Beneath the blush of a February sunrise, Esker the humpback sauntered through the balmy waters off the Dominican Republic, lively as a puffin at a capelin roll. She had a fondness for both the tropical breezes and the brisk northern air, never quite choosing just one favourite.

That first sighting, way back in the winter of 2005 near Silver Bank, saw Esker drifting lazily as if the entire Atlantic were her private bath. She adored the warmth—but like any self-respecting Newfoundlander-at-heart, she couldn’t resist a good northern detour. By July of 2009, she’d found herself gliding past Witless Bay, perhaps giving a nod to the colony of chattering puffins and the ever-watchful gaze of whale watchers.

Nearly a decade later, Esker was spotted twice in the bright, gusty days of August 2018 amid the coves of Trinity Bight. The salt air was thick with laughter and the scent of kelp. Then, in a twist of surprise, she turned up at Silver Bank again in early 2019, a touch greyer but just as spry.

She’s not one for following a straight path. In August 2022, her journey took her as far as Greenland’s chilly expanse, before she dashed south again, this time to the slopes off Fogo Island. Esker’s story even puts her southwest of Bermuda in 2025, before finishing her circuit back in the delightfully blue waters near Samana Bay, Dominican Republic, in 2026. She’s nearly as well-travelled as a snowbird, but twice as graceful.