Tuesday, 13 May 2014

Tour at 13:00

Report from Hafsúlan: This afternoon a a slight cloud cover and a bit of rain accompanied us on our way out into Flaxafloí Bay. On our travels out, we occasionally spotted Harbour Porpoises, but soon enough we were able to spot a group of feeding seabirds. Northern Gannets were shooting into the water causing splashes and giving us the hint that the area was rich with fish. After only minutes we saw a large wave, followed by a splash when a Minke Whale surfaced and rolled around just in midst of the seabirds. As we were soon to find out this Minke Whale was called Midi and has been sighted every year since 2008. Today, Midi must have been particularly hungry as it was launch-feeding, rolling around, shooting to the surface ,and changing directions constantly, often showing off its white-pinkish belly and rows of its baleen plates on his upper jaw. For about 30 minutes we followed him feast like a king amongst large flocks of Arctic Turns. When Midi finally had his fill, we followed him for another while until we headed back into harbour. What a great trip, indeed.

- Dominik and Freydis

Tour at 9:00

Report from Hafsúlan: The sky was blue and the sun warmed us when we headed out this morning with only a mild breeze from the west. Initially, we spotted a large flock of feeding Arctic Turns. Suddently, 2-3 Harbour Porpoises appeared left to the vessel. They were quite elusive and hard to spot, but when we were scanning the surface to find them again, a group of 5-7 White-beaked dolphins surfaced on the other side of the boat. They were fun to watch as they leaped out of the water and came close to the boat. We were able to watch them for about 15 minutes, but then they disappeared. Very soon we spotted a black back in the distance, it was a Minke Whale. We spent some time with this individual, the minke was moving quickly and constantly changing direction but came often close to the boat. We noticed the second minke whale further away, but it was moving fast so we stayed with the first one. After we watched the minke for a good amount of time, it was time to head further out and search for something more. The further we headed the bird life seemed to increase, so after some search we headed back to the same area where we spotted cetaceans earlier. As we got there the bird life increased again and we saw the same minke whale! Now the minke seemed to be calmer, swimming in the same direction and surface slowly and close to the boat. When we were heading back to the harbour a few harbour porpoises were spotted, spread around the area. It was a good tour with loads of bird life and three species of cetaceans.

- Freydis and Dominik

Birds seen on todays tour include: Northern Fulmar, Northern Gannet, Atlantic Puffin, Kittiwake, Guillemot, Razorbill, Arctic Tern, Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Eider Duck, Black-Backed Gull.