AZORES WHALE WATCHING-FUTURISMO

2012-02-02T14:08:00.000-01:00

This morning was just like summer again in São Miguel. We had great sea and weather conditions for our whale watching tour. Although we did not see any whales today we did see several groups of common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins. The water must still be relatively warm for us to still be seeing the spotted dolphins here so late in the season. As well as the dolphins our passengers also got a really good look at a Portuguese man o´war (shown by one of our biologists in the photo) grasping two longfin spinefish. These fish have been sighted here in large numbers of the past few months, arriving dead on the gulf stream as part of a natural phenomenon. Even though the fish are dead they have been puncturing our rubber boats, so it's great for us to see the jellyfish feeding on the dead spinefish.

Watching common dolphins (note the dolphin jumping on the top right)

Atlantic spotted dolphin

January sighting statistics

2012-01-31T16:22:00.000-01:00

Another month has passed so we have our latest sighting statistics. This January we have seen 8 cetacean species which is really good for this time of the year. In comparison in January last year we saw 3 species, and the year before only 1. This time of the year is normally difficult for us, as sea conditions are often not good and there are not many customers to go out. Although we have not been out much recently, again this year has been really good compared to previous years. It's been a really great winter for us and we are looking forward to an even better summer. In the following graph you can see the sighting frequency of the 8 species we sighted this month. As you can see we sighted common dolphins on 100% of the days that we went out!

Sighting frequencies:

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) - 100%
Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - 36%
Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - 9%
Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) - 9%
Pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - 18%
Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - 36%
Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) - 9%
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) - 9%

Walking with family.

2012-01-27T13:36:00.001-01:00

Together with whale watching we organize as well several other activities. In this winter, weather has been generous to those who like to walk or take a jeep tour.

We have had very good weather and our clients have had luck to walk with sun and get some beautiful pictures. In the end of the year we had the pleasure to run our walking tour on the company of two children. This is a good way for an active vacation for both, parents and children, and everybody could enjoy our daily activities. The children were making small fireplaces with stones and were playing and speaking with guide while the parents could walk, enjoy view and take some pictures.

Here are some of them, sent by Angelica. If you are interested to see some more of them you can visit a blog: http://www.azoren-blog.de/2012/01/azoren-mit-kind-resumee/ (in German) and read as well the story of our walking tours and family vacation.

Thank you, Angelika, Günter and Desiree, for the beautiful pictures. We would like to send our greetings as well to Timo and his parents. It was a pleasure to meet with you and spend some time together.

Pilot whales, striped dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins sighted in São Miguel

2012-01-23T16:17:00.000-01:00

This morning our passengers were very lucky, as we had another great whale watching tour. We got to see 4 cetacean species: pilot whales, striped dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins. This winter we have had some exceptional sightings, in fact the spotted and striped dolphins are more summer species in this area so it was great to see them this time of the year (it was the first time in more than 3 months that we observed striped dolphins here). The following photo is of a large male pilot whale that passed close to our boat:

20 sperm whales sighted together at the surface!!

2012-01-20T21:33:00.000-01:00

Today we encountered a very large group of sperm whales off the São Miguel coastline. At one stage our skipper counted about 20 sperm whales on the surface together! The sperm whale group was actually larger than the groups of common dolphins we also saw on our tour. The sperm whales were socialsing at the surface, so we got to see one breach (a whale jumping out of the water), grouping up behaviour, spyhopping (whales raising their heads out of the water) and a few very curious individuals passing close to our boat. The following photos only show a few of the sperm whales that we saw, but more can be seen in our video on our facebook page.

A summer day watching and swimming with dolphins

2012-01-17T16:48:00.001-01:00

Today was just like summer. We have been extremely lucky with the weather conditions this winter. Most times it hasn't been like winter at all. This may be why the Atlantic spotted dolphins are still here, when they would normally leave for the winter around November or December. This morning we got to see (and swim with) at least 100 of these spotted dolphins, as well as several smaller groups of common dolphins. These photos taken from aboard our swimming boat show what a beautiful "summer" day we had here in the middle of winter.

Watching common dolphins

Atlantic spotted dolphins

Common dolphins on video

2012-01-15T17:36:00.000-01:00

During the last few days we had a fairly long abscence from the sea due to low passenger numbers and bad weather conditions at times. But this morning we finally got out again on our catamaran and had encounters with several groups of our resident common dolphins. The following short video clips are just a taste of what we got to see this morning:

Fin whales, sperm whales, pilot whales and common dolphins sighted on yesterday's tour!!

2012-01-09T09:28:00.000-01:00

Yesterday morning we had a fantastic tour with sightings of fin whales (a mother and calf), sperm whales, pilot whales and common dolpins. So many different species are not common for this time of the year, especially the sighting of the fin whales which normally pass here during the spring months, along with the other baleen whale species. The fin whale was actually our second baleen whale sighting for this month, as 3 days ago we also saw a sei whale. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera aboard yesterday, so if any of our passengers managed to get photos from the sightings we would be grateful if you could share them with us.

Whale and dolphin watching aboard our catamaran

2012-01-07T16:24:00.000-01:00

This morning we went whale watching on our catamaran "Cetus" for the first time since our previous summer season. Cetus is great for observation because it is spacious, perfect for watching dolphins bowriding in front and a good option for those passengers that are not comfortable going on our smaller boats in which we often have a very wet and bumpy ride.

We ended up having a very good tour, with sightings of a large feeding group of Atlantic spotted dolphins, a sperm whale and common dolphins on our way back to shore. We got to see the sperm whale raise its tail to go on a dive, and from its tail we could recognise the whale from our catalogue of individuals. This whale was named "Piet" by one of our previous passengers that kindly sent us an identification photo from their sighting. Piet was first photographed by us here in 2008 and before today was last seen in September 2010. It's great to see whales such as Piet returning to this area.

Sperm whale "Piet" sighted this morning

Sei whale sighted!!!

2012-01-06T13:29:00.002-01:00

This morning we had an encounter with a large whale. It wasn't our usual sperm whale encounter, instead it was with a Sei whale. The Sei whale is the third largest species, after the blue whale and fin whale. It is one of the baleen whales, a filter feeding whale that carries out long anual migrations between their summer feeding ground in polar waters and their winter breeding ground in warmer waters. Baleen whales are commonly seen passing the Azores between late March and June, so it was a nice suprise for us to see this Sei whale here this time of the year. The whale was diving a lot and only coming up for one breath between dives, so the above photo was the only decent one we got as the surfacings were rather unpredictable. But the important part is that our passengers got to see the whale, as well as a nice group of common dolphins.

Our first encounter with whales for 2012!

2012-01-02T15:26:00.002-01:00

This morning we had our first whale encounter for 2012! We saw several sperm whales that belong to a group that we also saw here twice last month. When a sperm whale dives we take photos which are used to identify the individual from the natural marks on its tail. The tail in the above photo is of a whale that we also encountered on December 19th and 30th (see another photo of this individual in our previous blog post). From today's encounters we also identified another sperm whale seen here on December 30th. The sperm whales we see here in the Azores live in groups or units, so it becomes interesting when we can learn more about the individuals that make up these different groups.

As for dolphins, today we saw a few common dolphins in the sperm whale area, but today really ended up being more of a day for the whales. Yesterday we saw more dolphins, as we encountered a couple of small groups of common dolphins followed by Risso's dolphins. Every one of our tours are very different so you never really know what you will see when you come on a tour with us. The best part for you is that we have a money back guarantee if no cetacean species are encountered during your tour.

Record number of tours and sightings for December this year

2011-12-31T12:42:00.002-01:00

December this year has been really amazing for whale watching and dolphin swimming with Futurismo! In fact this past month we have achieved a record number of days on the sea as well as whale and dolphin sightings compared to the past five years. We have been out 17 days this month and had several encounters with 7 different cetacean species (humpback whales, sperm whales, pilot whales, Risso´s dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins). Our humpback whale sightings were a first for this time of the year, and it wasn't just one but two different individuals that we saw! Another special December sighting for us was a leatherback turtle last week. In the following graph you can see the sighting frequencies of the different cetacean species we have seen this December:

With that number of different species and high sighting frequencies it's almost as if it is summer here! Hopefully for us the good sea and weather conditions will persist for what is left of winter.

2011-12-30T18:49:00.000-01:00

Today was a busy day for us with several boats going out on two rounds of tours. In the morning our whale watching and swimming clients encountered several groups of common dolphins. Those that came whale watching with us in the afternoon were more lucky as we encountered not only the common dolphins, but also Atlantic spotted dolphins and sperm whales! Of the four whales we encountered up close we managed to get the following good tail shot of an individual that we also encountered on the 19th of December.

If we are lucky this same group of sperm whales may still be in the area for our morning tour tomorrow.

A huge group of Atlantic spotted dolphins

2011-12-29T15:13:00.001-01:00

Another fantastic day on the sea! Today we had beautiful weather and there were 3 dolphin species around for us to see: common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins. The spotted dolphins were particularly great as it was a group of at least 400 dolphins, including many very small newborn calves. It's really nice for us to still be seeing such a large group of these dolphins so late in the season, as last year we already stopped seeing them on December 22nd as they head furhter south for the winter.

Have a look at the following Atlantic spotted dolphin photos from today's tour:

2011-12-28T14:07:00.001-01:00

This morning started off a little foggy and drizzly, but the sky soon cleared up to bring out patches of blue sky. Our encounters started off with a rare sighting of a very large leatherback turtle. We did not manage to take photos, but it was good in the same just to get a glimpse of the largest marine turtle species. This morning we also saw several groups of common dolphins and a few Risso's dolphins.

Common dolphin

Risso's dolphin

For our many bird enthuisiasts that we had onboard with us this morning we also had the bonus of seeing at least 10 different bird species. It's always great to show our passengers the marine life and beautiful Azorean coastline along the way.

Sperm whales and 3 dolphins species for Christmas

2011-12-24T15:32:00.000-01:00

This morning we had our final tour before Christmas day and it was a good one! We had a group of sperm whales close to shore, including several females with their young. There were also plenty of common dolphins aswell as a few bottlenose dolphins and Risso's dolphins.

A great Christmas treat for those that came whale watching with us today!!

2011-12-23T14:19:00.001-01:00

Only two days until Christmas day and we are still operating, taking customers out to see the cetaceans of the Azores. This morning the visibility wasn't the best, but we still managed to find several groups of common dolphins, including those in the above photographs taken during this tour. Tomorrow morning we also have a whale watching tour booked, so we are hoping for some more great sightings for our clients.

Another humpback whale! The second this December

2011-12-20T15:02:00.000-01:00

This morning we were very lucky as we got to see a humpback whale. Such a sighting is rather unusual for this time of the year and it was our second this month! Our identification photos that we took of this whale and the humpback whale we saw on December 5th (see our previous blog post) show that they are different individuals. It's really amazing to see not just one, but two humpback whales this month!

The whale we saw today was a bit difficult to watch as it spent a lot of time diving, but we did manage to get a few nice looks and the following photos:

2011-12-19T15:30:00.002-01:00

Again this morning we sighted 4 cetacean species!

This time it was sperm whales, Risso's dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins. We were really lucky with our sightings and sea conditions which were perfect. There were many sperm whales around, these are just a few of them:

Santa Maria Island in the background

Of the many whales we saw we managed to see 5 of them bringing up their tails, and from photos of these we could recognise some individuals that we had seen before. 4 of the whales have been sighted here before, including back in July and August of this year, and even as far back as 2006. It's great to see these whales returning to this area! Our dolphin encounters also turned out great. The following two photos are of a Risso's dolphin mother and calf pair that we came across towards the end of our tour, before we finished off with a great encounter of common dolphins just outside our marina.

4 cetacean species sighted this morning

2011-12-17T14:09:00.000-01:00

This year December is turning out to be really great for us here in São Miguel. This morning we had dolphin swimming and whale watching and it was just like summer! We had blue skies, a nice comfortable temperature, calm sea and 4 cetacean species to see: sperm whales, pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins. To top it off we also spotted a loggerhead turtle on our way back.

Adult sperm whale

Pilot whales

Bottlenose dolphins

Watching bottlenose dolphins

We have more excellent sea conditions forecasted for the upcoming week or more, so this is a great time to come out with us as we continue operating throughout the festive season.

Just like summer

2011-12-14T13:58:00.000-01:00

It seems that summer is still here in the Azores. The weather has been great recently, much better than this time last year. We have already had many very good whale watching trips this month, and this morning was no exception. The sea was perfectly calm and there were groups of dolphins everywhere! We came across many groups of common dolphins feeding, with Cory's shearwaters and other seabirds all around them.

Common dolphins swimming in front of our boat

We also had a really nice encounter with a group of about 15 Risso's dolphins. We had the bonus of seeing at least one small calf and several juveniles in this group. In the following photo you can see really well how scratched and scarred this dolphin species becomes over its lifetime...

Risso's dolphins (2 adults with the head of a smaller calf just to the right)

Whales, dolphins and rainbows

2011-12-07T14:37:00.001-01:00

Another great day for whale watching in São Miguel today. This year December is turning out to be a really good month for us! Today we saw common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and sperm whales. The group of sperm whales, which included at least 5 adults and a calf were seen together with a group of bottlenose dolphins swimming around them. One of the adult sperm whales became very curious and left the other whales and dolphins to come and investigate our boat.

Curious sperm whale swimming straight for our boat

Curious sperm swimming alongside our boat!

Large head of one of the sperm whales in the group

Sperm whales: adult and calf

We have also been really fortunate with the weather so far this month as it's not often so good this time of the year. Today we had not only good sea conditions, but also beautiful skies with different formations of clouds passing by, creating many beautiful rainbows along the coastline.

Large male sperm whale in São Miguel

2011-12-06T14:15:00.001-01:00

This morning we set out for what turned out to be another great whale watching trip. This time we encountered one of at least two sperm whales that were making dives far off the coastline, in an area where the water is over 900 meters deep. Just by looking at the size of the whale that we encountered we could instantly see it was a male. This whale was huge! We more commonly encouter the smaller females, so it was really great to see such a big individual. The whale was one that we did not recognise from the sperm whale catalogue we have, so now we are going to check with other researchers to see if this whale has been photographed elsewhere.

Large male sperm whale we encountered this morning

We also saw several small groups of common dolphins close to the coastline. The dolphins were feeding so we got to see many seabirds flying overhead and diving down to take some of the fish that the dolphins had worked up to the surface. Although we are well into winter now we could still see many Cory's shearwater that nest here over summer, and we even spotted one smaller Manx's shearwater.

A small feeding group of common dolphins

Some of the Cory's shearwaters that were feeding with the common dolphins

HUMPBACK WHALE JUST OUTSIDE OUR BASE!!!

2011-12-05T14:27:00.001-01:00

This morning we took out a nice group of Spanish clients and they were in for a very special and lucky treat that even surprised the crew. Just outside of our departure point in Ponta delgada we encountered a humpback whale. We got to see this magnificent whale breaching (jumping out of the water) a few times before it started slapping its long pectoral fins on the waters surface. Check out the following photos we managed to take of this whale:

The above 3 photos show how the humpback whale was slapping its long pectoral fins on the surface of the water

After the fin slapping the whale started going on deep dives, which is when we saw it bringing up its tail like this

The humpback whale was seen travelling close to shore, just off the coast of Ponta delgada

It was a real suprise for us to see this species of whale, as they are not commonly seen here this time of the year. Baleen whales, such as this humpback whale normally migrate past the Azores during the spring months, which is when they are heading to the Arctic waters to feed during the summer months. This whale could be on its way back down south for the winter and may be stopping here for a quick snack as we saw the whale going on several deep dives later during our encounter. Whatever the reason for it being here we were very glad that it passed São Miguel Island!

Ofcourse our passengers were delighted to see dolphins during their tour as well. They got to see a couple of groups of Atlantic spotted dolphins followed by some common dolphins. Our onshore watchman (known locally as the vigia) reported that there were also a couple of bottlenose dolphins and Risso's dolphins around earlier in the morning, so today there was definitely not a shortage of species to be seen here!!!

One of the common dolphins jumping close to our boat

The end of November

2011-11-30T15:46:00.001-01:00

The month of November has not been the easiest for whale watching, as we have been experiencing a lot of bad weather as the winter is been kicking in. We have only managed to go out on 10 days this month, many of which were only mornings as the sea conditions have often been worsening later in the day.

But we still managed to see the following :

Common dolphins (seen on 50% of the days we went out).
Bottlenose dolphins (seen on 30% of the days we went out).
Atlantic spotted dolphins (seen on 50% of the days we went out).
Risso's dolphins (seen on 20% of the days we went out).
Pilot whales (seen on 10% of the days we went out).
Beaked whales (seen on 10% of the days we went out).
Sperm whales (seen on 40% of the days we went out).

Seeing beaked whales this month was a bonus, as they are very elusive animals that are not seen often and are very difficult to watch. So our sightings this month have not been too bad, especially for this time of the year.

Fantastic day!

2011-11-22T13:21:00.001-01:00

Today is one of those perfect days. The sun is shinning, the sea is calm and there are sperm whales everywhere! This morning we went out and saw many of the sperm whales from this group, including several females with their calves. We also saw 2 of our resident bottlenose dolphins (the same 2 we saw last week) and some very friendly Atlantic spotted doplhins. Our passengers were all smiles after this fantastic tour!

Sperm whale raising its tail to go on a deep dive

Watching Atlantic spotted dolphins

One of the many sperm whales we saw this morning

2011-11-20T12:05:00.001-01:00

We have just returned from another great tour on the ocean and we have seen the same group of sperm whales that we also saw yesterday and 4 days ago. Today we saw 5 individuals from the group, beginning with an encounter with 3 adults which surfaced together and went down on their deep dive together. We also saw Atlantic spotted dolphins so it turned out to be another really good tour for us.

Juvenile sperm whale going on a deep dive

3 sperm whales surfacing together

2011-11-19T16:45:00.001-01:00

Today we were back on the sea again and just like 3 days ago there was plenty to see. The same group of sperm whales that we saw last time were still in the area, so both our morning and afternoon passengers got to see them. There were also pilot whales around, perhaps the same group that was seen in the area three days ago. In the morning we saw a group of about 15 of these pilot whales before they left the area in the afternoon. Like usual there were also plenty of dolphins around so that throughout the day we saw several of groups of common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins. The last few days there have been a huge number of seabirds around, a very good indication that there is a lot of food around for the whales and dolphins. The following photos are from our tour this afternoon:

Watching a sperm whale passing close to one of our boats

Juvenile sperm whale diving

Atlantic spotted dolphin close to Vila Franca Islet

2011-11-16T16:43:00.001-01:00

What an amazing day!

Today was a beautiful calm day in São Miguel and we had great whale watching trips in both the morning and afternoon. The following photos from these tours show it all....

Curious juvenile sperm whale spyhopping (raising its head out of the water)

Large adult sperm whale spyhopping

Two sperm whales surrounded by a large group of birds

Bottlenose dolphin (one of our residents known as "Big A")

Watching some of our resident common dolphins

One of the Risso's dolphins seen close to the coast this morning

In the morning we started off with a sighting of two of our resident bottlenose dolphins. It turns out they were the same two dolphins that we saw on our last tour two days ago (see our previous blog post). Throughout the rest of the morning tour we saw several groups of common dolphins and we also had a great sighting of two Risso's dolphins.

In the afternoon we were pleasantly surprised when our vigia (on shore lookout man) informed us that a group of sperm whales had moved into the area. We sighted several of the individuals in this group, starting with a very curious juvenile that came right up to one of our boats and sphyhopped (stuck it's head vertically out of the water as if looking at us). Two larger adults were also seen spyhopping and rolling around at the surface with a large group of birds flying around them (perhaps the birds were attracted by squid or fish that the whales had been feeding on). One of the sperm whales could easily be identified by the white patch it has on top of its back, in front of its dorsal fin, as shown in the following photo:

This is a whale that we refer to as "Orca" because the white patch is similar to the saddle patch that orcas have.

Our lookout also reported that there were pilot whales further to the east of the island in the afternoon. Although they were too far for us to go to them it was really great to know that there was so much wildlife in the area today.

2011-11-14T13:46:00.001-01:00

This month has been difficult so far as we have not had the best weather and sea conditions and have therefore been cancelling many tours. Luckily this morning conditions were looking allright so we went out while we had the opportunity. The sea was actually pretty good and the sky was clear. Our tour started off with a sighting of two of our resident bottlenose dolphins. Although there were only two they were very friendly and curious about our boats as they were swimming around and under us. We could instantly recognise one of the dolphins (known as "Big A" in our catalogue of individuals) from the unique way it always swims by lifting its upper body high out of the water (shown in the following photo that was taken on this morning's tour)

One of our resident bottlenose dolphins known as "Big A"

Next we had an encounter with a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins. There were many more dolphins in this group, including a few juveniles and even newborn calves. Unlike the bottlenose dolphins, spotted dolphins do not stay in the Azores the whole year. Its good to see they are still here, as we can expect them to head further south in the next month or so.

Atlantic spotted dolphins

The weather forecast is looking better for the coming week, so we are anticipating more great tours in the coming days...

Last day of October

2011-10-31T14:32:00.000-01:00

This year the summer seems to have has come and gone very fast, as we are already in the last day of October. But we are still getting plenty of really good whale watching and dolphin swimming tours, and today we were even lucky enough to have really excellent calm sea conditions. This morning we had a boat going out for swimming with dolphins and another for whale watching, and it did not take us long before we encountered a group of common dolphins just outside of Ponta Delgada. Throughout the rest of the morning we moved around several different groups our 3 resident dolphin species: common dolphins, Risso's dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Our swimming clients had an especially great experience swimming with around 100 bottlenose dolphins:

Swimming with bottlenose dolphins

One of our resident bottlenose dolphins

The Risso's dolphins were also really special to see today. First we encountered a lone individual that was chasing a small local fishing boat. We often see these dolphins hanging around fishing boats, as they love to take the squid that the fishermen are fishing out of the deep waters. Not long after we encountered a larger group of Risso's dolphins, perhaps the lone individual belongs this group. This is something we will be able to confirm later when we analyse photographs that we take of their dorsal fins for identification.

2011-10-28T14:37:00.000Z

Over the last few weeks we have been seeing many really great groups of dolphins, such as the Atlantic spotted dolphins in the photos above. Up until today we have been seeing common dolphins every day that we have been out this month. As well as large groups of these common and spotted dolphins we have been seeing our resident bottlenose dolphins (with our most recent encounter being this morning) and we have also had a few encounters with sperm whales, pilot whales and Risso's dolphins. Luckily for us here in the Azores we can see several species year round, so there is always something for us to see.

2011-10-22T14:10:00.000Z

Another day of excellent sea and weather conditions here for us in São Miguel!

This morning we went out on what turned out to be another great whale watching tour. Although there were no whales in the area there was plenty of other wildlife around for us to see. Our tour started off with a group of common dolphins that were leaping out of the water as they were travelling very fast to the west:

Common dolphins

We travelled with the group for a while, also observing many birds along the way. As well as our usual bird sightings this morning we also saw some Manx shearwaters, a very beautiful species as you can see in the photo taken during the tour:

Manx shearwater

Unfortunately we also came across a dead bird that was entangled in a piece of fishing net. A sad reminder that we need to be more careful with things like fishing nets and other forms of litter that can be deadly for seabirds, dolphins, whales, turltes and many other species.

Bird tangled in a piece of fishing net

Later in the tour we went a bit further offshore where we came across a loggerhead turtle at the surface, followed by a very large and playful group of Atlantic spotted dolphins. Another very good tour for us here in the Azores...

Loggerhead turtle

2011-10-21T19:13:00.000Z

Today we had were lucky to have very calm seas and great sighting conditions for our whale watching and dolphin swimming tours. In the morning we started of with an encounter with common dolphins not too far out of Ponta Delgada. After watching these resident dolphins for a while we headed further east while our swimmers stayed to swim with the common dolphins. At the eastern end of São Miguel island we encountered a large group of bottlenose dolphins. The dolphins were very social and we got to see several of their calves in the group.

Bottlenose dolphins: Young calf surfacing alongside its mother

Bottlenose dolphins

Our afternoon tours began again with the common dolphins close to shore. As our swimming clients were in the water they had the bonus of seeing a loggerhead turtle right where the dolphins were passing. Later in the afternoon we also saw a large group of several hundred Atlantic spotted dolphins. There was a lot of activity within the group, as several dolphins were putting on amazing acrobatic displays while great shearwaters and Cory's shearwaters were swooping around (to the delight of several bird enthusiasts we had onboard), probably indicating that the dolphins were feeding.

Adult Atlantic spotted dolphin

Juvenile Atlantic spotted dolphin

Great shearwater

2011-10-18T15:21:00.004Z

Today was another successful day on the sea for us. This morning we had a dolphin swimming tour and two other boats going out for whale watching. Although the sea was a bit rough in places, getting us all a bit wet, we managed to see 4 different cetacean species: sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins. Recently we have not been seeing whales on as many of our tours as we did during the summer months, so it was a bonus to see the whales.

Our passengers this morning searching and waiting for a whale to come to the surface

One of the 3 sperm whales we saw together at the surface this morning

2011-10-17T12:55:00.003Z

The above photo shows some of our passengers watching a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins this morning. As well as this group of spotted dolphins we also encountered two groups of common dolphins on this tour. Our passengers included a few families, so we had several children onboard who really loved to see the large groups of dolphins swimming all around our boat.

Sperm whales to the West!

2011-10-10T14:23:00.004Z

This morning our passengers were very happy to encounter a group of sperm whales! During our encounter we sighted 5 individuals: 3 adults, 1 juvenile and 1 calf. To see these whales we had to travel quite far to the west, to an area where the water is around 2000 meters deep! But it was well worth the trip, and we even got to see 2 of the adults raise their tales to go on their deep feeding dives. The following photo is of the last whale we saw, a large adult that raised it's tail particularly high to bring a fantastic end to our tour:

Before we saw the sperm whales we also had a really good encounter with a large group of common dolphins close to the coastline. We estimated there must have been more than 500 dolphins in the group, including many small dolphins...

2011-10-09T16:45:00.002Z

Today was a great day for seeing dolphins. On our whale watching tour this morning we saw 3 different dolphin species: Atlantic spotted dolphins, common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Although we haven't seen any whales for a while, it's great to see so many different dolphin species in one tour. Here are some photos from this morning's tour:

Atlantic spotted dolphin

Watching Atlantic spotted dolphins

Bottlenose dolphin

This afternoon we were able to observe the dolphins again. This time we also had a swimming tour which was really great, as our clients got to swim with a very inquisitive group of 12 or 13 bottlenose dolphins.

Common dolphins!!!

2011-10-06T14:44:00.003Z

Over the past few days we have been seeing many groups of common dolphins. It's been a few days since we have een with whales, but the common dolphins have always been great to watch, making our tours worthwhile. We have been seeing very large groups of at least a few hundred common dolphins. Yesterday we saw a group together with a large number of seabirds, presumably feeding together at the surface. Today we saw the common dolphins travelling, which was great to watch as they all came leaping out of the waves together. There has never been a dull moment watching these common dolphins that we are able to view here year round. Here are some photos from the past two days:

Our latest sightings

2011-10-03T13:56:00.007Z

Over the past few days we have had a mixture of sea conditions, but we have still managed to go out on several very good whale watching and dolphin swimming tours. Since Tuesday's big storm we managed to return to the sea this past weekend and again this morning. This morning the sea was a bit rough, but we were lucky to have a large group of common dolphins close to shore, just outside of Ponta Delgada. Our other recent sightings include a group of sperm whales (on the morning of the 29th), pilot whales (on the mornings of the 30th of September and the 1st of October) and several groups of Atlantic spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. Here are some photos from these recent tours:

Sperm whales seen in the morning on the 29th

Pilot whales (mother and calf) seen on the 30th

Bottlenose dolphins (photographed on the 30th) swimming very close to our boats

Celebração do Dia Mundial do Mar com a Futurismo!!

2011-09-30T15:32:00.001Z

Dia 29 de Setembro: Dia Mundial do Mar
Este dia foi celebrado através de uma acção de Responsabilidade Social dinamizada pela APSM em parceria com a Futurismo. A Associação de Portos dos Açores efectuou o convite para a participação neste evento à turma do 4º ano da EBIJ Santa Clara que veio acompanhada pelo professor António Barreto.

Para dar início a esta experiência, foi feito um briefing explicativo em como a caça da baleia foi a actividade primária na região relativa ao contacto com mamíferos marinhos e como se desenrolava essa mesma actividade e que técnicas foram reaproveitas para a observação de cetáceos.

Seguidamente foram descritas as principais espécies observadas na região ao longo do ano para que as crianças entrassem em contacto mais próximo com as baleias e golfinhos que habitam as nossas águas. Ao longo da apresentação foram esclarecidas todas as dúvidas que foram surgindo, garantindo a compreensão por parte de todos os meninos de todos os assuntos abordados.

Antes de embarcarmos garantimos que todos os meninos e monitores estivessem preparados para a chuva eminente e tivessem todo o equipamento obrigatório a bordo e lá fomos!!

Uma passagem pelo ilhéu de Vilafranca do campo constituiu uma oportunidade ideal para abordar estas crianças sobre a importância da conservação do meio ambiente e das espécies habitantes da nossa região, assuntos sobre os quais as crianças estão actualmente mais cientes. De facto, são as crianças as que se mostram mais alertas em relação a medidas a executar no dia-a-dia, tentando incutir essas medidas nas próprias famílias ( reciclagem, poupança de água e electricidade, etc.).

Um dia diferente e apelativo para estas crianças que se mostraram extremamente atentas a tudo o que se falou, curiosas em saber como eram encontrados os animais, a que distâncias é que podem ser observados, a que velocidades nadam e até que profundidade mergulham, etc..

A repetir definitivamente numa próxima oportunidade!!

2011-09-27T16:04:00.004Z

Spectacular weather in São Miguel today: gale force winds with gusts up to 45 knots and swells up to 6m in height.. obviously not whalewatching weather but quite impressive all the same! We've been hiding in the office, hoping the water doesn't rise any higher. Time to catch up on the paperwork and photo ID catalogues for the cetaceans we photograph each day!

Tempo espectacular em São Miguel hoje: ventos fortes até 45 nós e ondas até 6m de altura.. claramente não é o tempo ideal para whalewatching mas muito impressionante! Temos estado escondidos no escritório, esperando que a água não suba mais. Tempo para pôr em dia a papelada e actualizar a foto ID dos cetáceos a que tirámos fotos cada dia!

2011-09-25T17:28:00.004Z

A fin whale this afternoon!! Quite an unusual sighting for this time of year, although it may be one of the first of our sightings as the baleen whales migrate back south from their northerly summer feeding grounds. The most common time to see them here is during the springtime. This individual was a juvenile, and spent the afternoon feeding amid Atlantic spotted dolphins, great shearwaters, Cory's shearwaters, and yellow legged gulls. An unexpected treat for passengers aboard our fibreglass boat "Song of Whales"!

2011-09-22T16:56:00.005Z

We had another great day on the sea today. Throughout the day we saw many sperm whales, and the sea conditions were excellent. We also had encounters with common dolphins, spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Here is a photo of one of the sperm whales we saw this afternoon:

Summer is still here

2011-09-19T15:36:00.005Z

The last two days we have been really lucky with the weather and our sightings. The sky has been clear and we have had calm waters, making it much easier for our whale watching and dolphin swimming tours. During these last two days we have been seeing different groups of sperm whales as they pass our island. Both this morning and yesterday morning the sperm whales were feeding, so we got to see several of the whales raising their tails to go on their deep feeding dives. Yesterday socialising behaviour was also seen: in the afternoon least four whales were seen together at the surface. We currently have our afternoon whale watching tour on the sea, who knows what they may be lucky enough to see.

Sperm whales: Mother and calf

Sperm whale

Our dolphin sightings have also been great. This morning we spent some time with a large group of common dolphins while yesterday we saw four different dolphin species (bottlense dolphins, common dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins and Risso's dolphins). These photos show some of our more special dolphin moments from yesterday:

Watching a group of common dolphins
One of our friendly resident bottlenose dolphins
Risso's dolphin leaping out of the water

2011-09-17T14:06:00.004Z

Today was another one of those days that we could only go to the sea in the morning, as the wind picked up too much for our afternoon tours. Still we managed to get a good tour in. Our whale watchers and dolphin swimmers got to enjoy some time with a large friendly group of common dolphins. This is just one of the dolphins that was leaping alongside our boats:

This is just one of the many species that we can see here in the Azores. Lately we have also been seeing many Atlantic spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins, as well as pilot whales and sperm whales. One of our recent passangers, Ida Eriksson, has recently been on 6 tours with us, and was lucky enough to have some great encounters with many of these species. Click here to see Ida's blog that shows some photos and videos of these encounters. Thank you Ida.

2011-09-16T14:47:00.002Z

One more note for today : a recommendation to check out the blog of Doris Thomas who visited us recently in Pico and has sent us the link to some of her incredible photos. Click here to see some great above and underwater action from dolphins and sperm whales, and read about her experiences whalewatching and dolphin swimming with Futurismo.

2011-09-16T14:15:00.003Z

An interesting morning with big groups of bottlenose, spotted and Risso's dolphins to observe! The Risso's dolphins were especially interesting as they were repeatedly jumping and tailslapping.. perhaps some examples of the aggressive behaviour between individuals which results in the scratches and scarring on adult Rissos. These scars are thought to be caused by the teeth of fellow dolphins (Rissos have up to 14 teeth on the lower jaw), but also by their main prey, squid. They are born a dark grey but gradually become paler with age, with this scarring making the older individuals appear almost entirely white, especially on the head. This extensive pattern of scars and scratches means individuals can be identified using photo ID techniques, mostly focussing on the dorsal fins. So far they have not been as well studied as some other species of dolphin, due to their their timid nature and preference for deep oceanic waters. Click here for more information on the species and some great photos on the website of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

2011-09-14T12:51:00.003Z

Finally we have beautful calm seas again! The wind of the last few days has finally tailed off and we went out this morning to sunny calm conditions with great visibility. Big groups of bottlenose, common and Atlantic spotted dolphins awaited us with plenty of jumps and acrobatics - and the water was clear enough to see the dolphins curiously swimming under the boats and bow-riding beneath the waves. This afternoon pilot whales also joined in the fun.

We've also been signing the Avaaz petition to help bring an end to bottom-trawling fisheries. This is the most destructive method of fishing worldwide; nets are dragged across thousands of miles of seabed, destroying everything in their path. Not only are the target species caught in the giant nets, but also everything else to be found in the nets' path which means an enormous amount of unnecessary bycatch which is killed but useless to the fishing industry. This is one of most important reasons to ensure that, if you eat fish, you know how it has been caught and avoid fish that has been caught using these unbelievably unsustainable methods. Please join us in signing this petition to the UN to voice our opinions - bottom-trawling is something that must stop if we want to continue seeing marine wildlife in our oceans!

2011-09-08T14:52:00.003Z

One of our recent guests, Patrick Vertongen, has kindly sent us the link to some of his fantastic photos from his trips with us in the Azores... click here to have a look at some of his inspiring photography from here and around the world. Something for the rest of us to aim for maybe!

2011-09-07T11:09:00.002Z

A great dolphin swimming trip this morning! Our clients swam amongst a feeding frenzy of dolphins, birds and tuna. The Cory's and Great shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea and Puffinus gravis) are proficient divers and are great at diving down deep to feed on fish like mackerel and sardines which the dolphins corral into tight bait balls. This feeding association is well established between the dolphins and cagarros (as the Cory's shearwaters are known here in the Azores), and sometimes we are lucky enough to find ourselves right in the middle of it with a snorkel and mask! The incredible diving capacity of these shearwaters was captured by the BBC during the filming of Blue Planet and can look something like this..

2011-09-04T15:50:00.002Z

A breaching sperm whale calf was the highlight of our trips this morning! The young whale jumped out of the water 7 or 8 times in a row, entertaining all our passengers with its playfulness. A few of us were lucky enough to get the moment on film..

2011-09-01T14:00:00.003Z

Common dolphins and spotted dolphins this morning! Unfortunately we've had to cancel our afternoon trips due to the sea conditions, but luckily for the passengers who chose to book our full day trip including the afternoon at the Islet of Vila France the sun is still shining there.. The calm protected waters of the old volcanic crater means they're enjoying swimming and snorkelling while the waves increase outside of the islet!

August sightings

2011-08-31T15:12:00.006Z

As it's the final day of August we at Futurismo have been looking back over our sightings for the month.. see below which species have visited us in the Azores and how often they've been seen. Our most prolific visitor, the migratory Atlantic spotted dolphin, has been seen on 93% of the days we've been at sea this month! It's a species we see a lot of at this time of year, usually large groups with plenty of calves swimming close alongside the adults. Sperm whales have been sighted 60% of the days this month, and fin whales made it onto the list which is unusual for this time of year!

To sum up our sightings this month (percentage of days we sighted each species):

Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis): 93%

Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus): 60%

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis): 60%

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): 57%

Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus): 30%

Pilot whale (Globicephela macrorhyncus): 20%

Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba): 17%

Beaked whale (Mesoplodon species): 10%

Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus): 7%

Here's to many more..

2011-08-29T14:22:00.005Z

Sperm whales, pilot whales, Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins on our trips so far today! Seven sperm whales spent a while at the surface together before slipping beneath the surface. Our whalewatching boats saw two calves resurface after a few minutes while the adults remained submerged - it looked like one of the typical female and calf groups we see here on a regular basis.

Sperm whales

The rest of the morning was spent with a group of 9 or 10 pilot whales and a very dynamic pod of common dolphins, while our swimming group spent time with Atlantic spotted dolphins.

Pilot whale

Common dolphin

Recent sperm whale photos

2011-08-25T14:58:00.004Z

Watching a friendly female sperm whale from one of our small boats

Watching a large male sperm whale "Mr Liable" from our large catamaran

A curious sperm whale approaching one of our boats

Large male sperm whale "Mr Liable" raising his tail to go on a deep dive

The above photos are of some of the sperm whales that we have been seeing in our waters recently. The sperm whale is the main whale species seen in the Azores, especially during the summer when we can frequently see large family groups. This year in July and August so far we have seen sperm whales on 67% of the days that we have been whale watching. The islands of the Azores are a breeding and feeding ground for these large social animals. This year we have been lucky to have many sperm whales passing São Miguel island, including several mother with their calves and the occasional male such as Mr Liable that occasionally visit the female groups. When we are not watching sperm whales we are most likely with a group of one of the many dolphin species that we can see here. We welcome you to come and find out for yourself why the Azores is considered one of the top whale watching locations in the world!

2011-08-24T13:36:00.005Z

All our trips today have been enjoying the sight of thousands of Atlantic spotted dolphins! At one point we could see dolphins to the horizon, a super pod spread out over a huge area. It's great to see the dolphins like this in the summer months, with plenty of young animals in their groups, swimming alongside our boats and showing off with acrobatics.

We've also been noticing the large number of Great Shearwaters (Puffinus Gravis, above) in the area at the moment. These birds follow a circular migratory route up the Eastern seaboard of South and North America before crossing the Atlantic in August. They can be also be seen quite commonly off the south-western coast of Great Britain and Ireland before heading back down the Eastern littoral of the Atlantic to their breeding sites on islands in the South Atlantic. Here we've been observing them feeding at the surface with spotted and common dolphins, you can see above one bird ducking its head into the water checking for small fish.. Click here for a excerpt from the log of The Odyssey when they encountered Great Shearwaters on their voyage and a great explanation of the Mid-Atlantic ridge which we're a part of here in the Azores.

2011-08-19T13:55:00.005Z

It was an exciting trip for passengers and crew alike this morning as we had our first sighting in nearly four months of a large male sperm whale we call "Mr Liable"! He has been sighted in these waters since 2008 when we first started our photo ID catalogue of the sperm whales we see on our trips, so has possibly been visiting São Miguel for much longer.

We can identify individual sperm whales by their tail flukes and any distinguishing marks on their bodies, which is why we photograph every sperm whale we see lifting its tail as it dives. By comparing these photos with our ID catalogue we can recognise individuals and learn more about their movements. This particular whale for example was last seen May 2nd this year - like many male sperm whales he visits this breeding ground periodically to breed and rarely stays long. The majority of our sightings here are females sperm whales and their young.

Our boats are still out this afternoon so we're looking forward to hearing whether they have another encounter with this large whale (we estimate him to be about 18 metres long!) - plus the other species we observed this morning, Atlantic spotted dolphins.

2011-08-17T16:39:00.002Z

More species interaction this morning with a sperm whale calf playing with a group of bottlenose dolphins! The calf was alone with the dolphins for a while before being joined by three adult sperm whales who watched from the sidelines. It wasn't long before an adult female we assume was the calf's mother joined in the fun. The whales were rolling around at the surface while the dolphins swam and jumped alongside them - really interesting to watch the socialising between the species.

Other species viewed on our whalewatching excursions today included Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins, which were the animals our dolphin swimming groups spent their trips with.

7 cetacean species in one day!

2011-08-15T17:17:00.002Z

Today was another excellent day of whale watching for Futurismo. Throughout the day we have seen 7 cetacean species: sperm whales, pilot whales, beaked whales, Risso's dolphins, bottlense dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins.

One of our boats had a particularly special encounter this morning with a group of pilot whales together with 3 beaked whales. Beaked whales are normally very difficult to watch because they spend very little time at the surface and they are very shy. But these beaked whales stayed on the surface for a long time so everybody could see them very well. An added bonus was a very small newborn pilot whale that was also in the group.

Our sperm whale sightings today were also really good. We were lucky to have 2 very large male sperm whales in the area today and the water has been calm all day so we could see them very well. During both our morning and afternoon tours we got to see some great high tails as the sperm whales went on their deep dives. Another great day for us at Futurismo!

2011-08-14T16:44:00.002Z

We have just returned from another amazing day of whale watching and dolphin swimming. It's another one of those beautiful hot and calm days in São Miguel, and during the day we have spotted 7 cetacean species in our waters. During the morning we went east of Ponta Delgada where we had encounters with a baleen whale that was thought to be a fin whale (unusual for this time of the year as they usually pass here during spring), sperm whales, bottlenose dophins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, Risso's dolphins and common dolphins. At this time our vigia (onshore lookout) also spotted a group of false killer whales, however these were further to the west so unfortunately we did not catch up with this species that we don't see all too often here.

In the afternoon we had an amazing encounter with 3 sperm whales that were socialising at the surface. We got to see these individuals really well and we noticed that two of the whales had a lot of white marks that we can use to identify these individuals:

In the afternoon we also saw several groups of Atlantic spotted dolphins. Our swimming trip was particularly special this time, as our clients got to experience swimming with a huge group of at least 500 dolphins! This is really a great time to come join us on a tour, especially now that the forecast is looking perfect for at least the next week...

Pilot whale carrying its dead baby

2011-08-12T17:00:00.005Z

This morning some or our passengers got to see an interesting but very sad thing. As they were watching a group of pilot whales a female was seen carrying its dead baby. These photos show how the mother was carrying the dead baby on its pectoral fin:

It was a very sad moment for our passengers and ofcourse for the mother who had lost the calf but did not seem to want to let it go. This has been witnessed before in the wild with several dolphin species and shows us that these animals are more human than previously thought. Dolphins and whales are very social animals and the bond between a mother and calf is particularly strong. This event shows that dolphins grieve just like humans do. Although it was sad to see it also makes us wonder how much more we can learn from these amazing intelligent animals.

2011-08-11T15:38:00.003Z

A beautiful day to be out whalewatching today! A friendly group of sperm whales were to be found to the south of the island - we saw 6 individuals in total this morning, some socialising at the surface together which is always really interesting to see.

As the sea was fairly calm and glassy we could follow the whales by the footprints they left behind as they swam towards each other just beneath the surface. A whale 'footprint' is what we call the smooth round patch of water on the surface which is created by the upward motion of a whale's muscular tail as it swims forward. Some whalers used to believe it was the oil left behind by the whale and Inuit peoples call it a window into the whale's world, but today it was just a great way to see where the whales were heading when they weren't breaking the surface.

Rare beaked whales, pilot whales and more!!

2011-08-08T16:59:00.005Z

We just had another great day of whale watching and dolphin swimming in São Miguel! Today we had encounters with pilot whales, Atlantic spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and a very rare encounter with beaked whales. It already started off great first thing in the morning when we had just left the marina and we came across a group of common dolphins. In this group we spotted one bottlenose dolphin swimming with the rest of the common dolphins. It is not unusual to see solitary bottlenose dolphins, and they have been known to associate with other species of dolphin as well as humans on some occasions. We did not recognise this individual, but we have yet to look through our dorsal fin catalogue to see if the bottlenose dolphins is one of our "regulars".

Some of the common dolphins seen this morning

Later in the morning we had an excellent encounter with a large group of pilot whales. This was a bonus for the crew as well as our passengers, as it was the first time in a few weeks that we had pilot whales in the area. Conditions were really great for watching the group as they were calmly resting on the surface.

A large group of pilot whales seen in the morning

The highlight for the afternoon was a surprise encounter with at least 6 beaked whales. Beaked whales are very shy and elusive animals, so it is often very difficult, if not impossible, to get close enough to see even one individual. So we considered ourselves very lucky to have this fairly close encounter and to also be able to capture some photos which may help us to identify exactly which species we saw.

Beaked whales (adult and calf) seen this afternoon

Bottlenose dolphin playing with plastic

2011-08-06T10:01:00.006Z

This photo taken here last week shows a bottlenose dolphin carrying a piece of plastic on its dorsal fin. Although plastic in the oceans can be very harmful to marine life, in this case it seems that the dolphin was actually playing with the plastic. Dolphins have often been observed carrying and passing around seaweed and other objects almost as if it's a game. To see a video of this behaviour click here.

Such behaviour may be practice for catching food and helps build social bonds in groups. It just goes to show how intelligent these amazing animals are. We feel really lucky here to be able to see this and other interesting behaviour in the wild on a daily basis.

As for our tours today, unfortunately we had to cancel all our trips this morning due to bad visibility caused by low cloud and rain. We are waiting and hoping that conditions will improve so we can get back on the water this afternoon.

2011-08-05T12:50:00.003Z

A choppy and windy day out at sea today! We saw two friendly pods of dolphins this morning - common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins - but unfortunately have had to cancel our afternoon excursions because of the poor sea conditions. Luckily despite cloud in some places there's some sunny spots on the island so our guests are going out on jeep and walking tours of some of the beautiful crater lakes and volcanic areas like Sete Cidades and Lagoa de Fogo. The forecast is looking more promising for tomorrow so fingers crossed we're back out at sea in the morning!

2011-08-04T14:56:00.004Z

On our reading list today... An analysis of the impact humans are having on the deep sea published on Monday by scientists at the Census of Marine Life (COML) project, the 10-year assessment of the world's oceans completed in 2010. Their conclusions illuminate what we already know: that pollution, exploitation of the oceans' natural resources and climate change are damaging the habitat of the whales and dolphins we see everyday at Futurismo.

The deep sea covers an area of 360 million square kilometres and accounts for 73% of our oceans, which themselves form seven tenths of the planet. This is the world the sperm whale inhabits, a species we see regularly on our whale watching trips - capable of diving down to 3000m these whales have seen much more of the world's oceans than we have! Here in the Azores we have very deep waters very close to shore due to the volcanic origin of the islands, and hydrothermal vents which can support life even without sunlight, so we know the importance of protecting this unique part of the ocean. Our everyday choices can affect the oceans - simple things like ensuring we reduce, reuse and recycle our waste (did you know approximately 6.4 million tonnes of litter is dropped into the oceans per year?) and, if you choose to eat fish, ensuring it comes from sustainable fisheries. On our whale watching and dolphin swimming trips we hope our clients leave feeling motivated to protect our oceans so future generations can also have the priviledge of seeing the abundance of wildlife we see today. Today we've been swimming with and observing bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins - and again showing off their new calves!

Some photos from the last week of July

2011-08-01T14:11:00.004Z

July has been a great month for whale watching in São Miguel. During this month we have been out to sea every single day and we have had great sightings on all of our tours. During this month we saw sperm whales, fin whales, pilot whales, Risso's dolphins, striped dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. Here are some photos of just some of these great sightings during the past week:

2011-07-30T16:49:00.002Z

A lovely day on the sea, especially with the super friendly Atlantic spotted dolphins and their calves... click here for a video of these sociable dolphins bow-riding our catamaran, Cetus. Other encounters today included sperm whales and common dolphins!

2011-07-27T11:22:00.002Z

A big thank you to Roland Nordbeck for sharing these photos that he took on May 18th during a whale watching tour with us. On this trip he was celebrating his birthday and he described his sightings of the following blue whale and loggerhead turtle as being the perfect birthday present. We are very happy to have shared this moment with him and the rest of our clients.

2011-07-26T14:34:00.004Z

An incredibly friendly group of bottlenose dolphins this morning!

The pod stayed with us for about 35 minutes, travelling west, playing alongside the boat and bow-riding up the front with their calves.. the adults teaching the juveniles how to surf?! Amazing to watch. Bottlenose dolphins are seen regularly on our trips (over half of the days so far this month) and we've come to know some of the individuals quite well. One of our biologists photographs as many dorsal fins as possible for analysis when we're back on shore to identify the "residents", or animals we see multiple times, so we can learn more about individuals and the species as a whole.

2011-07-25T15:06:00.006Z

Common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins kept us company on the way to the Ilhéu de Vila Franca this morning, seen below just off the coast of São Miguel. A visit to this beautiful island is included in one of our full-day tour options, after whale & dolphin watching in the morning and a hearty lunch in Vila Franca do Campo, and is especially popular this time of year. It was an particularly good choice today as Ponta Delgada is a little cloudy, whereas the sun is shining over Vila Franca! Usually our guests divide their time in the afternoon between sunbathing, swimming and snorkelling in the submerged volcanic crater, a natural reserve. Because fishing is forbidden in the vicinity of the islet there is plenty to see while snorkelling, and despite sea conditions being a little rough today the crater lake is always calm and protected.

The islet is a perfect nesting spot for a variety of birdlife - rock pigeons, terns, shearwaters and gulls are amongst the birds that call the volcanic crater home. Our guests are always eager to see the Cory's shearwaters in particular, a species that comes to the Azorean archipelago to breed during the summer and is renowned for it's peculiar mating call. Sometimes when we're really lucky we also see pairs of milafres (buzzards) swooping above the islet, a bird symbolic of the Azores.

Chat to one of our staff or check out http://www.futurismo.pt/ for more info about the combined whalewatching and Ilhéu trip, or one of our other options if you want to make the most of a full-day combination of sea and land activities!

2011-07-23T16:22:00.008Z

A beautiful day on the ocean today! Especially this afternoon, the sea was calm and glassy.. brilliant for observing marine life. We've been watching and swimming with Atlantic spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins all day, plus observing Risso's dolphins and a great group of sperm whales in the afternoon. The sperm whales had been too far offshore in the morning to go out to them but our vigias (lookouts) watched them from land all day and finally this afternoon they were close enough to travel out to! It was worth it too, to see the three adults and one juvenile socialising together at the surface and then diving nearly simultaneously so we had the chance for some great tail photos! Here are a few from the day..

2011-07-22T15:14:00.007Z

A big thank you to Peeter Londo from Estonia for sending in these photos of sperm whales as they dived while we were alongside them last week!

Peeter was hoping we could identify the individuals but unfortunately the photos aren't clear enough - does anybody else have photos of the whales diving during the morning trip on Friday 15th? Futurismo.biologists@gmail.com is the place to send them. We need to be able to see the tail in focus to see every notch and scratch to be able to make a positive ID. What we do know for sure however was that it was a juvenile and an adult female, probably the mother. We remember them well as the juvenile put on quite a show for one of our boats, unexpectedly breaching (jumping) out of the water!

We haven't seen sperm whales so far today, but we have encountered a visiting pod of pilot whales and a few groups of common, bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins. There's a lot of very small calves around at the moment so we've really enjoyed watching these nursey groups as the little ones learn how to jump and swim alongside the adults! Here's just one of many, this individual is a baby spotted dolphin (although he hasn't had time to develop his spots yet!)...

2011-07-21T15:36:00.002Z

No sharks leaping onto our boats today! But there were elsewhere.. We've just heard about a great white shark jumping onto a small research boat in South Africa, click here for more information - a close encounter they weren't expecting!

sperm whales, dolphins and more dolphins

2011-07-20T16:40:00.006Z

The last couple of days we have had more great sightings out at sea. We have mostly been seeing dolphins recently, especially large groups of Atlantic spotted dolphins which have been putting on quite a show with their spectacular high leaps and social behaviour. We have also been seeing many bottlenose dolphins, pilot whales yesterday and sperm whales today. The following photos show some of the great moments of the past couple of days:

This afternoon: Sperm whale mother and calf bringing up their tails together to go on a dive together

Some pictures of our recent encounters with the very acrobatic Atlantic spotted dolphins

2011-07-19T15:24:00.006Z

Today we have some great photos to share with you from guests who have been out with us over the last few days.. First up is this great image of common dolphins taken by Igor Lebrun who was out watching whales and dolphins on one of our small boats:

Also, a big congratulations to Mark and Charlie Schenk who were recently married and spent their honeymoon on the island with us! Mark has kindly given us some of his photos from the last few days - we're hoping to be able to identify the sperm whales they saw once our marine biologists have a chance to work through our extensive photo catalogue of sperm whale tails. Each sperm whale has a unique tail, much like our fingerprints, so hopefully we'll soon be able to let Mark and Charlie know if we can identify the individual. If it is a whale we haven't seen before then they will be able to name it for us for future sightings! This applies to any individual we can't identify so please keep sending in any tail fluke photos you have from trips with us to futurismo.biologists@gmail.com.. You'll know there's a sperm whale out in the Atlantic ocean with a name you've chosen and we'll be able to keep building our photo ID catalogue which is essential if we want to continue learning about these incredible animals.

Mark also snapped the following great shots of various marine life. Firstly, a lovely photo of an Atlantic spotted dolphin with her calf - notice how spotted the mother is compared to the younger animal, the calves are born completely grey and develop spots as they age.

Below we have a Cory's shearwater - a species of shearwater that comes to the Azores to breed during the summer. We are lucky enough to see about 60% of their population throughout the islands and often see them out at sea, swooping close to the water's surface riding the wind.

And last but not least, a group of common dolphins swimming close to shore - sometimes we have to travel a few miles offshore to observe marine mammals, but as you can see in this case we didn't have to go far from land this time!

A big thank you to Igor, Mark and Charlie. Hope to see you again soon - and a big congratulations again to the newlyweds!

2011-07-18T14:02:00.007Z

So far today we have already seen 4 cetacean species: sperm whales, Atlantic spotted dolphins, common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. This was just during our morning trip. One of our boats is currently out for an afternoon whale watching tour, so we are hoping they will return with good news of more great sightings. The past few weeks have generally been very good in terms of sightings and weather. In fact, conditions have been so great that we have been out to sea every day for the past 5 weeks. The summer is a very good time of year for whale watching in the Azores, as this is when we get to see many sperm whale groups as well as many dolphins. This month so far we have already seen 8 species, including dolphins every day and sperm whales almost 80% of the days. This is also the the best time of the year to see many calves and swim with dolphins:

Swimming with bottlenose dolphins

Atlantic spotted dolphins - mother and calf

Bottlenose dolphins - mother and calf

2011-07-15T13:30:00.007Z

Despite some cloud on the island, our vigias (lookouts) have been spotting plenty of marine wildlife today where out at sea it's been much sunnier - firstly a group of sperm whales socialising at the surface, with this individual rolling over and spyhopping so we could see its lower jaw.

Sperm whales can have up to 26 teeth on either side of the lower jaw, each of which can meaure up to 25cm in length and weigh as much as a kilogram - here in the Azores many people still have teeth from the whaling days when whalers practised the art of scrimshaw, or engraving, on these huge teeth, to pass the time at sea.

The art of scrimshaw

Sperm whales diving this morning

Our swimming groups and whalewatchers also had encounters with common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. The bottlenose dolphins were especially friendly today - one group swam alongside our catamaran for quite some distance before we stopped to observe a sperm whale resting at the surface between its long dives.

2011-07-13T16:20:00.009Z

Today we had a beautiful start to our morning whale watching trips. When we departed the sun was already bright and warm and it didn't take us too long to come across a group of sperm whales just outside of Ponta Delgada. We got to see many high tails as the sperm whales went on their deep dives. From our sightings we could confirm that there were more than 10 sperm whales in this group. There were also plenty of dolphins around: Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins. The spotted dolphins were particularly curious about our boats, so we got to have some great close encounters from our boats, as well as from the water for our dolphin swimming trip. The following photos our from our great encounters this morning:

Watching a sperm whale in the morning sun

One of the many sperm whale tails we saw

Atlantic spotted dolphins up close

Our afternoon tours were just as good. Our swimmers spent their time swimming again with Atlantic spotted dolphins, while the whale watchers had also encountered spotted dolphins as well as sperm whales, Risso's dolphins, common dolphins and striped dolphins.

2011-07-12T15:42:00.003Z

Sperm whales, common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins have been sighted on our trips so far today..

Atlantic spotted dolphins

We're also keeping an eye on the news to see what is achieved at this year's annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission taking place this week. Seeing whales and dolphins in their natural habitat every day naturally makes us passionate about their welfare so we're hoping agreements are made to limit the whaling which still goes on in some countries. We have a very rich whaling history here in the Azores but we are very happy to have made the transition to sustainable whalewatching, in the hope that the more people learn about these incredible creatures the more motivated we will all be to protect them and our shared environment. English journalist and writer Philip Hoare visited the islands recently and raises some interesting questions here: http://gu.com/p/3vdf7 At Futurismo we believe in responsible whalewatching and hope that observing whales and dolphins in the wild inspires our guests to minimise their impact on the marine environment.

2011-07-11T15:06:00.003Z

After a cloudy start to the day, the skies have finally cleared and the sun has reappeared so our guests are out enjoying encounters with a group of sperm whales, some very fast moving striped dolphins, and pods of Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins.

A guest from last week has kindly sent in some pictures from his whalewatching trip during which we spent some time with a big group of pilot whales - see below, thank you to Magnus Ekberg! We are currently putting together a photo ID catalogue of pilot whales to better understand the animals we see in our waters, and having guests send in their pictures is really helpful to ensure we identify as many animals in the group as possible. Our photo ID catalogues currently include sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales. If you've been out whalewatching or dolphin swimming with us recently feel free to send in your pictures to futurismo.biologists@gmail.com - if the photo clearly shows the dorsal fin and/or tail flukes and any unusual marks we may be able to identify the animal you saw!

It's often possible to tell the diffence between male and female pilot whales by their dorsal fins - this looks like an adult male and smaller female swimming side by side

Another great photo from Magnus - a group of common dolphins bow-riding at the front of our catamaran Cetus

2011-07-06T17:20:00.003Z

Today was another one of those great summer days at sea in the Azores. In the morning we had a very successful swimming with dolphins trip with a very large group of Atlantic spotted dolphins while our whale watching tour saw sperm whales, common dolphins and striped dolphins. In the afternoon we had more encounters with sperm whales and common dolphins. The day ended perfectly as we were just about to enter the marina we came across a very social group of common dolphins close to shore just outside of Ponta Delgada. Here are some photos of this great final encounter for the day:

2011-07-05T16:58:00.006Z

Today was another great day for pilot whales, sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. Again it was another one of those really calm days and although the sky wasn't always clear we had some beautiful views of São Miguel island covered in patches of low cloud. Here are a couple of photos from today:

2011-07-04T16:22:00.002Z

A clip of how friendly one of our resident species, the short-beaked common dolphin, can be: http://vimeo.com/25905484 This is a great example of how much these dolphins love to bow-ride and swim alongside boats. Sometimes we wonder who is enjoying the trip more, us or them..

Our new catamaran - "CETUS"

2011-07-02T16:18:00.006Z

On the 29th of June Futurismo hosted an evening to inaugurate our new catamaran "CETUS". This new edition to our fleet is used to run sunset trips as well as whale and dolphin watching tours alongside our smaller boats. Our new catamaran allows a greater degree of comfort while travelling over the sea, so that a greater diversity of people have the opportunity to come whale watching with us. As well as comfort, the spacious upper deck and front viewing space of this boat offers excellent whale and dolphin watching opportunities and ease of maneuverability to give the best possible view. The ceremony involved presentation followed by a priest coming on board to bless the boat and cocktails and canapés to celebrate the occassion. It was a really proud moment for everybody involved to be able to achieve this stage that is a huge step forward for Futurismo. Throughout June catamaran has already had many sucessful whale watching trips, and we are looking forward to the many more to come in the future.

June sighting statistics

2011-07-02T09:08:00.002Z

June was another great month for whale watching in São Miguel. This month we saw 8 cetacean species:

Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis)

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis)

Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus)

Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhyncus)

Beaked whale (Mesoplodon sp.)

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)

This month is also turning out to be really good so far. Yesterday we already saw 8 species throughout the day!

2011-07-01T17:42:00.007Z

Eight species in a day! Today has been a great day out at sea - this morning we had a fantastic sighting of two fin whales, an unexpected species as usually large baleen whales like these are seen in the springtime when they are migrating north for the summer - our last sighting was back in May. During the trip we also saw sperm whales, common, striped, Atlantic spotted and bottlenose dolphins... six species in total!

Watching a passing fin whale

The afternoon trips were eventful - pilot whales joined the list of sightings and were especially friendly. A sperm whale calf seemed to be enjoying spending time with them at the surface while they swam over and around the individual rolling around playfully.

Sperm whale calf and pilot whales socialising

For our eighth cetacean species of the day, one of our dolphin swimming trips spent time with a large group of Risso's dolphins this afternoon.. and were temporarily joined by a flying fish which flew into one of the crew members aboard the boat - a closer encounter than most of our guests had expected!

Looking down on bow-riding Atlantic spotted dolphins

Big male sperm whale!

2011-06-30T16:52:00.006Z

The highlight of today was a very big sperm whale that was in the area. We had a few other sperm whales around too, but we ended up watching the big male between its deep long dives that lasted up to 73 minutes in duration. This morning we also saw common dolphins while in the afternoon we had a great encounter with a mixed group of striped dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins.

It's always an amazing experience to be able to see all these animals which unfortunately face a lot of threats today. One of these threats is entanglement in objects like nets, ropes and plastic. We like to help when we can by removing such items from the water. Today we pulled out a huge rope (shown in the picture below) which had a diameter of about 15cm, a length of more than 20m and a weight of at least 100kg! Eliminating such potential threats can make a huge difference so that we can continue to enjoy the dolphins, whale and other marine life.

Welcome to the Azorean summer

2011-06-28T15:08:00.003Z

We are well and truly experiencing the Azorean summer now! Over the past week we have had some really great hot days with calm seas that have been perfect for our whale watching and dolphin swimming tours. During this busy week we have had encounters with many sperm whales, pilot whales, Risso's dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, striped dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, turtles, and even a marlin. It was a particular bonus this week to see the Atlantic spotted dolphins arrive here on Friday for the first time this year. Now we can expect them to stick around for the rest of the summer while the water is nice and warm. We are looking forward to the many more great summer days to come.

2011-06-25T08:47:00.005Z

Another beautiful sunny day in São Miguel.. And we can know be sure that summer is here to stay as yesterday the Atlantic spotted dolphins arrived! We only see this species during the summer months when the water is warmer, usually 20ºC or above, so it's very exciting to have our first sighting.

We also had a reminder of how careful we should be with our litter when we recently came across an immature loggerhead turtle with a plastic bag wrapped around its flipper. Luckily for this individual we were able to stop and remove the rubbish but many turtles aren't so fortunate - rubbish in the oceans, especially plastic, can be incredibly dangerous to marine life. It was an opportunity to remind everyone on board of the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling our waste before this little guy was happily released back into the water to continue basking in the sunshine..

Sperm whale group socialising!

2011-06-22T16:50:00.004Z

Today was another great day at sea in São Miguel. Today we saw sperm whales, Risso's dolphins and common dolphins. The sperm whales were socialising throughout the day, so we got to see many of them on the surface together. Some of us were lucky to see one of the whales sticking its head out of the water (spyhopping) and another rolling on its side to show part of its tail above the water. In the morning we counted 7 whales side by side, and in the afternoon 4, including a very small calf. The calf looked like it was very young, possibly close to newborn which is when they are only 4 metres long. We also saw many common dolphin calves, including some that were recently born as they still had skin folds. Here are some photos of today's sperm whales:

Video of whale watching and dolphin swimming with Futurismo

2011-06-18T12:48:00.002Z

Have a look at this great video kindly shared by Toni Poikeljärvi, one of our recent whale watching customers. It's always great to receive such good feedback, thank you Toni!

2011-06-17T17:19:00.002Z

The real summer has finally arrived to the Azores! The past few days have been just perfect to go to sea. The sea has been calm and clear, the water is warming up and we have had some great sightings. Over the past few days we have been seeing sperm whales, pilot whales, common dolphins, striped dolphins, Risso's dolphins and many other species like loggerhead turtles, a leatherback turtle, sunfish, sharks and many bird species. The following photos are just a small sample of the many great sightings we have had off São Miguel island over the past few days.

Loggerhead turtle in crystal clear water

Pilot whale mother and calf

Sperm whale with two of our boats in the background

Pilot whale

Common dolphins bowriding with one of our semi-rigid boats

Striped dolphins

Discovering Sete Cidades in São Miguel Island

2011-06-10T12:57:00.002Z

These are some of the photos taken during one of our walking tours to Sete Cidades yesterday. As well as our whale watching and dolphin swimming tours we also run jeep safaris and walking tours to various parts of the island. Although the morning yesterday started off a bit foggy and drizzly it soon cleared up as we made our descent down to the twin lakes of Sete Cidades. Our clients got to enjoy the amazing views as we made our way around one of the lakes to a picnic site where we enjoyed a relaxed lunch out in nature. During the end of the afternoon we went to Ferraria which is a special place where volcanic activity heats the sea water so that you can bathe and relax in the natural pool along this part of the coast. This is just one of the many tour options that we offer to show people the beautiful islands of the Azores.

A beautiful day on the sea with 5 species of dolphins and whales

2011-06-07T17:05:00.006Z

Today was one of those beautiful days where the sea was perfectly flat and clear with barely any wind. It made for perfect conditions to spot and view dolphins and whales on our tours today. We were lucky that there were a lot of animals around today. In the morning we had a tour on our new catamaran "Cetus" and had some great encounters with sperm whales, pilot whales, rissos dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. On this tour we got to see many sperm whale females and calves as well as some amazing jumps from the risso's dolphins. The afternoon was just as good as on this tour we got to see an exeptionally high tail from one of our resident sperm whales, a very small pilot whale calf and a very friendly group of common dolphins swimming close to our boat in the crystal clear waters.

Some of the curious common dolphins swimming alongside our boat during the afternoon tour

Pilot whale calf swimming close to its mother

One of the sperm whales we sighted throughout the day

2011-06-06T14:58:00.007Z

Today was an exciting day for crew and passengers alike as we took one of our first trips on our new catamaran "Cetus"! With plenty of space to move around and the opportunity to view the animals from different viewing spots on the boat meant everyone had a fantastic chance to see the whales and dolphins.

Our coastal vigia spotted sperm whales not too far from shore, so we spent time with a group of females and calves as they socialised and dived to feed. One of our biologists Miranda took this great shot of one of the whales diving..

Other species included bottlenose, common and striped dolphins in the morning, and Cory's shearwaters flying alongside the boats. A great day to have one of our first days out on the water with "Cetus" - especially with the new open layout of the boat's bow so we can look down on the dolphins bow-riding.

May sighting statistics

2011-06-02T15:48:00.002Z

The month of May was another good one for whale watching in São Miguel. This month we saw 9 cetacean species:

Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis)

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Rissos dolphins (Grampus griseus)

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Blue whales (Baleanoptera musculus)

Sei whales (Baleanoptera borealis)

Fin whales (Baleanoptera physalus)

This month is also off to a good start so far. In the past 2 days we have already seen sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and Rissos dolphins!

2011-05-30T15:59:00.002Z

Today in São Miguel we were very lucky that it turned out to be one of those perfect days of great weather, clear calm seas and great sightings. Today we had encounters with sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins and common dolphins. The forecast for tomorrow is for another calm day, so we are looking forward to more sucessful whale watching tours.

Two mother and calf pairs of common dolphins swimming alongside our boat this afternoon

Common dolphin

One of the many sperm whales see today

Photos from some of our passengers last week

2011-05-28T16:19:00.003Z

Here are some photos kindly shared by two of our passengers from last week. The first photo of a sperm whale diving was taken by Ola Rönnerup (who also contributed the great bubble-blowing crab photos in our last blog post). The second photos of a blue whale sighted here last week were taken by Maarten Groot. We always appreciate feedback from our customers and are always very glad to receive photos from their experiences. Thank you to Ola and Maarten.

Sperm whale diving - Photo taken by Ola Rönnerup

Blue whale - Photo taken by Maarten Groot

Blue whale diving - Photo taken by Maarten Groot

These are just some of our sightings of what is turning out to be a great season. We are already having many sperm whales sightings, including today in both the morning and afternoon. We are looking forward to many more great tours to come.