top of page

Research news and updates


Making Waves: What Humpback Whales Were up to in 2024
In this blog we look at how often the humpback whales were performing acrobatics!

Elding's research team
Feb 19, 2025


The Winter Whales: Why are more Humpbacks Staying in Iceland?
Since November, numerous humpback whales have been spotted near the coastlines of Faxaflói Bay. We have seen between 1-5 on any given...

Elding's research team
Jan 30, 2025


2024: Humpbacks, Minkes and More!
Over the course of 2024 we had some incredible whale watching moments. We saw a huge amount of baleen whales including humpback, minke...

Elding's research team
Jan 14, 2025


Untangling the Threat: What is Entanglement?
For a few years now humpback whales have been seen to regularly come close to the coast in Faxaflói Bay, during the winter. The area they...

Elding's research team
Dec 22, 2024


Hidden in Plain Sight: Discovering Iceland’s Harbour Porpoises
Usually, the blogs we write relate to the three main species we research at Elding. Therefore, in this one we decided to mix it up a...

Elding's research team
Nov 16, 2024


Travel Blog of a Humpback Whale
As the year winds down, Iceland’s humpback whales start preparing for their annual winter getaway. While some humpbacks stick to solo...

Elding's research team
Oct 29, 2024


A funeral in Faxaflói
Normally, our whale watching encounters are all about creating joyful memories. However, earlier this year, our team had a rare sighting...

Elding's research team
Sep 4, 2024


Pilot Whales around Iceland
Long finned pilot whales, Globicephala melas, are one of over 20 species of cetacean that can be found in Icelandic waters. There are...

Elding's research team
Aug 7, 2024


Seal-watching in Reykjavík
With the increasing number of humpback whale sightings near the islands surrounding Reykjavík, we're delighted to observe seals regularly...

Elding's research team
Jan 31, 2024


A look back at 2023 whale watching
The past year has been a spectacular one for whale watching in Iceland, marked by an abundance of humpback whales, minke whales,...

Elding's research team
Jan 17, 2024


Meet the Minke Whales We've Known for Over 15 Years
In the waters of Faxaflói, minke whales are a common sight. Some individuals have been visiting us consistently for more than 15 years...

Elding's research team
Nov 13, 2023


Climate change impact on Iceland
After the last IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports synthesising 70 thousands of scientific publications and a...

Elding's research team
Oct 13, 2023


How often do humpback whales breach?
Everyone has seen it in nature documentaries: a beautiful humpback whale lifting its enormous body all the way out of the water, followed...

Elding's research team
Jul 18, 2023


Humpback whale social organisation in Faxaflói bay
Although largely solitary, humpback whales are sometimes seen in groups. In breeding grounds, females with their calf can be escorted by...

Elding's research team
May 15, 2023


When is the best time to see humpback whales?
Many passengers on our whale watching tours are interested to know when is the best time to go whale-watching. We especially frequently...

Elding's research team
Apr 3, 2023


Where is the whale?
When you study wild populations there is generally two main simple questions that need to be answered: - How many animals in the...

Elding's research team
Oct 15, 2022


How scars tell the story of our whales
If you’ve been onboard Elding’s tours or followed our blog you know that our research team does its best to identify every whale and...

Elding's research team
Jul 28, 2022


Faxaflói’s humpback whales in 2021: who did we see?
One of the species we often encounter on our tours is the humpback whale. These beautiful whales show a great diversity of behaviours and...

Elding's research team
Jun 11, 2022


How likely is it to see a whale or dolphin?
Besides the fun of an Icelandic adventure out on the water, most people who come on a whale-watching tour have one obvious goal in mind:...

Elding's research team
May 25, 2022


A visit to Reykjavík by the world’s second largest animal: the fin whale
With the arrival of capelin, we have been seeing a rich diversity and abundance of cetaceans in Faxaflói over the past couple of weeks....

Elding's research team
Mar 24, 2022
bottom of page
