The humpbacks were bubble feeding yesterday out in front of town so I took the boat out for some shots. This is a close up, notice the little herring that got away. The whale on the right is open mouthed and you can see the baleen in its upper jaw. The whale on the left you are looking at its lower jaw tell tale by the expanded pleat. Bubble feeding is a learned behavior that only the SE Alaska humpback whale population practice. It is not understood why they do not do it any where else on earth. One whale dives very deep and then exhales a ring or curtain of fine air bubbles which concentrate the herring into a tight ball. The other whales, I have seen up to 30 in a pod, come up underneath the bubble ring with there mouths open. I will post a photo tomorrow of the small group that these two were part of. Just before they break the surface the seagulls will dive to the spot of where they will come up so it helps to focus the camera there. Also, just before they come up you can hear through the hull of the boat the whale songs as they get closer to the surface. Quite the event.