21 July 2022

Species seen today: humpback whales, minke whales, white beaked dolphins

Fabulous conditions out in Faxafloi Bay today with calm seas and mostly light winds. Our morning tours were treated to enormous flocks of feeding birds and we could see the sea in places was thick with sandeels and reddish areas of zooplankton. We got great views of minke whales feeding and also humpback whales lunging out of the water to scoop up mouthfuls of food. The sea was rippling with fish trying to escape the humpback´s mouth. Lots of kittiwakes, various gulls, arctic terns, puffins, guillemots and shearwaters all hanging around enjoying this rich feast with arctic skuas waiting to steal food from other birds. Conditions stayed good in the afternoon and we sighted several pods of white beaked dolphins, some with very tiny calves. We also had good minke and humpback sightings and lots of views of their amazing flukes when diving. For our later tour we were lucky to be surrounded by feeding birds again with both humpbacks and minkes feeding near to the boat. It was hard to know where to look!