2 new species for the month

Today we added two new species to our list for the month of May: striped dolphins and sei whales. The striped dolphins were encountered in the morning, together with a familiar group of bottlenose dolphins (the resident group that includes and individual we call Bubblemaker) and some common dolphins. The whale encounter was in the afternoon. Although baleen whales are sighted frequently in the Azores in the spring, this year we haven't seen many sei whales, so today's encounter was a nice surprise for the crew. The 3 or 4 whales were very close to Ponta Delgada and we all got to see them very well, as you can see from our photos below:

Photos from the morning:

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins close to Ponta Delgada

Watching the well known dolphin we call Bubblemaker

Watching striped dolphins from our catamaran

Our zodiac boat with striped dolphins

A huge concentration of striped dolphins

Our boat Song of Whales

Loggerhead turtle

Photos from the afternoon:

Watching the sei whales from our catamaran

Sei whale head surfacing

A very distinct sei whale dorsal fin

Sei whale close to Ponta Delgada airport

Common dolphin

Common dolphin leaping in the big blue

A family of whale watchers

Whales and waves

Today we had at least three fin whales out there on the big ocean. We ended up with two curious adults showing of their power and beauty. They came close to the boats out there and we could see them very well, even thou we had some waves, we could see their bodies through the water and follow the light shadow (reminding us of their close relation to blue whales). We also got to see parts of the flukes sticking up as they were playing around. Such majestic animals. On the way out to the whales we passed common dolphins, by the whales we saw both a loggerhead turtle and a great skua. And our swimming boat had a great time with bottlenose dolphins.

Fin whale

Fin whale

Fin whale

Fin whale

Aboard Cetus

Great skua

Fin whales

Today we had many fin whales off the coast of São Miguel Island. It was great to be able to encounter them both in the morning and afternoon, especially after they have been absent for a few days. In the afternoon we encountered at least 4 or 5 big fin whales all travelling together and we had some really nice encounters with them every time they came up to the surface. In the morning we also encountered bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and a grey seal that has decided to make Ponta Delgada its home for a while.

Photos from the afternoon:

Dolphins and a sunfish

Today started in an interesting way for our zodiac clients. They came across an ocean sunfish - the largest bony fish in the world. Our swimming with dolphins clients actually got the rare opportunity of getting in the water and swimming with this strange looking creature. An experience we are sure they will not forget! As well as this weird and wonderful encounter today we also had plenty of nice encounters with two of our resident dolphin species: bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. The bottlenose dolphins sure did put on a great display as they were socialing with each other and often jumping out of the water. What a day!

Photos from today:

A playful bottlenose dolphin

Common dolphin

Our zodiac with bottlenose dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins at play

Ocean sunfish (Mola mola)

Ocean sunfish accompanied by fish

Enjoying views of the bottlenose dolphins from aboard our catamaran

Dolphin surf

Today we had a fun and wild morning on the sea. We started with only a few common dolphins and they soon disappeared. We continued slowly and suddenly we had a group of about 100 common dolphins, with lots of newborns playing around in the waves. We spend some time with them and got to see some wonderful jumps as well. Later on we encountered a small group of bottlenose dolphins but on the way back, just outside the marina we encountered a second and larger group that were feeding on fish under our boat. We also visited Vila Franca Islet and got to see a loggerhead turtle. 

Photos from today:

Common dolphins

Common dolphins

Aboard Cetus

Bottlenose dolphin having a look

Watching bottlenose dolphins

Watching bottlenose dolphins

Our marine biologist Sara showing images of the dolphins