA
The 72nd Sanctuary Advisory Council Meeting
📸: Sunset from the Sanctuary's R/V Auk. Credit: Mike Bailey/NOAA
Have you heard about the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival in New London? SBNMS staff
will be hosting tours of Salt on Saturday, Sept. 7th and Sunday Sept. 8th at Fort Trumbull
State Park. Stop by and say hi if you'll be in the area!
📸: SBNMS staff and volunteers with Salt the inflatable whale. Credit: Laura Howes/NOAA
Heading out on the water this Labor Day Weekend? We are too- give us a wave if you see our
vessel! 🐋
We'll be running some BOWW (Boater Outreach for Whale Watching) trips this weekend. Sanctuary
staff and volunteers travel out to popular whale watching areas during the summer to provide
on-the-water tips for safe boating around whales and general sanctuary information to
recreational boaters. Injuries from accidents with vessels large and small is a serious
problem for sanctuary whales. An informed boating public helps to reduce the threat.
🎥: Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary's R/V Auk out on the water. Credit:
Caitlin
Fitzmaurice/NOAA
We hope you're getting as much relaxation as this snoozing great shearwater!
This bird is resting in its crate after being captured during a bird tagging cruise. It
decided to take a nap while awaiting a fitting for a new GPS tracking device. Through
tagging shearwaters, we can learn more about how they spend their time at sea and where they
travel.
🎥: A great shearwater napping in a crate oboard the R'V Auk. Credit: Laura Howes/NOAA
Happy #WorldSeabirdDay!
Celebrate with some highlights from Day 2 of Great shearwater tagging on June 27th! We were able to tag 3 more birds, bringing the total up to 11 so far this season.
On Monday, July 8th, scientists and researchers from @StellwagenBankNMS were out tagging more Great Shearwaters! Enjoy some highlights from our day and stay tuned for more updates as we follow the travel journeys of these amazing seabirds!
HELP NEEDED TO LOCATE MISSING WHALE TAG
Sanctuary researchers are asking for the public's assistance in locating a missing non-invasive research "tag” used to study large whales. The approximately 6-inch-long units looks like a toy bug, with suction cup feet and antennae located on its "head." The tag was used this month to study humpbacks whales in local waters, where 16 whales were successfully tagged- help us find the last one! The tag could wash ashore anywhere along the Massachusetts coast.
If you find the tag, use the contact information on the unit or email stellwagen@noaa.gov. The sanctuary staff and research partners appreciate your help in getting this tag back home.
Join us for Osterville Village Day! We'll be hosting tours of Salt, the life-sized inflatable Humpback whale. Additionally, you can learn about whales through interactive games and music at the "Underwater Carnival" 🎡
An inside look at Salt! Credit: Melinda Forist
Join us for Osterville Village Day! We'll be hosting tours of Salt, the life-sized inflatable Humpback whale. Additionally, you can learn about whales through interactive games and music at the "Underwater Carnival" 🎡
Salt the Inflatable Whale at the New England Aquarium's World Ocean Day event 2024. Credit: Samantha Tolken/NOAA.
Did you know that Salt, the life-sized inflatable Humpback whale, is ADA compliant? She is built with a special air-lock system, allowing entrance for visitors of all different abilities. Just last weekend Salt was able to welcome her first wheelchair user for a visit! It was so special for everyone involved, and we were happy to learn just how easy it is to use Salt's accommodation features!
Video: Highlights from Osterville Village Day 2024. Credit: Caitlin Fitzmaurice/NOAA
Our team is out this week satellite tagging Great Shearwaters! Stay tuned this week with
updates from the field. So far - 8 birds have been tagged and sampled, giving scientists
valuable information about their migration and lifecycle! Here you can see our Research
Technician, Liam Waters, releasing a tagged shearwater!
Credit: Laura Howes/NOAA
#WhatsThatWednesday
Shearwater tags calibrating their GPS functions outside our office.
Credit: Caitlin Fitzmaurice/NOAA
Now that summer is up and running, spotting #whales at sea can be a magical experience for a
boater, but it can also mean dangerous accidental collisions. Check out and share these tips
below!
Credit: See a Spout
It’s #MarineDebrisMonday!
While scientists and researchers from NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary are
out on research missions, they stop to pick up marine debris such as balloons as often as
possible.
Credit: NOAA SBNMS
On Saturday, June 1st, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary staff and volunteers joined
the New England Aquarium’s annual World Ocean Day event, leading tours of Salt the
life-sized inflatable Humpback whale. This year’s event theme was “Connecting Communities,
Empowering Action for Our Ocean. Salt was prominently on display on the front plaza outside
the aquarium’s main entrance. Visitors enjoyed tours of Salt, learning about Humpback whale
anatomy, Salt's huge family tree, and why humpback whales visit Stellwagen Bank National
Marine Sanctuary. We loved chatting with so many visitors and making new friends!
Credit: Samantha Tolken/NOAA
In April 2024, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary staff and volunteers participated in Whales In Motion through Sound Explorations, a special interactive exhibit celebrating Massachusetts Right Whale Day at Boston’s Museum of Science. Blind and visually-impaired students and adults experienced the locomotion and foraging behavior of humpback and North Atlantic right whales through 3D sculpture models with musicians performing live. As participants ran their hands across these sculpture models, musicians performed action-specific melodies that matched the same contour and shape of the model. Credit: Laura Howes/NOAA