Half of July 2024 has passed, and we were lucky to encounter orcas regularly in the past 2 weeks.
One day, we encountered a familiar pod we had met several times. We quickly recognized one of the females, who had a small part of her dorsal fin missing. Two years ago, during the winter herring feast, I photographed her breaching out of the water with her entire body. It was a memorable moment. It is always lovely to see her and her family in the summertime, too.
One of the juveniles in the group was in a very playful mood, while the rest were actively feeding on herring (as we learned during the interaction).
The juvenile approached the boat with a herring in its mouth (look closely at the photos) as if it would offer it to us. You can even see the juvenile’s teeth in multiple photos while playing alongside the boat, and you can see how healthy they are.
The juveniles were in a great mood, enjoying some playtime with many pectoral fin and tail slaps. Birds had to mind themselves Look at the seagull’s “face” as the youngster orca tail slapped towards it.
Let’s remember pilot whales, too. A large group decided to remain in our summer whale-watching area for around a week and a half, and we had so much fun observing them and the little ones.
Pilot whales are highly social and quite inquisitive.
Especially young calves and we have seen some very young ones (clearly visible fetal folds on their body).
I have even photographed a female spy hopping, who seemed to have a belly bump, so I am assuming more calves are on the way soon
The bird sighting in July was also remarkable, with loads of puffins and white-tailed eagles. Celebrate orcas and cherish all other wildlife, as they are precious!
Enjoy!
-Krisztina
All photos were taken between the 1st and the 11th of July, 2024.
