Thursday, June 18, 2015

Icelandic Odyssey

I spent the beginning of June back on the MV Sea Explorer working as an ornithologist and zodiac driver for Noble Caledonia on an expedition cruise circumnavigating Iceland. This was a truly awesome cruise, with some jaw-dropping wildlife watching, dramatic scenery and wonderful tales of human history. Here's a few photos, I hope to add more and a bit of a report in due time.

Arctic Skua chasing Arctic Tern through icebergs

Arctic Tern



Blue Whale pt 1! Too big to fit in one photo

Blue Whale pt 2

Blue Whale pt 3
White-beaked Dolphin bow-riding a Blue Whale



Eider

Harlequin Duck










The most incredible moment came as we were zodiac cruising around a fjord looking for Humpack Whales. We spotted a feeding frenzy of Arctic Terns so slowly drifted over to take a look and were treated to a Humpback lunge feeding just metres away from our little boats!



A short video of one of the lunges, imagine the shock of having this happen unexpectedly right next to a small zodiac!





King X Northern Eider hybrid
Red-necked Phalarope

Orca


Slavonian Grebe

I'm now in Norfolk doing offshore surveys until the end of July, but will be back in Somerset for the Autumn and Winter, and hopefully getting a bit of guiding going again