Blue whales, fin whales, dolphins and a seal

Today we had an amazing day full of different species. We started with common dolphins in the morning followed by bottlenose dolphins. We had some lovely time with the dolphins and a loggerhead turtle, but we ended the morning with a happy surprise of a grey seal! A very rare sighting so far from the continental coast. In the afternoon, so seal, but we got to see a blue whale chased by what we thought were two fin whales. Looking back at our photos (see below) later we realised there were actually 3 fin whales together with the blue whale! In the afternoon we also had an amazing show from bottlenose dolphins jumping high! What a day.

Photos from the morning:

Common dolphin jumping

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin approaching

The grey seal "Vitulina"

Photos from the afternoon:

Show time!

Egípcio with friends!

The eye of a fin whale

The distinct dorsal fins of the three different fin whales we encountered

And the grand final: blue whale!

The blow of the mighty blue whale

Humpback whales in São Miguel, Azores

Today we had two humpback whales visiting us. In the morning we encountered both whales together, very close to the coastline not far from Ponta Delgada airport. In the begining they appeared to be an adult and juvenile, but later we could see that what we though was a juvenile was a small adult, while the other one was a very large adult. Perhaps a male and female travelling together? They pair did not stay together for long, after a some time they split up. We tracked the bigger one for a while as it headed offshore, while the smaller one stayed closer to the coastline. In the afternoon we caught up with the smaller humpback whale again as it was still near the island, further to the west. Several times this humpback whale showed its tail so that we could get ID photos for our catalogue. Later it was determined that this same humpback whale was photographed off Pico Island by researcher Lisa Steiner. We compare our humpback whale ID photos to the NAHWC (North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue) to try to learn more about the movements of the small population of humpback whales of the eastern north Atlantic Ocean. As far as dolphins go, today we enjoyed the company of a group of bottlenose dolphins. In both the morning and afternoon they were in the humpback whale area, so close that we could often see both species at the same time. 

Photos from the morning:

Photos from the afternoon:

Dolphins and rainbows

Today we had a morning of dolphin and rainbows. Both common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins and at one moment together. So we started with the bottlenose dolphins and later common dolphins but we started to see some larger individuals among them and they were three bottlenose dolphins playing around together. In the afternoon we had only bottlenose dolphins but two lovely groups. We started with one group but we thought it was to many boats around for just a few dolphins so we left to search for a second group that we had all by ourselves. we had Bubblemaker around but today his entire family was blowing bubbles. 

Bubblemaker

A day of fin whales

Today was a fin whale day in São Miguel. In the morning we encountered 4 fin whales and in the afternoon 3 different ones. All of our whale watchers were lucky to have some really nice encounters with these huge whales. First thing in the morning when our zodiac boats were with the whales they had their typical diving and surfacing behaviour. Later when our catamaran was with them they started travelling east, impressing us with their power and fast speeds that they can reach - their speed is the reason for their nickname, the greyhounds of the sea! There were also dolphins around in the morning; just a few common dolphins and a nice group of bottlenose dolphins that our swimmers had a nice time with in the water. In the afternoon the swimming with dolphins experience was even more wonderful. Once again it was the bottlenose dolphins that our swimmers were with and this time they were exceptionally curious. Some of our lucky clients got some great underwater photos as they dolphins were repeatedly approaching them very close! The whale watchers in the afternoon started out with the fin whales, which were just as beautiful as the ones encountered in the morning. On the way back they also encountered the bottlenose dolphins to put a nice end to the day. As well as whales and dolphins today we also encountered several loggerhead turtles and some keen watchers also spotted flying fish. 

Photos from the morning:

Photos from the afternoon:

A familiar fin that belongs to a bottlenose dolphin we call "Egípcio"

Today we saw many different dorsal fins the ones we have been seeing during the past months. It's nice to see a different yet still familiar resident group visiting São Miguel!

A juvenile surfacing next to its mother

Our boat "Song of Whales"