It is hard to determine what happened in this photo which shows a humpback whale slowly sliding backward into the water as I was not present when the photo was taken. Lunge feeding occurs when a whale comes up suddenly under a school of herring and comes out of the water with its mouth wide open engulfing the herring and spraying water everywhere. Not mush spraying here. Not enough splash to be the remainder of a breach. My guess would be a young humpback after a less than successful lunge or maybe one that has been watching to many orca spyhopping?
Wilson’s Phalaropes
Phalaropes are the only shorebirds that regularly swim in deep water. Every year in late summer, migrating Wilson’s Phalaropes put on an amazing show as enormous flocks pass through our area. There they spin round and round in the nutrient-rich waters, creating whirlpools that stir up invertebrates that will fuel their migration to South America. The flocks of birds dart about as if following a choreographed programmed flight. And yes many of the “birders” that visit Grizzly Bear Lodge want pictures.
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