Fluke ids 101. The above photo of a whale lobtailing in the distance was taken with a 300 millimeter vibration-reduction lens on a bumpy day. With the naked eye the whale was barely visible. However, combining the long lens with a little help from Adobe Photoshop we manage to get a fluke shot that is usable, below. So, don't get despondent if you don't seem to have the same close-up experiences. It's all in lens and the editing afterwards.

A windy day with whales somewhat elusive but showing up where we'd expect. They were elusive in the sense that they didn't spend a lot of time on the surface. We probably saw upwards of 30 whales today and got a good many fluke ids, but we did have to be patient and wait for the whales to surface. They seem to be in a holding mode compared to last week when they were partying and careening all over the ocean with much surface activity that was easy to spot. Over the last four years it does seem as if the whale activity here comes and goes in waves. One day there can be fifty whales or more and then the next day they all seem to have gone. Then the numbers start building up again.

Whale breaches were few and far between today. Above right one of the fluke ids that we have seen repeatedly this week.

Another lovely sunset although we thought we might not get Sea Slipper under Watford Bridge.