Bubble Net Feeding Humpback Whales, Juneau

Bubble Net Feeding Humpback Whales under an Alaskan Lighthouse


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  I used to think the holy grail of whale watching was seeing a breach. Now I've changed my mind. Here in Alaska, during the heart of the summer feeding season, humpback whales perform an awe-inspiring act called bubble net feeding. It is a cooperative group of whales working together to corral small fish like herring into a tight school by blowing a huge ring of bubbles around them. Then all the whale swim right up through the bubble net with mouths wide open breaking through the surface. Sometimes the herring can be seen leaping out of the open mouth of the whale at the same time unwary gulls are also trying to escape the expansive maw.

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  It was this behavior that took me out to Point Retreat, just north of Juneau with my buddy Ben and a boat full of whale watchers. We got more than we bargained for with one group of nine whales repeatedly breaching the surface in a ring of bubbles. The lighthouse at Point Retreat looked over the spectacle bathed in wildflowers adding a taste of Alaska to the already amazing scene.

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