22nd April 2024

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

Birds seen today: Atlantic puffin, northern gannet, northern fulmar, kittiwake, common guillemot, black guillemot, great cormorant, shearwater, eider duck, greater black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, herring gull, razorbill, purple sandpiper, oystercatcher.

09:00 - this morning we set sail with calm sea and sunny weather. First stop of the tour was the puffin island, Akurey. For the last few weeks we been seeing early puffin arrivals so we wanted to check if we can see some this morning, and indeed, we found a few. After, we headed out into the sea in search of whales. First sighting was a minke whale, we stayed in the area for a few minutes hoping to see the whale again but instead of a minke whale, a humpback whale came up! After some more sailing we found a pod of white-beaked dolphins, which were very playfull and came very close. Last sighting was on the way back, almost in the harbour we saw a few harbour porpoises. It was a very successful morning with all 4 main species spotted.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Aleksandra, Captain Gunni & Guide Rob

12:00 - this afternoon we set sail with calm sea and sun still shinning. We headed to the spot where we were successful this morning, hoping to find the animals still there. They were not, which of course is usual since the whales are moving around. He tried a few hot spots that we know of, and although we saw two minke whales surfacing, we were not able to see them again. As we started to head back to the harbour we spotted a few white-beaked dolphins. We stayed with them until we saw a blow a little bit further out, that was a humpback whale going for a dive. 3 minke whales also appeared in the area and quickly stole the show, surfacing multiple times and very close to the boat. 

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Aleksandra, Captain Gunni & Guide Rob

15:00 - Following a great day on the calm seas so far today we were eager to get back out again for our final tour. We headed to the same spots as we had seen cetaceans earlier in the day but everything seemed to have vanished. The birds had even massively reduced in numbers so we continued our search in new areas. Then out of nowhere a minke whale surfaced to lift our spirits. But it was only this one time, it then never came back into view. So we decided to carry on again. Then just as our hopes fell again a dorsal fin appeared at our front. It was from a white beaked dolphin. This pod did not let us down. To start with there were about 8 individuals and they swam right up to us. As the sea was so calm we could see them swimming through the water all around us. This was incredible to witness. Then a second pod seemed to join in the fun, bringing it to around 15 individuals. They continued to bowride and jump. It was a really special sighting. Then after a great show we headed back to the harbour now very happy.

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Rob

Today we are ON on all of tours - Whale Watching at 09:00, 12:00 & 15:00 - and Puffin Watching at 10:00!

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

or call us on +354 497 0000