We only had one morning tour at 10am today due to unfavorable weather conditions in the afternoon. In the morning, the wind had already picked up, but we managed to go all the way to the dropoff line in Breidafjördur. Even though we scouted the dropoff and closer to shore, unfortunately, no cetaceans were sighted on this trip. Our tours tomorrow are cancelled due to bad weather conditions, but we are still hoping to get out again at the end of the week!
Marie (Tour Guide)
Category: whale diaries
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Unfavorable weather conditions
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Both orcas & humpback whales!
We had two trips today, both with orcas, but also with humpback whales! On our morning tour, we came across two humpback whales next to each other that were circling the area. We saw capelin patches on the water surface and birds hovering over the humpback whales, so they were most likely about to feed on the capelin. The capelin only comes into Breidafjördur in March each year and then we can expect to see humpback whales for a few days. We also saw a humpback whale on the afternoon trip, and even some harbour porpoises!
Marie (Tour Guide)
#lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #orcas #killerwhales #blackfish #orca#killerwhale #Iceland #Westiceland #whales #humpbackwhale#harbourporpoise #porpoises #Buckelwal #Schweinswal #Schwertwal#nature #wildlife #ocean #March
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12 orcas!
We only had an afternoon tour today as the wind was quite strong in the morning. As we ventured out into Breidafjördur we came across 12 orcas surfing the waves and travelling in a group. They were swimming parallel to the boat for a while, and one of the youngsters even became curious turning the head towards us. On the way, we also spotted some capelin patches with birds hovering over, so possibly there is some bigger amount of capelin coming into Breidafjördur now which might also attract humpback whales…
Marie (Tour Guide)
#lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #orcas #killerwhales #blackfish #orca#killerwhale #Iceland #Westiceland #wildlife #nature #ocean #March#waves
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Did not spot any cetaceans
There were two trips today at 10am and 2pm, but, unfortunately, we did not spot any cetaceans on either of them. We scouted along the underwater canyon in the deeper waters of Breidafjördur where we can often spot the animals, but they were not around today. We are still getting lots of sunshine and a clear view of the glacier and the snow-covered mountains. There is one tour scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 2pm, but this trip is fully booked. We still have availability for you on our tours on Tuesday.
Marie (Tour Guide) -
We had another two sunshine tours today with orcas…
We had another two sunshine tours today with orcas – but the true stars of both tours were the sperm whales! On our morning tour, we got great looks at both orcas and sperm whales, and when we were about to go home, we spotted two sperm whales next to each other in front of the glacier. We got to see them very calm next to the boat, with their flukes coming up just a few meters away while the boat was stationary. On the afternoon trip, we then had a very close look at one individual in particular. This sperm whale was first resting parallel to us, then changed direction and swam right towards the side of our stationary boat. He dived so close to the bow that our passengers got whale breath into their faces! We follow strict rules of approach and never force a close encounter with any marine mammal. This sperm whale had poked his head out of the water before approaching in a 90° turn and was possibly a bit curious. What an experience!
Marie (Tour Guide)
#lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #orcas #killerwhales #blackfish #orca#killerwhale #whales #spermwhale #pottwal #cachalot #cetaceans#toothedwhales #wildlife #nature #ocean #sunshine #glacier #snow#Iceland #Westiceland
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Both our trips we encountered two different kinds of cetaceans
Today we spent another extraordinary beautiful day on the water, with two tours at 10am and 2pm. On both our trips we encountered two different kinds of cetaceans – the orcas and the sperm whales! We spotted the sperm whales mostly in the deeper parts of Breidafjördur along an underwater canyon, and it was wonderful to see them lifting their flukes high out of the water in the sunshine! There were several groups of orcas around as well, and this time they even became increasingly playful, with one juvenile breaching repeatedly at a distance. We run two tours tomorrow again, but we are fully booked on both of them already.
Marie (Tour Guide)
#lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #orcas #killerwhales #blackfish #orca#killerwhale #cachalot #spermwhale #pottwal #whales #cetaceans #ocean#nature #wildlife #landscape #glacier #Iceland #Westiceland #sunshine
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Third day in a row with great orca sightings today
We had our third day in a row with great orca sightings today. Both the morning and the afternoon tour saw orcas close and far from the boat. We still also had lots of sunshine and calm waters, and we are now also on the lookout for puffins, as there were a few in the area recently. We hope for another good day tomorrow – our morning tour is fully booked, but we have some spaces available for you in the afternoon.
Marie (Tour Guide)
#lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #orcas #killerwhales #blackfish#orca #killerwhale #Iceland #Westiceland #sunshine #ocean #glacier#March #wildlife #nature
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Great killer whale encounters
Today we had just as much sunshine and great killer whale encounters as yesterday! With a clear sky and breath-taking landscape in the background, we observed the orcas resting and foraging. Even our crew is quite addicted to watching them and each time we say “okay, now we have to leave them and go back to the harbour” we stay out an extra 10 mins just because the sight is so beautiful. Both our trips tomorrow are fully booked, but we still have availability for you on the Friday 2pm tour, so don’t miss out!
Marie (Tour Guide)
#lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #orcas #killerwhales #blackfish #orca#killerwhale #Iceland #Westiceland #nature #wildlife #ocean #sunshine#March
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Orcas on both trips!
We had two sunshine tours today with a clear view of the glacier and orcas on both trips! We watched them travelling slowly in the deeper waters, milling and foraging with the occasional lazy tail clap. Some of the males came close and went right below the bow of our stationary boat as you can see in one of the pictures. It is very important to us to not disturb them, so whenever they approach we stop the boat and let them pass and we generally only go slow in the orca area. It’s always up to the orcas how close we see them, and today we got to see them very close! We are running two trips tomorrow at 10 am and 2 pm, our morning trip is already fully booked, so hurry up and reserve your spots in the afternoon!
Marie (Tour Guide)
#lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #orcas #killerwhales #blackfish #orca#killerwhale #Iceland #Westiceland #nature #wildlife #ocean #sunshine#glacier #snow #February
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Two tours with Orca Sightings
We had two more tours with orca sightings today! On both trips it took us a little while to spot them, but in the morning we got to travel parallel to a large group of orcas, and in the afternoon we spotted several individuals spread out in an area. We got to see many of them close up as they would approach the boat, and in the afternoon the orcas even showed us their flukes. It was another great day on the water! We are planning on running one tour tomorrow at 2pm.
Marie (Tour Guide)
#lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #orcas #killerwhales #blackfish #orca#killerwhale #Iceland #Westiceland #nature #wildlife #ocean #landscape#February
