RÚV received a video this week that shows a whale just off the beach at Reynisfjara; the second time in about a week.
Guðjón Már Sigurðsson, marine biologist and cetacean expert at the Icelandic Marine Research Institute, says the whale swims shallow in a search for food.
"It's not common, but the humpback whale is really the only species that does this. He's a bit of an opportunist and if there's something for them to eat up there in the water, they go very shallow."
Asked about the whale swimming so close to the shore, he says: "It's a bit of a risk. But if they are healthy, they should be able to escape. Reynisfjara deepens very quickly."
According to Guðjón, the number of humpback whales has been rising on the coast, he assumes due to changes in the ecosystem.
Video by Þengill Þrastarson.