Most of the time whale watching humpback whales is seeing their tail before they dive. Just seeing that is neat because of how large they are. Every once in a while they jump and show just how large they are. Capturing this is hard because it is often unexpected and over in just a few seconds, but it so impressive seeing just how large these whales are.

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Humpback whales do a very neat feeding behavior called bubble feeding. The whales will get in a group and circle small fish and confuse them and then come up from below with their mouths open. These were the two largest whales in the group and always the first to come above the surface.

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Humpback whales are usually a solitary animal.  The only time they will be with other whales, is during mating season and when food is at its peak.  These whales dove at the same time in hopes of rounding up little herring fish.  

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Wild animals are incredible in learning how to survive. It’s said that only 10% of humpback whales know how to bubble feed, but it seems like to me that each summer I see the behavior in more areas and that likely means more whales are learning how to do it. I’d learn how to bubble feed if it meant the difference between 15 fish in one mouthful and over 100 in a mouthful.

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The entire coast of Alaska is beautiful. Everywhere I have been on a boat in Alaska, it is just amazing to me how the mountains never stop as far as I can see. These waters create an amazing habitat for numerous marine mammals, and humpback whales come to Alaska in the summer to feed in this paradise.

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Humpbacks are a massive whale, and can reach up to 70 feet long.  It isn't known exactly why humpbacks jump fully out of the water, but there are some good educated guesses.  This whale was part of a fishing group of humpbacks that were not having much success.  It likely was a little upset and decided to jump out of the water to release some frustration.

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Humpback whales have huge tails. When they slap it on the surface, or when they are diving, you can really see just how large they are. This whale begins to dive and the water rolls off like a waterfall off its tail.

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Orcas are a beautiful whale, and can swim hundreds of miles a day.  There are many pods that are transients, and roam whatever waters they choose.  This pod of orcas was a resident pod in southeast Alaska, and were seen off and on.  They don't normally swim right beside each other, but they did this one time with the dramatic Alaskan mountains behind them.

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Humpback whales are fun to watch when they are active. They are so big and impressive when they are at the surface. However, they do dive to fish, and once the tail goes up, there is a waiting game until they resurface again.

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The trademark of a humpback is its tail. Researchers can identify certain humpback whales by the markings on their tail. After being with this whale for a little while, it finally gave us a good dive in the direction we were hoping for with the mountains behind it.

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Sea lions will gather in large numbers to rest. In the ocean there aren't that many places that appeal to sea lions to rest, because they all appear to want to rest in the same place. This rock in Glacier Bay National Park is where I would want to rest and have a great view if I were a sea lion.

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The waters of Alaska are a beautiful space for whales to live in during the summer. If I was a whale, Alaska would be on the top of my list to spend feeding all day long. This whale shows its tail before diving in front of a glacier.

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Alaska has some of the best waters in the world to watch humpback whales. Humpback whales flock to Alaska to feed all summer, because they don’t feed at all during the winter. It never gets old seeing these huge tails with the backdrop of the Alaskan mountains.

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Humpback whales have many ways of expressing themselves. They will jump, fin slap, and tail slap at different times.  When they tail slap, they don't jump out of the water, they just stick the lower half of their body out of the water and forcefully slap it back down against the water.

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There is a very small time of the year when humpback whales feed together.  Some years it can last less than 2 weeks for when the whales bubble net feed.  They will circle around the herring and blow bubbles and create a wall of bubbles.  The herring don't know they can swim through the bubbles and become trapped.  The whales then come up through the middle with their mouths open, and have a meal of herring.

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Humpback whales are a huge whale that only show off their tail when they are going to dive.  They can hold their breath for over 30 minutes and surface miles from where they dove from.  This whale had come fairly close to us while following the fish it was dieting on, and then dove on a calm Alaskan morning.

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Being on the ocean and looking for whales is always exciting. You never know where they are going to come up and how long they will stay near the surface. This whale gave us one more tail before diving into the shadows.

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Orcas do not jump out of the water very often.  They are very skilled swimmers and work well in a team when hunting.  Sometimes, though, one will just stick the upper half of its body out of the water while hunting to try and see where its prey has gone.

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There are only a few places where you can go and see humpback whales bubble feeding. Less than 10% of all humpback whales know how to bubble feed, so it really is a rare treat to see.  When this group of whales came up close to feed, seeing how wide their mouths were and the underside of their mouth as they swallowed little herring fish was a real treat.

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Orca whales are an amazing and powerful whale. Watching this pod swim together and move such great distances in a short time was impressive. Finding them after they would dive by their fin was fun. Orcas can travel so many miles a day, so it is always a treat to see them.

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Humpback whales are usually a solitary animal.  The only time they will be with other whales, is during mating season and when food is at its peak.  These whales dove at the same time in hopes of rounding up little herring fish.  

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Watching a group of humpbacks fish together is quite the site.  They are normally a solitary animal, and fish by themselves.  However, when the herring population reaches its peak, the whales come together for a feeding frenzy called bubble feeding.  All of a sudden, anywhere from 5-12, humpbacks appear out of the water with their mouths open and inhale the herring.

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Humpback whales flock to southeast Alaska during the summer to feed.  The summer in Alaska is the only time they feed all year, and they can feed up to 23 hours a day.  When the herring fish reaches the peak of the summer, humpback whales form groups to fish in and will bubble net feed.  Less than 10% of all humpbacks know how to do this, and it only happens for two weeks or less in the summer.  After circling the herring, the whales breach with their mouths open and inhale the herring.

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Being close to a glacier is neat because of all the ice bergs that have fallen off the glacier and it creates an environment for many animals to live in. This harbor seal was swimming by a deep blue ice berg on its way to rest on a different ice berg.

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Being in the waters of Alaska is incredible, because the scenery is incredible. While whale watching, most of the time you are just looking for a spray of water or the tail of the humpback. When all of a sudden two humpbacks heads appear with their mouths wide open to catch small fish, it makes the whole scene come to life.

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The trademark of a humpback is its tail. Researchers can identify certain humpback whales by the markings on their tail. After being with this whale for a little while, it finally gave us a good dive in the direction we were hoping for with the mountains behind it.

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Large pieces of ice that fall off glaciers make for great resting and birthing places for harbor seals.  The seals actually depend on this ice to have their babies. This seal looked so small and almost unnoticeable in from of the large John Hopkins Glacier.

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The seas and bays around Alaska are so huge. When you are on a boat, an island that looked only 5 minutes away can take over 30 minutes sometimes. I honestly don't know how far away this whale was when it poked its head above the water, but it made for a nice perspective with the very distant mountains.

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Beluga whales move into the turnagain arm following the salmon in high tide.  As the tide begins to flow out they have to leave the shallow waters.  Here a couple of belugas venture back out to sea.

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One of the best places to find harbor seals is near a glacier. The seals like to have their babies on the ice near the glaciers because they are more protected there than other places from predators. These harbor seals had found a nice ice berg they could all lay out on together.

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Watching and searching for whales is one of my favorite activities on the water in Alaska. They are such majestic animals and always fun to watch. It’s exciting trying to photograph whales because you never know where they are going to appear. We had been following this whale and had hoped it would show in front of the glacier, and when it did I got the shot I wanted!

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