In our recent posts I explained how cetaceans hear and listen to their surrounding, mapping and creating their world and all that's within - their key to survival. Whilst one group of whales, the toothed whales, use echolocation for communication and navigation, the second group of whales, the baleen whales, has evolved a whole different strategy: Baleen whales instead use really low frequencies, in some cases too low for us to hear.
August has finished full of memories and we gathered the remarkable moments that we had! The weather was favourable and the sea was calm most of the time throughout the month allowing us to joy and explore the wildlife in Skjálfandi Bay! Many species were seen in the bay: humpbacks whales, white beaked dolphins, minke whales were regular visitors and sighted several times during our tours.
Below the surface light vanishes, colours disappear and the deeper we go, the less we see. And as we go blind, a world of sounds opens up to us, a perfectly tuned concert of all frequencies and imaginable noises .
The ocean is not only the largest habitat on earth, but it is also the darkest. Beneath the waves, light vanishes and the deeper you look, the darker it is. Eventually, at a depth of about a 1000m, all sunlight disappears.
In only a week this month is over and therewith, we stop running our evening tours. Late afternoons and evenings out in the bay can be so charming and fulfilling. The sun is slowly setting at the horizon - turning the sky all yellow, the clouds red and pink.
In the ocean, marine mammals rely strongly in sound to navigate, communicate, feed or mate. They produce different types of sounds according to the behaviour context and their habitat. For example, humpback whales are known for their complex songs during the breeding season.
Humpback whale calves are born in warm waters such as the Caribbean Sea, usually in mid winter. At the time they're born, they are 2-4 metres in length and weigh 1-2 tons. For the first year of its life, a calf will stay by its mother's side.
As in previous years during August, northern bottlenose whales are making their appearance again in Skjálfandi Bay at the moment. Every now and then they seem to appear out of nowhere in different areas of the bay, spending some time breathing on the surface, before disappearing again in the depths beneath us - and more likely than not, aren't seen again for the next few hours.
In light of the small number of puffins that still rests around Lundey (Puffin Island) and the fact that there's no birds left nesting on the island, we have decided to finish the puffin season as of today, 17th of August.
Have you noticed how humpback whale’s head looks? It is quite bumpy! The bumps are called tubercles. These fist-sized bumps contain one hair follicle each and is connected to a set of sensitive nerves.
