Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Tour at 17:00

Report from Hafsúlan: For this entire trip we were covered in sunlight, we had almost completely blue sky and it was a great evening for a tan. As it was evening the light was perfect for taking pictures of the birds and bay. Because it was so sunny there were times when it was very warm, you could even forget that you were in Iceland in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean just below the Arctic Circle. On this tour we got a few short looks at some pods of Harbour Porpoises and there was a Minke Whale surfacing in the distance right in the evening sun. It didn´t come back to the surface though and by the end of the tour we didn´t see any more species, therefore we decided to give out complimentary tickets so everyone could have another go at finding some better whales.

- Jack Ball

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: During the trip the wind was picking up a bit, but the sky cleared up and more and more sunbeams were lighting the surroundings like the villages or the snowy mountains. This was very much appreciated after several completely overcast days and quite a bit of rain. Our first sightings were two Minke Whales in the same area being a bit elusive, one closer by and the second in the distance. On our way towards some splashes made by White Beaked Dolphins it appeared a third minke on the horizon which we didn't watch. We found a pod of 4-5 dolphins passing by, being in a tight grouping. On our journey back we spotted several times two other minkes, one quite close and the second further away. People were starting sunbathing when the sunshine fell on to Hafsúlan.

-Carine Zimmermann

Tour at 09:00

Report from Hafsúlan: As we sailed from Reykjavík the skies were grey, but this just gave the sea a pale colour that would make any animals very visible. As the trip went on we would find more blue sky as the weather improved. The sea was quite calm too, there wasn´t much swell so our sailing was always comfortable. This morning we managed to see two species of cetaceans, first we saw the Harbour Porpoises as we headed out into the bay. There were two pods, the first was elusive but the second gave itself a good showing. After this we came across a big flock of feeding birds which contained 5 different bird species (in the list below the first five are the species involved). And later we even found a big flock of Manx Shearwaters which was an unusual sight. We also saw two Minke Whales, the highlight of the tour was undoubtedly the second. It was a juvenile that was very curious of the boat and was even showing off its baleen plates in its mouth by opening it many times beside the boat. Minkes have a white band along their flippers and we could see this very clearly through the water too! It was a beautiful and unique showing that we will all remember.

- Jack Ball

Birds seen on today's tours include: Lesser black backed seagull, kittiwakes, northern gannets, arctic skuas, pomeraine skua, eider ducks, fulmars, puffins, common guillemots, razorbills, manx shearwaters, arctic terns.