Monday, 2 February 2015

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: after yesterday's success with the dolphins, we went out today hoping to have the same or better as we are now in a period in which we had good luck last year. The sea conditions were ok but it was very cold and somewhat strong northern wind. We first sailed north-west towards the town of Akranes and searched around there before turning out into the bay. We noticed many bird flocks; a promising sight, especially when they are clearly feeding as then more often than not some larger diners are present as well. Several species were present in them but the northern fulmar seemed most common; a species that looks very much like a seagull but it is actually from an entierly different family within the Class of Birds. We then turned to the west and searched for a while for blows or anything else that might indicate the presence of cetaceans (collective name for whales, dolpins, and porpoises) but sadly this turned out to be a non-sighting tour in that regard, although the view of the snow-covered surroundings was amazing. All passengers were provided with complimentary return tickets so that they can come on another tour, then free of charge, in the hope of then seeing what we would have loved to show them today. Perhaps tomorrow!

- Baldur Thorvaldsson

Birds seen on today's tours: eider duck, northern fulmar, common guillemot, northern gannet, glaucous gull, kittiwake, black-backed gull, european shac, and long-tailed duck