Yes that humpback whale is slapping the water with the upper-side of its tail. That means that it is on its back and slapping downward. With the increase number of humpback whales that spend the summer in our viewing area, often viewing ten or twelve whales each trip; we view more interesting behaviour. In the past summer tail lobbing, lunge feeding and breaching are common place. For the first time there has been a whale bubble feeding and this is a rare behaviour. Rare because it is one whale bubble feeding rather than a group. The whale swims in a circle blowing bubbles to keep the herring inside the ring and then turns and lunges up through it’s own bubbles.