Category: whale diaries

17/2/14  Those of us who work in whale-watching know that no two days are exactly the same, there is always something new, and today was almost an over-proof of this. On the morning tour we went out to Kolgrafarfjörður whilst knowing that Orcas were on the other side of the bridge. All we could do was hope that they would make their way out soon. To our disappointment, especially after yesterday, they were still on the other side when we arrived and the research team on their zodiac over on the other side informed us that the Orcas showed no sign of being about to leave. While White-tailed Eagles and the scenery made a bit up for the disappointment, it was clear that staying longer would serve no purpose so we started making our way back, of course in the hope that we would run into some on the way back. But once we were outside the fjord, we got the call that we had been waiting for all morning and all yesterday. It was from Filipa, the head researcher. The Orcas had just passed under the bridge! Captain Gísli instantly turned the boat around and we went back as fast as the conditions allowed. And there they were, a beautiful pod of ~12 Orcas, including a young calf, travelling at fast speed out from their combined breakfast and lunch. It was such a thrill to see them again after yesterday’s no sightings tours! We followed them in a respectable distance along with the two research zodiacs until we simply had to return to Grundarfjörður to drop off the morning passengers and pick up the new ones and then we went soon out again. One of the zodiacs had continued to follow them so upon leaving for the afternoon tour, the captain radioed the zodiac to receive the location of the Orcas and found that they had changed course from heading west to heading north into Breiðafjörður and were around 40 minutes out. This meant that in order to find them, we’d not only have a longer tour than usual but also in a rougher sea and we’d also have to be without the cover from the wind that the mountains provide when we are closer to shore. We informed the passengers and fortunately they agreed that the probable minor discomfort would be worth it. Out in the bay the waves were so rough that we had trouble spotting the zodiac, let alone the Orcas. However, fortunately we found them after a while and managed to have quite a quality time with them, given the conditions at least. And as a bonus, we got to contribute indirectly to science. Part of the research team had come with us on Brimrún as as backup plan in case the zodiac would have to return before managing to accomplish their mission, that of recovering a satellite tag that had been attached on one of the Orcas in the morning and had been programmed to fall off in the afternoon and float on the surface. It was anything but easy to track the satellite tag, let alone get it onboard, in such rough water but we managed and returned totally thrilled from this long tour, having accomplished all our goals: the crew to show whales, the passengers to see them, and the researchers to recover their valuable equipment.

16/2/14
Today we had two tours under lovely conditions but unfortunately the Orcas stayed the whole day on the other side of the Kolgrafarfjörður Bridge, under which we cannot pass with the boat. We were hoping that we would catch them on their way out in the afternoon but the scientists working on the other side of the bridge informed us that they did not show any sign of being about to leave. However, it was a record day in terms of White-tailed Eagles; Captain Gísli thought he had seen as many as 15 of them close together! So far the largest number I have seen is 5. Given that the Icelandic population is thought to be not much more than 250, this would be about 6% of it, which shows that this is THE place to be if you want to see eagles in Iceland.

10/2/2014 – At last a good weather day after a windy weekend and so we went on two tours with a full boat. On the morning tour we encountered dolphins twice but each time they were few and dispersed and seemed preoccupied with foraging so we didn’t spend much time with them but continued over to Kolgrafafjörður. There we had the good fortune of seeing what the crew think were at least 20-30 Orcas dispersed in several corners. We mostly followed a pod of 5-6 around the mouth of the fjord. Then on the way out we encountered a joining pod that included a young calf, recognizable as its white skin patches were still rather yellowish. On the afternoon tour we weren’t as lucky though as the whales had all moved under the bridge after we left and so the fjord was empty. However, many went out to the bridge to see them after the tour.

6/2/14
We had a good tour today in light of what weather conditions there were. We knew the area we have to cross to get between Grundarfjörður and Kolgrafarfjörður would be rough as the wind was on the increase so for a while we were assessing the undesirable option to turn back. However, before we did, we were incredibly lucky to meet a pod of about 8 Orcas just off the mouth of Grundarfjörður and they were going into the fjord so going back in fact suited us just fine. It’s hard to say what they were doing; it seemed to be travelling mixed with foraging from time to time. Among them was a calf that seemed very curious as it lifted its head twice out of the water to have a look at us but it was so unexpected that no one got a photo of it. No one got a photo either of when one of the adult bulls decided to do a full breach. He did do a second one as well but not as high up as before and most only saw the splashes. So this is whale-watching in its essence, you never know what comes next! As it was supposed to be even worse weather in the afternoon, we decided to cancel the second tour but were delighted to have been able to give our passengers what they had come for despite the weather.

5/2/14
We had two brilliant tours today with diving Gannets being just as much an attraction as the Orcas. In the morning we started off with 2 Orcas (male and female) foraging in Kolgrafarfjörður and soon we noticed two groups with 3-4 whales each entering to join the feeding. The afternoon tour was then spent lolling casually around a pod of 8 of them doing the same. The weather was so calm that we were able to shut off the boat engine entirely many times and just be at one with the whales. On the way back we then had a very brief but most pleasant visit from a pod of White-beaked Dolphins. They bowrode for a short while but lost interest quickly for some reason. However, they were just the icing on the cake, which had turned out to  be delicious already

4/2/14 After some days of really stormy weather, we managed to go on two boat trips today!  This is what Marie, our guide had to say about the morning trip:
“Somebody is checking us out! We had some very playful juveniles in a group of eight orcas on our morning tour today – there was so much splashing, spy hopping, and tail slapping going on, you hardly knew where to look first! Not to mention the beautiful landscape and the white-beaked dolphins on the way back. We also encountered two more killer whales on the afternoon tour. We’re surely having a whale of a time at the moment!”
Marie Tour Guid

31/1/14 We encountered a superpod of white-beaked dolphins today, as well as two other dolphin groups! Good to also see some dolphin babies – and the mountains covered in fresh snow were just stunning! Winter is coming.
Marie (Tour Guide)

29/1/14  We the crew agree  that it’s been days since we’ve had a tour like this one. The sky was clear compared to what it has been in recent days at least and the sea was totally calm. We didn’t see anything of note on the way to Kolgrafarfjörður but upon arrival there we spotted 3-4 Orcas. However, they began leaving the fjord and did so elusively and in an area too shallow for us to enter. However, right then we spotted some more, a pod of 7-8 and among them a true joy bearer in the shape of a young calf that seemed anything but displeased by the attention he was getting from us. On many occasions we saw it lobtail and jump out of the water, seemingly from play, and even land on its mother as can be seen in the photo. This pod eventually went under the bridge and then we were going to go home but we couldn’t resist spending a bit of extra time with the third group that we saw as well. The tour turned out to be 3.5 hours which is more than we advertise but sometimes it’s just impossible to leave

28/1/14 On the first tour we found some White-beaked Dolphins towards the mouth of Grundarfjörður but then the captain received a phone call telling him that there were Orcas over in Kolgrafarfjörður. As the risk was that they‘d soon pass under the bridge, we decided to say goodbye to the dolphins right then and head over there as soon as possible. But on the way we received another call from our scout, telling us that the Orcas had just passed under the bridge. We nonetheless decided to continue our journey in the hope of running into some others. While scanning the fjord upon arrival, we realised it had been a wise decision to continue as there were indeed some 5-6 Orcas on our side of the bridge. However, they were dispersed over a wide area, spending much time under the surface, and rather hard to follow. It is probable that they were busy looking for food. But with the mission therefore successful, we could return to Grundarfjörður happy. Unfortunately the second tour was not the same. No Orcas anywhere but a White-tailed Sea Eagle seen close to the boat and also a small pod of dolphins seen in the same place as in the morning. They came over to check us out though and showed a bit of interest in the boat.

27/1/14 The Orcas were not seen yesterday but were back at work today like we hoped they would. We encountered a pod of ~15 exiting Grundarfjörður as we were returning from watching dolphins off Kolgrafarfjörður on the first tour. On the second tour we saw what seemed to be three adults with a very young calf in front of Mount Eyrarfjall. We spent some quality time with them but then went off in search of others in a bit calmer water. There were a few Orcas in the mouth of Kolgrafarfjörður but they were elusive and spent a lot of time underwater, eventually going into water too shallow for us to enter. On the way back we were met by some dolphins that rushed towards us to bowride but, somewhat unusually, they had had enough after about 5 minutes. Often they engage in this game for more than 20 minutes but perhaps they had an agenda and just gave themselves time for a short play break; after all, who isn‘t busy on Mondays!