Sunday, 7 December 2014

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: we were not more than mile from the harbour when we found the white-beaked dolphins again, they seemed to have split up into smaller pods but we still saw maybe 30 plus close and in the distance. It was very beautiful how the low, warm, winter sun caught every detail on the dolphins body and their exhaled breathe. The landscape was also breath-taking with the snow and the sunset was astounding. We did search the areas offshore for larger cetaceans but none seemed to have ventured into the bay today. On the way home in the face numbing freezing wind we settled inside to warm up and ended the tour with another nice small pod of white-beaked dolphins, 3-5 individuals, which did a bit of body slamming to show off. A cold but incredibly beautiful day on the water.

-Megan Whittaker

Tour at 10:00Report from Hafsúlan: this was not a scheduled tour but a private group tour. Normally we would not write a journal entry for a private tour but it is just that on this tour we were so delighted to find our first cetaceans in December that we just had to! The December tours so far have either been cancelled or without sightings so this was welcomed. We sailed out while it was still relatively dark but around 10:30 it started getting brighter and about an hour later it was more or less as bright as it gets at this time of year. On at least one occasion we saw splashes as if something was porpoising through the water but as we got closer the cause had gone down. So we continued searching and saw a good number of birds, of which european shaqs and cormorants were most numerous, there were many groups numbering hundreds in total. We were getting a bit discouraged by that time but then it started; as we were sailing towards the mouth of Hvalfjörður before turning towards Reykjavik, we saw some splashes, then more, and then realised we had arrived in a dolphin bonanza! There must have been at least 50 white-beaked dolphins there and by golly they were good! Splashes, approaches, fast travelling, swimming close to surface, it was a dream! It was hence with a happy heart that we could return home from the first successful tour of the Christmas month.Baldur ThorvaldssonBirds seen on today's tour include: black-backed gulls, iceland gulls, glaucus gulls, eider ducks, common guillemots, cormorants, european shags, snow buntings.