Friday, 14 June 2013

Tour at 17:00:

Report from Elding. It had gotten a bit colder when we headed out for the afternoon tour.  We sailed straight out to the area where we had seen the Minke Whales earlier that day. After sailing for about half an hour a Minke Whale popped up right in front of the boat, just 50 m away. We saw it surface a few times before going down for a deep dive. We stayed in that area and abour 4-5 other Minke Whales surfacing all around us. Then they all dissappeared as quickly as they had appeared. We sailed further out to look for something else and after searching a big area we found a pod of about 10 White-beaked Dolphins. We followed them for a while, watching them swim under the boat and playing around us. Then we headed back to Reykjavík and stopped in Engey to see the puffins. There were not a lot of puffins there so we decided to go to Akurey as well where we saw very many puffins, both on the island and in the water around it. A very good tour on a beautiful day.

-Aldís Erna Pálsdóttir

Tour at 14:00

Report from Elding: The wind had picked up a bit from the morning tour as we set out for the bay but it was still a beautiful day. We headed straight for an area where we had heard reports of sightings. On the way there we saw an Oyster catcher. It then started out with several groups of white-beaked dolphins some of which came quite close. One of them appeared to be a family since there was a calf among them. After a while the first Minke whale was spotted as it was lunge feeding in the vicinity of feeding seabirds. Apparently we had plenty of food in the bay today. We did not have to move much further from then on since several Minke whales surfaced in the same area, most of which appeared to be feeding. Now and again we would spot dolphins as well and it was hard to say goodbye to these amazing animals and head back. On the way to the puffin island we saw our last group of White-beaked dolphins. In the puffin island Lundey there were plenty of puffins as well as Arctic terns, a few kinds of seagulls, Black guillemots, Fulmars and Kittiwakes. Good sightings and all in all a good day out on the bay!

-Arnór Tumi

Tour at 13:00:

Report from Elding: We sailed out from Reykjavík in very good weather. We first stopped in Akurey and saw the beautiful puffins all around us. Then we headed out in search of whales. We saw a pod of Harbour Porpoises pretty soon but headed on. After that we saw many other pods of Harbour Porpoises, probably around 20-30 individuals in whole. They were coming high out of the water and very beautiful to see. After sailing for over an hour we spotted a Minke Whale behind the boat. We sailed towards it and saw it surface many times, often close to the boat before we decided to head back. On our way back we encountered a pod of 4-6 White-beaked Dolphins. They came close to the boat and were amazing to look at. Then we headed back to the harbour, after a tour with very good weather and three different species.

-Aldís Erna Pálsdóttir

Tour at 10:00

Report from Elding: It was sunny as we headed out to Akuery the puffins island this morning. There, we saw quite a lot of puffins sitting on the surface of the sea and standing in the island. Lots of other birds were spotted in the island as well. Our first sightings were Harbor porpoises and to our surprise, this time they came pretty close to our boat. Throughout the tour we enjoyed the company of several groups of these small cetaceans. The first Minke whale we spotted was lunge feeding and attracted our attention with the splashes it made. There seemed to be plenty of birds in the bay today as we found several dense groups of feeding seabirds, among them lots of arctic terns. We must have seen at least six Minke Whales before we finally found the White-beaked dolphins. They seemed to be feeding as well and among them was at least one calf. As we approached them slowly and carefully they seemed to appreciate our company and greeted us by swimming up to the boat, diving under it playfully and showing off. Shortly thereafter a second pod of White-beaked dolphins was spotted a bit further away this time but all together there must have been at least 12 of them. After we had to say goodbye to the dolphins we headed back to the harbor happy about the great sightings, calm seas and splendid weather.

-Arnór Tumi

Tour at 9:00:

Report from Elding: It was cloudy when we headed out but other than that the weather was very good. We started in Akurey where we saw puffins, kittiwakes, Eider Ducks and more bird species. We sailed out in the bay and after 40 minutes or so we saw a Minke Whale surface right in front of us. The sea was very calm and we saw it very well. We stayed in that area for an hour or so while Minke Whales were surfacing all around us, one of them thrasing around in the surface.There was also a lot of birdlife and we saw arctic skuas chasing after the arctic terns, trying to steal the fish out of their beaks. In this area we also saw 6-8 Harbour Porpoises and a pod of 5 White-beaked Dolphins. An unbelieavable tour in a bay full of life.

-Aldís Erna Pálsdóttir

Birds seen on today's tours include: Lesser black-backed gulls, Greater black-backed gulls, Hering gulls, Arctic skuas, Northern Gannets, Puffins, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Arctic terns, Eider ducks, Northern divers