Tour at 13:00
The Minke Whales were difficult on this tour only surfacing once or twice before going for a deep dive then surfacing again very far away that we couldn't locate it again. We maybe saw 3-4 whales on this tour but only a short time with each. The highlight of the tour were the White-beaked Dolphins (4/5 individuals) which looked like they were busy trying to catch their meal so it allowed us to stay for a while. Watching them leap and surface fast and on one occasion they swam under the boat so the passengers could get a great look. Difficult Minkes but great Dolphins.
Tour at 9:00
Windier today making the sea a little rough but the whales loved it. It took us about 40 minutes to get where the whales were and it was a passenger that spotted the first blow. There wasn't as many whales as yesterday morning but there were at least 5-10 Minkes in the area. We saw them lunge feeding (coming far out the water with ventral pleats extended), rolling and surfing the swells. It was the last whale that was the best as it stayed with our boat for about 10-20 minutes 5-10 meters away rolling and surfacing slowly. Great Minke Whale.
Birds seen on todays tours include; Puffins, Guillemots, Gannets, Great and Arctic Skuas, Kittiwakes, Gulls, Fulmars and Arctic Terns. On Puffin Island we also saw Brent Geese, Graylag Geese, Oystercatchers, Cormorants and Eider Ducks.