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Message: <blockquote data-quote="StuartReeves" data-source="post: 1290951" data-attributes="member: 12155"><p>Afternoon was whale-watch time. Strictly speaking the trip was a whale and seabird trip, but in the calm settled conditions, the seabirding was spectacularly unproductive. Some distant clouds of waders were identified by our guides as Phalaropes, probably mostly Reds, although this ID was based on local knowledge rather than any visible features. Other than that the bird highlight was a young Great Black-Backed Gull’s attempts at whale surfing. The whales themselves were much more obliging, with around ten different Humpbacks including a group of three males which waved and splashed their fins at us, and cruised right under the boat at one point, and even breached almost clean out of the water at one point. The views we had of three different Northern Right Whale were more distant, but more significant as although they are arguably less charismatic than Humpbacks, they are much rarer. With a world population of around 400 individuals it is easily the rarest animal  I have ever seen.</p></blockquote><p></p>