Lots of tails from diving whales

Today we lost count of how many sperm whales we encountered. It was even more then yesterday when we also had blows everywhere. So, just like yesterday it was a fun and active day on the sea as we once again could go from whale to whale to whale and get lots of ID photos. We had, from our catamaran, a very special encounter as we started to see a sperm whale swimming around in circles, and then towards us. It was sticking its head our of the water and a quick lobtail, and then it took a poo. Most likely it was constipated and needed to release some.. hmm... It was an interesting meeting for us, as the whale later was resting and logging and eventually fluked as well. Apart from sperm whales, we also encountered Atlantic spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and loggerhead turtles.

Photos from today:

Sperm whale tail thrashing in the water while it did a poo

Two adults and a juvenile

Watching a sperm whale passing in front of our catamaran

A fluke right in front of us

Our catamaran Cetus watching a loggerhead turtle

Spotted dolphins in a mirror sea

Cetus with spotted dolphins

Spotted dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins, baby and a mother

Bottlenose dolphins

Atlantic spotted dolphins bowriding

 Common dolphins bowriding in front of our catamaran (you can see the reflection of the boat)

Blows everywhere!

A day with lots of activity on the ocean and blows everywhere. We had plenty of whale watching boats out there today, a Full Day whale watching and snorkeling in Vila Franca Islet, and swimming with dolphins. For the whale watchers it was a busy day with blows everywhere, making it a fun day going from whale to whale. The ocean was like a mirror and it was easy to spot the sperm whales. We didn't only encounter whales but also Atlantic spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins.

Photo from today:

Sperm whale head with a Cory's shearwater flying above

Another beautiful sperm whale fluke

Common dolphins (mother and calf)

Common dolphins

3 dolphin species in one day

Today we spent the day with 3 dolphins species: bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins and common dolphins. In both the morning and afternoon we enjoyed the company of several groups of these 3 species and our swimmers had some lovely encounters underwater also. As is common for this time of the year we also saw many baby dolphins of all species, including some newborns that were still wrinkly from being in the womb. During the day the wind picked up, but this made our time with the dolphins all the more exciting as they seemed to enjoy surfing the waves and leaping out of them. The day ended on a high note as we encountered a very well known resident group of bottlenose dolphins. The group is made up of about 60-70 individuals and includes two well known individuals called "Egípcio" and "Submarine" who both have unusual dorsal fins. We were lucky to see that Submarine had contributed a brand new baby dolphin to the group and she was proudly swimming alongside our zodiac boat with the small calf.

Photos from the morning:

Playful common dolphin calf leaping in front of our catamaran

Common dolphin calf leaping

The race is on! Atlantic spotted dolphins racing our catamaran as we are travelling

These Atlantic spotted dolphins can travelling at least 40 km/hr!

One of our zodiac boats outside of Ponta Delgada

Another one of our zodiac boats

Our boat "Song of Whales" used for our full day tour that includes a visit to Vila Franca Islet

Our catamaran passing Vila Franca Islet

Enjoying the views of Vila Franca Islet from aboard our catamaran

Photos from the afternoon:

A fun ride aboard our zodiac

The bottlenose dolphins were the highlight of this tour!

Spot the baby bottlenose dolphin!

Mother and calf

Adult and juvenile bottlenose dolphins leaping next to our boat

Sperm whales, our resident dolphins and spotted dolphins

It's another beautiful summer's day in the Azores with more summer cetacean sightings. In the morning we all encountered a group of sperm whales off the south coast of São Miguel Island. Our first boats to arrive to the area had to be a bit patient, as the whales were repeatedly going on shallow dives. However, after a while their behaviour changed and our catamaran arrived to the scene just in time to see an adult female sperm whale breaching (leaping out of the water) several times. A different whale became curious and spyhopped (stuck its head out of the water) and then swam near two of our boats. The final part of the show was the beautiful tails of the breaching whale and the spyhopping whale. We also encountered some common dolphins closer to shore to complete the morning.

In the afternoon we didn't have the luck to see the sperm whales, but we did encounter some wonderful Risso's dolphins. A small group of 15-20 individuals that was fairly curious for being Risso's dolphins. We also got a visit from a small flying fish as it flew into the boat. We had a quick look at it before it swam safe and free in the ocean again.

Photos from the morning:

Sperm whale head (the biggest head in the world) - notice the blowhole on the left tip

The first sperm whale fluke

Sperm whale head - this behaviour is called spyhopping

A sperm whale passing near one of our zodiac boats

Sperm whale

One of our zodiacs with common dolphins

Photos from the afternoon:

Risso's dolphins - adult and juvenile

Risso's dolphins

Risso's dolphin

The shadow of a Risso's dolphin

The small flying fish held by our captain before going back into its home - the ocean

A day with male sperm whales

Today we had male sperm whales around. Normally we see the females with their juveniles and their calves, but today we got to see some big bulls. Both in the morning and in the afternoon. They are impressive animals as they, at almost 15-16 meters in length, move so gracefully through the water. In the morning we had one of them stopping and turning towards us, starting to stick its head out of the water. It makes you feel a bit small. In the afternoon we managed to get to see tails as two of them went on a deep dive. We also encountered bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins, and our swimmers swam with lots and lots of dolphins. As they said "hundreds"!

Photos from today:

A male sperm whale head - one of the largest heads in the world

The two males logging

The two males logging

Bottlenose dolphin

A Cory's shearwater taking of

Photos from the catamaran in the afternoon:

Bottlenose dolphin - a scared individual

Spot the baby bottlenose!

Playful bottlenose dolphin

The bottlenose dolphins were just outside of Ponta Delgada marina today!

Watching a sperm whale from our catamaran top deck

Two male sperm whales

The best part of all - the fluke!