Today is celebrated the World Whale and Dolphin day! Whales and dolphins have been facing multiple threats throughout the time, with whaling being one of the main threats that drove most of the species to the brink of extinction.
It's pufflings time! As the puffins' nesting season proceeds, a busy time has started for the parents. The chicks, or so-called pufflings, have hatched and are a few weeks old already, demanding lots of fresh fish day by day.
Skjálfandi Bay is home to a variety of animals, both above and below the surface. Mostly of course, we become aware of the whales and dolphins, seals and all kinds of birds that we encounter on our tours.
Whales are the most wanted species in our tours, although there is another species that is also frequently requested by our spectators. The beautiful dolphins! When we can lay an eye on them in our tours, you will surely see a smile on every human face.
As you may know, Húsavík is considered the whale capital of Iceland. But why here? Why do they come to Skjálfandi Bay? If you read our last post you will find out that whales come to Skjálfandi Bay with the ultimate goal of finding food and eating as much as they possibly can.
Most of the whale species that we get to see here in Skjálfandi Bay are not resident to the waters around Iceland, but migrate large distances between their breeding grounds in subtropical or tropical waters and their feeding grounds close to the poles.
Along with all the whales, also numerous birds are migrating to Iceland for the summer months. Unlike whales though which come here for their feeding season, birds journey towards the North for their nesting season.
What better than to be surprised twice in the same week?! Not only was a hybrid spotted in Skjálfandi Bay, but we were also able to see the biggest toothed whale that we have on our planet, the sperm whale! This is an uncommon sighting for our tours since it is an animal that enjoys being in deeper waters.
On the 24th of June we got fortunate, we sighted the hybrid (offspring of a Blue whale and a Fin whale) that likes to visit Skjálfandi Bay. It is a whale that was spotted for the first time in 2007 and since then, almost every year enjoys the waters of this beautiful area.
Did you already know the following five facts about puffin parents? 1. Puffins are monogamous birds. Each year, couples re-unite upon arrival to their nesting grounds. During the winter months, however, they oftentimes get separated as they spread out on the North-Atlantic Ocean.
