Afternoon tail

Title: Afternoon Tail

Location:  Sydney, Australia

Whales pass Sydney in groups or waves during their migration, so sometimes you get lucky and hit the wave at the right time and see a lot of whales. Other times you hit the quiet periods and this is what had happened on this particular afternoon. It is very frustrating when you have good visibility but no whales.

A few boats were out but we got lucky when a pair of whales began tail lobbing. Gulls will look for edible debris from active whales but sometimes they get a little too close.

The angle of the sun in this image emphasises the contrast in the skin underneath the tail fluke. The circular marks are where barnacles have attached themselves and then become detached (possibly due to tail-lobs).