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Were you on this tour? You can request more photos via email at elding@elding.is - Image
Were you on this tour? You can request more photos via email at elding@elding.is - Image
Were you on this tour? You can request more photos via email at elding@elding.is
Thursday 11 January 2024
Today we will be operating on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 13:00 Classic Whale Watching tour. Make sure to dress according to weather, as it is usually colder at sea than on land.
- CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
Report from Eldey: It was warm today, around 8°C! We got very wet with the wind and rain. The sea conditions were good and the boat was not rocking much. We went to find our two humpback whales that we have been observing lately. We first found Calamity, very close to the harbour near Videy. We observed it for a while saw it go for a few fluke dives with gulls fighting around for fish. On our right the head of a grey seal popped out of the water. We left and searched for the other humpback that we call Ekki but its only in the end that we found it, very close to land on the other side of Videy. On our way we spotted a harbour porpoise going for a few surfaces. It was calm and slowly wandering around. We went back to the harbour after this very nice sightings.
- Miquel Pons
Bird species seen today include:
Northern fulmar, great cormorant, Northern gannet, razorbill, herring gull, black-backed gull.
Wildlife encountered today:
The Humpback Whale is quite spectacular undergoing the longest migration of any mammal (5176miles/8334km one way), attracting females by singing to them and of course their energetic nature. On many occasions humpbacks have been seen breaching, tail slapping, fin slapping, blowing bubbles and spy hopping just to mention a few. The humpback is also one of the larger whales we encounter
The Harbour Porpoise is the smallest and most abundant cetacean around Iceland. They are usually shy but occasionally they come and play around the boats. They can be relatively hard to spot from a distance due to their size and their abundance depends entirely on the food availability of our shores since they are opportunistic feeders.
Grey seals are generally distinguished from harbour seal by their straight head and fewer spots. Males are darker and larger than the females who tend to be a silver, grey or brown in color. Grey seals and harbour seals are the only seals that have been reported breeding in Icelandic waters.