Species seen today: White-beaked dolphin, Minke whale, Humpback whale, harbour porpoise

Birds seen today: Great cormorant, Arctic tern, Herring gull, Black-headed gull, Atlantic puffin, Great black-backed gull, Eider duck, Black guillemot, Common guillemot, Arctic skua, Oystercatcher

10:00 - We started our tour with the nicest sun making the day feel like a proper summer weather. After seeing a few puffins we headed off to see some wildlife. First we started by some minke whale sighting, we had 2 to 3 individuals that came up a few times quite close to our boat. Then we headed toward an area where we knew there was a bigger species around, that is where we saw some humpback whales. We had at least 3 to 5 in the same area and one that we know as Davy Jones that was feeding next to us for a long moment. We could see that whale lunge feeding quite close to us and arctic terns following where it would appear next. We got the luck to observe this cool feeding behavior for a while, it was truly a magical moment.

Crew: Captain Eggert and Guide Melanie

12:00 - On this beautiful sunny day we motored into Faxaflói, first to be greeted by thousands of Atlantic puffins. After a stop at their breeding colony, we followed some puffins into the bay and went to search for cetaceans. That wasn´t too difficult today, because there were countless individuals swimming around. Everywhere we looked, we saw blows and backs and flukes of humpback whales, and we also got some close up looks of minke whales. These animals were feeding, with birds following their every move in the hopes of stealing some fish that got away out of the whales´ mouths. Nothing beats the feeling of being surrounded by whales and being able to look in any direction to see one of those beautiful animals surface. What a day! 

Crew: Captain Steini & Guide Eline

14:00 - We first went to Engey to watch some puffins taking the sun on the island and laying in the water. We then left for the bay to find whales. We arrived to the area where we saw many whales this morning and there was still 10 humpback whales feeding! We were seeing there blows from the distance then their backs when they were surfacing closer or the tail going down in the water when they were diving. The hungry whales where often lunge-feeding at the surface, under many hungry Arctic terns. A humpback came veeeery close to our boat at the end of the tour it was amazing. We also spotted 2 minke whales in the same area but they were a bit harder to follow.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Melanie, Captain Daniel & Guide Miquel

16:00 - The great sightings continued this afternoon - there were still probably 15 humpback whales in the area of Marfló. We observed them all around us, some close and some far away. It looked like all of the humpback whales were feeding: many of them were followed by Arctic terns, we saw a few of them lungefeeding (very close to the boat!) and they were constantly going for flukedives. In the distance we also saw an individual throw its peduncle in the air. In the meantime, white-beaked dolphins had also joined the party and they were spread out over the area as well. Towards the end we also caught a glimpse of a minke whale to add to the diversity of cetaceans that we were able to see today. We felt very lucky to have experienced so many animals in the wild, and on such a wonderfully sunny day!

Crew: Captain Daniel & Guide Eline

20:00 - After an amazing day on the water, this evening´s tour did not disappoint either - there were whales EVERYWHERE! With the midnight sunset in the background, we could see blows popping up all the time and all around the place. Probably 20 humpback whales were feeding around this area and they sometimes came very close to us. They were accompanied by hundreds of Arctic terns, and also many white-beaked dolphins, the odd harbour porpoise, and a few minke whales. There must have been so much fish around, because everywhere we looked birds were diving in the water and humpbacks were lungefeeding. Could the recent earthquakes have stirred up some nutrients to attract all these animals? While we are waiting for the volcano to potentially erupt, we are very happy to enjoy all this activity in the bay! 

Crew: Captain Daniel & Guide Eline

For more information come see us at Ægisgarður 5D, call us on +354 497 0000

or email us at info@whalesafari.is