Tour at 17:00
Report from Hafsúlan: On this tour we had a little bit more wind than earlier tours but the conditions were still good. The tour started off slowly but spotted 2 minke whales in few hundred meter distance, unfortunately they didn't want to show off for us. We also encountered a group of harbour porpoises on the way, 2-3 animals. By the end of the tour we spotted a flock of gannets plunging into the sea feeding, so the boat turned that way. This was clearly a good feeding site and we were able to encounter several minke whales at least 8 individuals by the end of the tour and 7 - 9 white-beaked dolphins. One of the minke whales was Midi, seen since 2008 , which showed off and was rolling at the surface to feed. You could even see half of Midi´s fluke (tail). A great end to a great day.
-Katrin Björnsdóttir
Tour at 14:00
Report from Elding: The wind had picked up since the morning tour, but the sea was still very smooth and it looked like another tour without any seasick passengers. We encountered several groups of harbour porpoises again, and also spotted one or two minke whales. However, they didn't surface on a regular basis and were not as easy to spot as in the morning. So we decided to move on and look for other animals. Soon after that we spotted a small group of 2-3 white-beaked dolphins. Unfortunately, they only surfaced a couple of times before they disappeared. Even though we could not spent as much time with each animal as we wanted, we saw two more minke whales on this tour before heading back to the harbour, and another minke whale surfaced only a few meters away from the boat on our way back.
- Hanna Michel
Tour at 13:00
Report from Hafsúlan: We went out from Reykjavík harbour. The weather was really good, hardly any wind and the sea was smooth but at the end of the tour the wind had picked up. We spotted 4 or 5 minke whales in less than kilometer distance. One of the individuals was Stump a minke whales seen since 2013, missing half the dorsal fin. Harbour porpoises also popped up here and there throughout the tour and probably encountered at least 6-8 individuals in total. A great start to June.
-Katrin Björnsdóttir
Tour at 10:00
Report from Elding: Like Hafsúlan, we went out from the old harbour in Reykjavík today. The sea was incredible smooth today and after less than an hour we came into an area where we spotted at least 5 minke whales. They kept feeding all around us, so that we could stop out boat completely and just watch them coming closer. After about half an hour we decided to move on and look for other species, but it didn't take long until we spotted two more minke whales. So we also spent some time with them, before we started our way back to the harbour. Along the way, we also encountered several groups of harbour porpoises.
- Hanna Michel
Tour at 09:00
Report from Hafsúlan: Where to start?! What an amazing tour right from the get go! As we left Reykjavik the surface was so flat and mirror like that you couldn't see the horizon. Lucy, Alberto and I were all thrilled to be able to be out on the water in such fine weather. In fact the mood was so good that Alberto and I wagered to see who could get the first glimpse of a minke whale. Both of us scanned the horizon keeping an eye out and within 15 minutes of leaving the harbour I spotted the first minke only 400 metres away. Unfortunately for me but fortunately for the passengers Alberto spotted another one at 1 oclock about 500 metres away winning him the wager on a technicality. And thus began the marathon of minkes. The sightings came so fast that all I could say was one oclock, 3 oclock, 7 oclock and on and on. At one point we had 7 minkes within a 700 metre radius around the boat. It was at that moment that we turned off the engine and just floated quietly on the water interrupted only by the sounds of minke blows. It was around this time that some harbour porpoises got jealous and decided they wanted some attention. It was so still we could hear their faint blows as they began porpoising by the boat. I put down the mic and just sat back taking it all in. Couldn't ask for a better tour. We steamed home surrounded all the time by minkes and porpoises. My face was aching all day after smiling so much. Terrific day to be working :).
-Michelle (formerly known as Tommy)
Bird species seen on today's tour include: northern gannets, northern fulmars, black-legged kittiwakes, lesser black-backed gulls, arctic skuas, arctic terns, common guillemots, razorbills, eider ducks, shags, manx shearwater and puffins.
- Image
- Image
- Image
- Image
