4-26-15 Two Humpbacks Have Now Returned

Sunday, April 26th
...J Pod...I think they have gone back out...but not too sure...the last few days they were seen the seas were pretty wild on some...only glimpses of the whales on others...
...I heard that the J17s were back with them and the J16s hadn't split off again just yet...can't wait to see where they show up next...my guess is they will be coming in from the west...
...yesterday, Saturday, Big Mama, BCY0324, was around again...she had been here and then gone for a while...while on Maya's Westside Charters we were watching her...she was getting surface active...and raised her tail right when a sailboat was in the distance behind her...nice!

...that sail boat is All Aboard Sailing Charters with Captain David Howitt!...he sometimes drives for Capt. Jim...

...so today, Sunday the 26th...boats were going to look for Big Mama...would there be a fourth day in a row???...thanks to Capt. Ivan of the Western Prince - Yes!
...and today there was someone with her...who was that other whale?...
when I saw those white marks on her dorsal fin I immediately thought of 'the friendly'...that's her!...the same one who mugged us back in November 2013...now that was a once in a lifetime experience...
...she is the whale known as MMY0006, a temporary ID assigned to her until a permanent one can be...(I didn't assign it...you can see it on the most recent HB ID guide for this area, put out by the Center for Whale Research last year)
...since I take so many pictures I was able to ID this whale based on things other than the underside of the tail flukes...and Yes! It is the friendly who is also known as MMY0006!...who is also known as Windy...
 ...click to enlarge these images for a closer look...this is the outer edge of the right tail fluke...

...I compared today's images of MMY0006 to last year and to the 'Friendly' encounter in November 2013 - the dorsal fin, scars this whale has, and luckily two partial tail fluke images and they all are matches...
...in addition...Big Mama has a big lump on the top of her right fluke - it is easily seen from a great distance...MMY0006 has two small lumps on the top of his/her left fluke...fun stuff...

...Mt. Baker was being very pretty today and look what happened...

...now for a closer look at the whale...

....I don't know which whale it was who breached but his/her timing was just right for my camera! - Thanks!...MMY0006 is the second whale to show up in these local waters this season...I wonder what type of small fish they are eating?...
...whatever it is just leave the salmon alone please!