Lots of different animals

Today we sighted five different species throughout the day. In the morning we encountered sperm whales with a new born baby by their side. Some of our boats also encountered striped dolphins and common dolphins. In the afternoon we sighted a large group of pilot whales also with new born babies and later on a group of bottlenose dolphins making babies. Its always fun to see new born babies but also to see how they make the babies as we got some great jumps!

Photos from the morning sperm whales:

Photos from the afternoon:

Pilot whale

Pilot whales

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins

Magic moments with pilot whales, sperm whales and dolphins

Today was another beautiful summers day that is best explained by our nice photos that we got during our tours. During the day we encountered a group of our resident sperm whales. In the morning we managed to see some close up tails of an adult and juvenile diving. In the afternoon we didn't see them as close but we some them nonetheless and we also had a fantastic encounter with a large group of at least 60 pilot whales. They were so calm and curious and great to watch as they came close to our boats and we had great light and bright blue water. As for the smaller dolphins, we also encountered common dolphins today and from one of our swimming boats some bottlenose dolphins in the morning. See for yourself some of these magic moments from our best photos of the day below:

Photos from the morning:

Our first sperm whale of the day

Dive sequence of an adult and juvenile sperm whale going on a dive

Common dolphin surfacing

Common dolphin with a powerful blow

Photos from the afternoon:

Our zodiac boat with pilot whales

Pilot whales

Sperm whales

Common dolphin

Our boat Song of Whales

Familiar fins

Summer is still in the air and so are some great summer cetacean sightings. In the morning we had a familiar group of sperm whales off São Miguel island. It was the group that we encounter the most in this part of the Azores, the group that includes a sperm whale we call "Orca" because of the pale saddle patch on her back that reminds us of the saddle patch of an orca. We didn't get to see any tails from the several whales of the group that we encountered, but we did get to see them well around our boats and we could recognise who is who from the unique marks on their bodies and dorsal fins. Throughout the day we also enjoyed some really nice dolphin encounters. We had bottlenose dolphins close to shore (just a few hundred metres off the rocks in the morning) and again it was a familiar group in which we recognised several individuals from their unique dorsal fins. In the afternoon we also encountered a lovely calm group of common dolphins that kept coming close to our boat to bowride in the crystal clear waters right beneath us. It was a magical moment to see these dolphins so clearly around us and be able to see some of their babies from this season.

Video of the common dolphins bowriding in the afternoon

Photos from the morning:

Watching the sperm whale we call Orca

Two sperm whales side by side

A bottlenose dolphin watching us

Bottlenose dolphin adult and juvenile pair

Aboard 4 ventos

Photos from the afternoon:

Bottlenose dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins

Common dolphins bowriding

Common dolphins bowriding

Common dolphin

In the company of cetaceans

In the company of cetaceans is the best way to spend a Monday. We started with bottlenose dolphins surfing the waves close to the shoreline. We recognised them right away as one of them is slowly getting known as "Lady". We don't know if this dolphin is a male or a female, but it just look so "lady-like" and sweet as it always looks back at us. After the bottlenose dolphins we tried a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins but soon we left for a blow. Our lookout spotted whales. It was a bit difficult in the waves and it took some time to find them. But if you don't try you will never see. We ended up with five beautiful sperm whales close to us, and it felt like they were enjoying our company staying around us. Even if they were doing shallow dives we could track their shadows close to us. Always just 50 to 100 m away, probably scanning us all the time with their sonar. A magical moment. And one of our boats also encountered common dolphins.

Photos from today:

"Lady" in the background and a friend

Bottlenose dolphin

Sperm whale

Sperm whales

One of our boats Song of Whales

Far west whales

Today we had to travel far west to see a sperm whale family. In the beginning they were avoiding boats and doing shallow dives but in the end of our encounter they accepted us and stayed close to our side, rolling around and we got some parts of the tails. Normally we use the tails to identify the individuals but we got no tails today, but we can also use the dorsal fins and two of the adults had some really good pigmentation spots that we can use (see photos). And one of our boats also got to see common dolphins.

Photos from our catamaran:

All five sperm whales together. Can you see them?

First to the left there is a calf, then one adult, in the middle two juveniles together (we can only see the two dorsal fins) and far right is the final one, but she is underwater (only some white waves from her)

One of the adults with good dorsal marks

The other adult with good marks, and parts of a fluke sticking up from a juvenile rolling around

One young sperm whale having a closer look

Elusive whales

Today we were reminded of the patience that is often involved in whale watching. We had whales around in the morning and afternoon, but during both tours they proved to be difficult to actually watch. In the morning our lookout spotted a male sperm whale and our catamaran arrived to the area just as the whale lifted its tail to go on a deep dive. We saw it from far away as we were just arriving to the area, so we decided to try to see it again the next time he would come up to the surface. We stayed nearby and looked and waited, and after exactly 45 minutes, which is the average dive time of a sperm whale, our biologist spotted a blow and off we went to investigate. We saw it two more times and realised it was a baleen whale, probably a fin whale. This whale was only coming up for one breath per surfacing and was very unpredictable, so all we ended up seeing was a few blows and a part of the body at the surface. In the afternoon we returned to sea and went out to try to see the sperm whale again. Our lookout had spotted him to the west and he led us to the area. We tried our best to try to find this whale but unfortunately it wasn't possible this time. Nevertheless, during both tour we did have some lovely encounters with the whales' younger cousins, the dolphins. In the morning we encountered both common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins and in the afternoon a couple of groups of common dolphins. We never really know what to expect with nature. 

Photos from today:

Bottlenose dolphins

Watching bottlenose dolphins from our catamaran

Common dolphins wave surfing

A playful common dolphin