1st May 2024

Species seen today: Humpback whale, minke whale, white-beaked dolphin, harbour porpoise

Birds seen today: Atlantic puffin, northern gannet, kittiwake, northern fulmar, eider duck, manx shearwater, black guillemot, european shag

10:00 - What a day for whale watching... the weather was incredible, the sun was out and the sea was as flat as possible. So we started off this trip by visiting Engey to see a few adorable puffins. After a quick look at them we didn´t have to travel much further before we started to see some splashes. There was a huge pod of 15-20 white beaked dolphins. They were really close to land which made for a great start to the day. The pod was very friendly coming up all around us constantly. Eventually we decided it was time to look for other animals. We then kept going for a while before spotting a big flock of birds feeding. Then just as we turned towards them 4 minke whales and 5 harbour porpoises also came to the surface. Both species were coming up really regularly giving us a great show. Then we spotted some more dolphins further away so we went to have a look. These were even more exciting than the first pod. This time there was about 10 but they kept staying really close to us and jumping lots. We then had to head home after a sensational first tour.

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Rob

11:00 - This was another incredible tour. After a quick visit to Engey island to see some puffins we headed right into the bay and after just a few moments we saw a large pod of around 15 white beaked dolphins that were very interactive, swimming around and under the boat repeteadly. 2 minke whales and plenty of sea birds were partaking in the action. As we were observing the cetaceans we spotted 2 humpback whales not very far from us, and we headed towards them. They were mostly shy but displayed a bit more action as we were getting ready to leave back to port. As we were approaching land, we saw a group of around 4 harbour porpoises to finish the tour.

Crew: Captain Pedro & Guide Rodrigo

14:00 - The day just got better and better. We sailed out once more on the smoothest of seas and a strong sun but a chilly breeze. We soon found a very sleepy pod of 4-6 harbour porpoises logging (resting at the surface), then minke whale after minke whale as we headed further into the bay. We must have seen at least 10 minke whale, some close and some a bit further away. We enjoyed our encounters with these very streamlined whales but we also wanted to get to an area further out where humpbacks and dolphins had been seen. We got there in the end after many stops with minkes passing by and found a humpback whale, very chilled, rolling at the surface and flipper slapping. We cut off the engines and enjoyed the sounds and actions of nature. Whilst with the humpback we encountered 2-3 white-beaked dolphins that swam under our boat. It was so hard to leave but alas it had to be done. On the sail home we encountered 2-3 more pods of dolphins that we slowly sailed past and another minke whale just outside the harbour wall. An incredible tour.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Arthur

15:00 - An incredible finish for an incredible day of whale watching. We headed deep into the bay and quickly enough we saw the first humpback whale. Everybody was busy admiring it when a large group of around 20 white beaked dolphins came towards us and gave us a really good show of swimming and skipping next to the boat and even a few jumps. As this was happening we kept spotting more humpback whales in the distance, bringing the total count to 7. We got close to one and as we were about to leave, it started rolling and slapping the pectorals and everybody was ecstatic. We also saw 3 minke whales in the middle of the action, and as we were driving back into the port, a small group of about 3 harbour porpoises came near the boat.

Crew: Captain Pedro & Guide Rodrigo

Today we are going out at 10:00, 11:00 & 15:00 for Whale Watching and 9:00, 13:00 & 16:00 for Puffin Watching.

For more information come see us at Ægisgarður 5D, email us at info@whalesafari.is

or call us on +354 497 0000!