OCEAN OF WHALES
Not for nothing Húsavík is called the whale watching capital of Europe: within the past days the number of whales in the bay has increased incredibly! Humpback whales seem to be everywhere! As one looks around their flukes appear in every direction and the horizon is covered by a cloud of blows. Indeed, the amount of food in the bay must be enormous right now. Many whales can be seen feeding side by side or even together – obviously there’s enough for all and everyone seems to get a good portion in the share. Flocks of birds can be seen with them, which try to catch the fish that has escaped the whales’ mouths. Then, the atmosphere suddenly changes and several whales start breaching high out of the water or are slapping tail and flippers onto the surface. If it was for joy, communication or to impress the nearby individuals – minutes later most return to their previous behaviour: feeding! Some however might just be pleased and rest on the surface after having had a huge portion of lunch or dinner (after all a humpback feeds on about 1.5 tons a day).
Watching about thirty whales (near and far) at a time, seeing their blows far at the mountains, watching their tails arising from the surface in every direction and being surprised about that individual which just surfaces next to the stopped boat right in that moment is magical! Then, as one heads back home, blows and flukes keep appearing wherever one looks and maybe there’s even a last good-bye jump to be seen.
Not far away from the humpbacks, even larger and more powerful blows appear above the water: Along with the hybrid whale that was first seen about a week ago, also some more blue whales reached the bay and even though they’ll surely continue their travel soon, some individuals like to take a break in the waters of Skjálfandi Bay before. Slowly but powerful, their massive bodies can be seen breaking the surface of the water like a mountain. The noise of the breath is intense. Those, who are lucky, may even witness as this giant whale rises its up to eight meter wide fluke out of the water before diving back down to the depths of the bay.
Last, also the northern bottlenose whales are still enjoying the peaceful conditions here in the bay: Today is the third day in a row that these rare animals were spotted on our tours. Conveniently, they spend a lot of time nearby the humpbacks, which makes the long wait for their return much easier: whilst counting down minutes until the bottlenose whales have finished their about 30-minutes dive, one can often spot some humpbacks passing as they travel between areas or feed on the fish swarm that they just found somewhere beneath us.
- Sarah
PHOTOS: Sarah Arndt
The well-known blue-fin-hybrid enjoying the afternoon sun.
A closer look at the northern bottlenose whales after they return from a long dive. Our oak boats Sylvía and Faldur are stopped right next to them.
A blue whale arising from the depth of the ocean.
A humpback whale leaving for another dive, ready to catch another mouthful of fish. Kittiwakes, fulmars and arctic terns gather around the whale trying to catch the leftovers.