Plenty of food

After the wonderful sunny day yesterday this Wednesday started pretty gray and rainy. However, the sea was perfectly flat when we headed out into the bay. Consequently, it was quite easy to spot a surfacing black back from a big distance already. We got closer and encounetred a humpback whale. The individual was very calm and spent a lot of time at the surface. It was busy feeding: It always surfaced with the mouth full of water and prey and we had the chance to observe something very interesting: Before the whale came to the surface we spotted some bubbles coming up. Sometimes they seemed to built a circular pattern. Humpback whales sometimes use these bubblenets to herd the fish together, which makes it easier for them to catch their prey.

It was fascinating to watch the animal. After that encounter we headed a bit further northeast, where a big flock of birds was busy feeding and picking up food from the sea surface. And close to this area two white beaked dolphins joined the feeding party. We were very lucky: The dolphins were very curious, suddenly they approached us, dove unterneath the boat to check us out. And since we were already very close to Lundey, we took the chance to take a closer look at the puffin island and the nesting birds.

In the afternoon the wind picked up and the sea was quite rough. However, we managed to find the humpback whale again and got some close encounters with it.

Let’s hope the feeding conditions in the bay will stay as good as they seem to be right now!!

Luisa, guide

Humpback whale going for a deep dive. (Photo: Luisa Klotz)