A whale was seen in the New York Harbor this morning just near the Verrazano Bridge. You can see video footage at both FoxNY1.
The whale was last seen heading toward Coney Island, the US Coast Guard said in a statement issued this afternoon.
“Several species of large whales are found off the Mid-Atlantic and even close to shore this time of year, including humpbacks, fin whales, right whales, and minke whales,” Teri Frady, spokesperson for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service in the northeast said. “Our current priority is to get a positive species identification, and to do an assessment of the animal’s health and the local environment.”
Earlier, the US Coast Guard told the New York Times it was a lone, apparently healthy humpback whale first spotted near the bridge around 8 a.m.
On Wednesday, the Coast Guard said it received a report of a whale “reportedly attempting to beach itself at Rockaway Beach, N.Y. around 10 p.m.”
NewYorkology today followed the hovering helicopters out to Seagate at the edge of Coney Island, and frankly, got nothing more than a nice dose of spring sunshine.
There were six police-type boats and two to three helicopters grouped near SeaGate. Over a half hour, the boats moved further out from shore and more east toward Coney Island. A small handful of photographers gathered on the rocks, including one man who said he’d seen the whale in the morning near the Verrazano, but not since then.
Literally hundreds of birds could be seen feeding en masse not far from where the police boats drifted, but no whale emerged that could be seen from shore.
Despite the fact all NewYorkology has today is some nice day-at-the-beach pictures, here are some links that might be useful if you’re keeping an eye on the harbor:
Update: Friday’s edition of the New York Times says the last reported sighting of the whale was at 2:24 p.m. on Thursday in the Ambrose Channel south of the Verrazano Bridge by a Coast Guard crew and representatives from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation.
