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NATURE BLOG ARCHIVE

Elding Whale Watching Akureyri has been keeping track of whale sightings in Eyjafjörður since the beginning of May 2016. Read the nature blog to follow up on past sightings.

NATURE BLOG ARCHIVE

Friday, 10 November 2017

We sailed out on a perfect Icelandic winter day, cold, sunny and still. Our first encounter was with the humpback Pepper and we had quite a good sighting of it. 
We sailed a little bit further out and on our way towards Hjalteyri we spotted the humpback Miso and it surfaced several times before we sailed along the coast. Just as we were very close to Hjalteyri we encountered Tough Pella which is also a humpback.

As we were slowly heading back we met Pepper and Miso again and had very good sightings of the two of them. Then we got disturbed by a Minke whale who showed itself fairly well. 

All in all a very nice tour in lovely weather.

Text by Halla Lúthersdóttir, photos by Babsi Neubarth

Thursday, 09 November, 2017

Whale watching under a winter sun was the theme of today’s afternoon tour. We sailed towards the area around Hjalteryi and got to spend quality time with a total of three humpback whales. Pepper, Miso and Though Phella were still or again feeding. It is truly fascinating to see that Pepper and Miso have been in the same area for almost four weeks now. Must be some good food and a good place to store energy before heading on the long migration down South. If it would be up to us of course we wouldn’t mind if Pepper, Miso and company would stay for many more weeks. Let’s see what November will bring.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Wednesday, 8 November 2017

Soft snowflakes falling from the sky greeted us today out on a calm sea. Of course it was cold, but the overalls and a hit drink in hand made it possible for our passengers to stay outside for most of the tour and enjoy a true humpback whale show. Five individuals had made their way past Hjalteryi and were busy feeding independently. We saw Pepper, Miso, Max, Harley Dafinson and Tough Phella sometimes very close and sometimes a bit in the distance. Harley took us totally by surprise when it tail slapped all of a sudden. Seems to be happy whales here in the fjord which of course results in happy passengers and happy crew!

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Monday, 06 November 2017

Text by Halla Lúthersdóttir photographs by Megan Whittaker

We sailed out in very nice weather after the storm that hit us last night. We started by having an encounter with one of our friends, the humpback Harley Dafinson and a little later the individual Miso with very good sightings.  After having seeing these quite a few times we got distracted by Orca for the second time this year. The last time was in late September so this is quite rare and the crew as well as the passengers got very excited. The Orca were very close to the boat so we got great pictures as you can see. We left these to travel south and visited the humpback whales again. We went further north to see if other humpbacks around but instead found a minke whale that showed itself fairly very well. On the way home we encountered  Miso surfaced again. 

All in all this was a great tour and this rare sighting of Orca of course made it exceptional. 

Sunday, 05 November 2017

Text and Photographs by Megan Whittaker

The morning started by clearing as much snow of the boat as possible. A hard task as there was a lot of snow.  We sailed out with few passengers but luckily the whales were still there to entertain. Roughly in the same area on the east coast opposite Hörgárdalur.  5 humpback whales were encountered feasting on the plentiful food available and they were all separated today , enjoying some alone times, roughly a few 100m to 1-2 km apart. First was Harley Dafinson, then Miso and Tough Pella, both roughly in the same area with a few 100m apart. Then Max further to the west and lastly Pepper. Awesome to see they were still around and hopefully they will stay here for a while. It was very windy and the snow was flying into our eyes on the way back and when heading south to the whales, the storm was coming and so we ended our tour a bit earlier than usual. Still an amazing tour! so beautiful with the sun shining than the stunning snow covered scenery.

Friday, 03 November 2017

Text and Photographs by Megan Whittaker

The first snow fall in the town this season, with a crisp air it was cold and windy but extremely beautiful. We had a nice smooth ride in the narrow well sheltered fjord and once again did not need to go far. Miso the humpback was the first to be found after about 30 minutes sailing, Miso is a easily recognisable fluke, completely black with few white scars. Then another 5km further north, same individual as yesterday but with no name yet. Harley Dafinson and an individual with very bad propellor scars we have now named ´Tough Pella´ were still together obviously enjoying each others company and Max was the last and 5th humpback whale to encounter just south of Hjalteyri. Max is a November whale seen also here last year. Winter has definitely arrived in Akureyri. So if you came to Iceland to see some snow and whales, get up here to Akureyri.

Thursday, 02 November 2017

Text and Photographs by Megan Whittaker

It was a very blustery day that seemed to fluctuated in wind strength in the fjord throughout the day. We wrapped up warm and headed out. It was not long until we saw the first blows, just 20 minutes after leaving the harbour, just north of the small village of Svalbardseyri. It has been months since the whales were this far into the fjord and there seemed to be plenty of food available for them. Krill being the food attracting them here at the moment. Just in the first hour we saw a pair and two solitary humpback whales. Four in total including the individuals ´Harley Davfinson´and ´Miso´and an individual that had obviously been in an accident with a boat propellor, it had huge indentations in the body behind the dorsal. The other is still yet to be identified.  The scenery was beautiful and we were even at the end of a vibrant rainbow for the majority of the tour. 

Wednesday, 01 November 2017

The first of November came with freezing temperatures and snow which we enjoyed tremendously while sailing out on the 13:00 tour. This interplay of sunrays, snowy mountains and humpback whales really is something special! We did face the cold Northern wind and went out to the east coast of Hrisey where we saw many, humpbacks and one minke whale. Jackson, Max, Miso, Pepper and Bear only to name a few were still feeding in any direction possible. Absolutely fantastic tour that makes us really excited to see what November 2017 will bring. We will be going out every day at 13:00!

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Tuesday, 31 October 2017

Compared to yesterday it was a bit windier in the fjord, but the humpback whales were equally awesome. We started off with a few glimpses of Miso and then continued further North since Miso appeared not to be in the best whale watching mood. At the north end of Hrisey we found over seven humpback whales including Blowromir, Max and Harley Dafindson. They were feeding at full speed which resulted in some really exciting tail slaps right in front of the boat. Whale encounters like these are really worth the longer ride out to Hrisey!

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Monday, 30 October 2017

We went out on one tour today under wonderful conditions. The sea was calm as it can be and the sun was warming our faces here and there. Even though it is end of October now, our overalls kept us warm and cozy. This was the tour where we saw 3 minke whales, which must be the record of this season! Next to that we got to enjoy 7 humpback whales, 3 swimming together and the rest individually distributed in the fjord. Jackson was the star once more when it let us come as close as you can imagined and we really loved seeing Max, Miso, Athos, Pepper and two others feeding with glee. The food seems to be still good here and therefore the whales are a pleasure to watch.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Sunday, 29 October 2017

Sailing out in Eyjafjordur in the classic tour was good with some south winds at the beginning of the fjord although most flat seas northern of Hjalteri. We encountered our two familiar humpback whales "Miso" and "Pepper", which were again swimming close by each other. Afterwards, we continued swimming northern and what a surprise when we met a minke whale in a marvellous flat sea, including the sun that also decided to show off. At first sight, the minke whale decided to disappear for a prolonged time. However, with some patience and perseverance, we had a great moment when we could join the minke whale swimming close to us. We have had a winning tour where the passengers could recognize the differences between these two species of whale regarding their morphology and behaviour. Another pleasant day in our Eyjafjordur among the whales.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

 

Friday, 27 October 2017

Due to the storm that hit Akureyri last night we did not go out in the morning. Luckily in the afternoon it had calmed down enough so that we could go out on our boat Holmasol at one o’clock. The first half of the tour we spent with Pepper and Miso who still seemed to be up to the same as usual. A very nice start which was then followed by great encounters with Cascade and a brief meet up with Jackson outside of Grenivik. We had a really nice afternoon today.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Thursday, 26 October 2017

The autumn continues to be full of whales here in Eyjafjördur. On the morning tour we went out to the area around Hjalteryi and found Pepper and Miso still up to the same thing as yesterday, circling around searching for food and coming up close to our Rib boat. Later on we also found a friendly minke whale and truly enjoyed seeing these two different species. In the afternoon we decided to take a chance and drive all the way out past the island and of Hrisey and oh wow the long journey truly was worth it. First we met Jackson before seeing so many blows in the distance. When we reached the area we saw at least 12-15 humpback whales in a true feeding frenzy. A storm started to come in so that Holmasol was rocking, but seeing so many whales was absolutely spectacular and everybody loved it. Well what more is there to say than humpback whales galore are still out there.

Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

Essentially another replay time from the last two days: clouded and misty conditions, though weak wind, which makes good seas. In both tours, morning and afternoon, just in front of Hjalteyri, we encountered our two friendly humpbacks "Miso" and "Pepper". Moreover,  we could spot a delightful group of harbour porpoises swimming by. We could stay a good time again appreciating these "humpback partners" before heading back to Akureyri.

Photos and text by Manu Bassoi.

 

Tuesday, 24 October

Practically today in Eyjafjördur was a replay from yesterday: clouded and misty conditions and a bit of rain at the beginning of the tour. Notwithstanding making the journey a bit less comfortable, the precipitation did not harm at all our possibilities of finding the whales. We got to meet our two known humpback whales "Miso" and "Pepper" in the same area as yesterday. "Pepper" was very energetic displaying a tail lob twice. However, it was "Miso" that gave us a great show coming very close to our bow and surprising us all. Eyjafjördur's whales are still breathtaking in rainy conditions!

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

 

Monday, 23 October 2017

We went out today in Eyjafjördur with similar clouded, misty conditions and no wind like yesterday. Just a little bit of rain at the beginning of the journey, but after it stopped. On the afternoon tour, we could meet our two known humpback whales "Miso" and "Pepper". The whales were swimming close to each other, and many times we thought that they would get together, but they didn't. Still, they were moving around us and raised countless moments their gorgeous "black flukes". Furthermore, small groups of harbour porpoises were swimming nearby many times during the journey. So far we could appreciate the most common cetacean species in Eyjafjördur.

Text and pictures by Manu Bassoi.

 

Sunday, 22 October 2017

We went out on three tours today under gloomy and misty conditions in the morning, but partly sunny in the afternoon. There was literarily no wind in the fjord so that the surface was mirror like. On the classic tour we could get really good looks of two humpback whales, Miso and Pepper and one minke whale. With the Rib boat we went all the way to Hrisey and saw around 10 whales including well-known individuals like Jackson, Tattoo and Manu. We were also extremely happy to welcome back a humpback whale called ‘Netflix and Krill’ back in the fjord. An absolute pleasant day out in the fjord.

Text by Babsi Neubarth and pictures by Manu and Babsi