Elding have a new post on their website answering just that. By taking into account meteorological data and previous seasons’ humpback whale sightings, their research team have deduced the perfect times to see these majestic creatures around Iceland. 

Iceland is geographically placed at the frontal boundary of two opposing air masses, meaning the weather is unpredictable and storms are frequent. However, these contrasting fronts bring currents which fuel high production, providing the perfect location for large baleen whales to feed during the summer months. 

For more information on what drives these feeding events, and find out where the best places and times to observe them would be, head to Elding’s website (https://www.eldingresearch.com/post/best-time-to-see-whales) and check out their recent research reports. 

Map 1. Distribution of sightings’ hotspots according to daytime during the season 2019 (June-September) in Faxaflói. Each hotspot represents an area in which 1 or more sightings of cetaceans have been recorded within a distance of 1000 m. to each other. In pink, it is represented the sightings before noon (<12 pm), and yellow for the sightings after noon (>12 pm). The gradient yellow-pink represents the merging areas between them. Data gathered with SpotterPro® and represented with QGIS.