11-24-19 What are Those Scratches on the Humpback

Catching up over the last several days...

J Pod had been north of the Fraser for a few days...
then they came south and were first spotted off Victoria heading west...
and then...and then...
the next day they were in Puget Sound!
...hmmm...were more salmon heading in?...
..and now today (11-24) they are still in Puget Sound...

...sure do wish the water was cleaner down there...

...in the meantime whether from shore on out on the Western Prince, here are a few images...
Those Scratches on the Humpback
...this is BCZ0298 with some unusual 'scratches' 
I wonder what it is from?
...fishing gear?
...transient orcas?
...sea lion harassment? (I heard that was going on out in Juan de Fuca)...
...something else?  
(note: known as 'Split Fin, BCZ0298 has has had that split dorsal fin for many years.)

...there is a bloody spot in front of the dorsal fin...and there appears to be some kind of 'holes' or something that had...
...no alarm here, just curiosity...

 

...on another day, and just about everyday for the last several weeks, California sea lions, sometimes one and sometimes three have come by the park...
...one morning I was photographing some Buffleheads, a winter bird, when something caught my eye!

...another day...the blow of a humpback caught my eye, in the early morning...eight minute dives and a challenge to track...that is until it came past the lighthouse :)

 I sent this image to researchers, as I hadn't seen this humpback before...MMY0080, which is a temporary ID assignment...

...and then there is the 'daily dependable' -great-blue-heron...

...no Southern Residents...but out on the Western Prince the T18s were spotted in San Juan Channel...we were still at the dock when we saw them passing by the entrance to Friday Harbor!...that was amazing!
...then out on the water we watched them for a while...
...this is my most fun picture of them...silly, but fun...

...the T18s are seen often throughout the year...but of course one never knows when they will appear...or where they will be on any given day...
So, what is unusual looking about this image?
Who is going which direction?

November is not a time for seeing J, K or L Pods...but you just never know...

...always on the lookout...