A humpback whale as seen from a breakwater. 50-60 feet long and 35-40 tons. I should have brought a proper camera. Next time.
The dorsal fin is visible, birds are following the whale around, hoping for scraps when the whale is feeding. Whales are messy eaters.
The humpback is coming up with its mouth wide open, scooping up several tons of seawater. Plankton, small fish, and crustaceans get stuck in the baleen while the water drains out. The whale then licks its food off the baleen. During this process, birds, mostly gulls, pelicans, cormorants, shearwater, and terns are divebombing for scraps.
The baleen is visible, hanging down from the upper jaw. Ballen is the filtration system these filter feeders use. Baleen is made from keratin just like hair or fingernails. The baleen consists of hundreds of baleen plates on each side of the upper jaw. Sometimes, pieces of baleen will wash up on the shore.
Note the two blowholes. Baleen whales have two blowholes/nostrils at the top of their heads, toothed whales have one blowhole. You see a forked "nose" terminating in two slightly raised blowholes. Sometimes they blow two distinct spouts, often the two spouts appear like one spout from afar.
