Sunday, 06 October 2013

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: The day got even better as the wind calmed down even further and the swell reduced considerably. We headed out and the bay was rich with life. We saw many White-beaked dolphins, splashes seen in all directions near and far, when close to the dolphins they showed to be quite elusive but all passengers got a great look at them nonetheless. Must have seen 30+ very scattered dolphins on this tour. We also saw a a two Minke Whales, one in particular was the best as it surfaced many times and very close to the boat a few of those times. Near the end of the tour we saw a flock of feeding seabirds and lots of Harbour Porpoises, maybe 10-15 animals. Have not had such a good look at porpoises in a very long time. It was a very beautiful and productive day out in Faxaflói today. Hope the weather and the wildlife continues.

-Megan Whittaker

Tour at 09:00

Report from Hafsúlan: The weather was beautiful this morning as we sailed out into Faxaflói Bay. Skies clear, crisp wintry air, not so much wind. We first saw a couple of Harbour Porpoises near Engey as we sailed out then we saw 3-4 White-beaked Dolphins about about 40 minutes more of sailing, these dolphins were quite difficult to follow and so we didn´t stay with them too long. We then found another pod of 3-4 4-5 animals which were great as they surfaced under and around the boat. Suddenly we saw a big blow towards the mountain Keilir on the Reykjanes Peninsula, it was a Minke Whale which we saw many times and 2-3 times close to the boat. Then it was more dolphins. All in all 40+ White-beaked Dolphins were observed throughout the tour.

-Megan Whittaker

Birds seen on todays tour included; Northern Gannets, Lesser black backed Gulls, Glaucous Gulls, Common Guillemots, Cormorants, Eider Ducks, Kittiwakes.