10 Sep 2015

Baird's Beaked Whales

The end of this expedition is fast approaching and along with it the end of our 2015 Russian Far East Season. We are now approaching Olga Bay on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the skyline is dominated by snow-capped volcanoes. There is not a breath of wind or a cloud in the sky – it is a picture perfect day.

Although our first day in the Commander Islands was rather wet and windy, it didn’t stop us landing at the tiny village of Niko’skoye. Later we landed at NW Cape Seal to observe the Northern Fur Seal and Steller Sea Lion colonies. The weather had improved remarkably by the time we took a Zodiac cruise along the south coast of the Commanders yesterday so we experienced blue skies and oily calm seas. We enjoyed some really great Sea Otter encounters and had a few Arctic Fox sightings as we patrolled the shoreline.  The afternoon was spent whale watching in an area is renowned for whale sightings due to its location right on the plate boundary. We were not disappointed we saw Orca, Sperm, Minke and Humpbacks. The highlight however was a pod of Baird’s Beaked Whales, a number of which were seen breaching. The evening presented us with a stunning sunset, complete with green flashes to end the beautiful day.