Humpback whales, fin whales and dolphins

It's another great day in São Miguel with whales and dolphins everywhere! The humpback whale we encountered yesterday was still around, very close to Ponta Delgada in the morning. One of our boats went to see this whale while others headed offshore to see a different humpback whale. When we returned to land later we received the exciting news that a whale watching guide working in Iceland encountered the very same whale in northeast Iceland in July last year (this can be seen by comparing photos of the underside of the tail which is unique with different marks for each individual). It's exciting to see that our photo-ID research is helping us to learn more about these endangered animals that we still know very little about. In the past we have also matched humpback whales with Cape Verde and Norway, with the help of researchers that maintain the NAHWC (North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue).

As for other species, today we also had some fin whales around in the morning, although they were a bit more difficult to watch than the humpback whales. Our boats that went offshore managed to see two different fin whales. We also had a nice encounter with a small group of bottlenose dolphins inshore that our swimming with dolphins clients spent the morning with, having some memorable underwater encounters. 

In the afternoon we resighted the humpback whale and once again we got a true show from this playful and curious indiviual. Check out the photos of the whale lobtailing, the whale was also tailbreaching and pec-fin slapping. Then we set of to see fin whales, although they were less playful then the humpback whale. We also encountered bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins and we ended with a last glimpse at the humpback whale.

Photos from the morning:

One of the two humpback whales from today, close to Ponta Delgada

Humpback whale diving - the one that was sighted in Iceland last year

Humpback whale curving its back to dive

Humpback whale with its long pectoral fins spread out

Watching the humpback whale from aboard our boat "Song of Whales"

Fin whale

Watching bottlenose dolphins

Curious bottlenose dolphins

Our swimming boat with the bottlenose dolphins

Photos from the afternoon:

Humpback whale lobtailing

An amazing day with 7 whale and dolphin species!

Today's whale and dolphin watching tours in São Miguel were difficult to beat. We have an incredible list of whale and dolphin encounters - a total of 7 species throughout the day! In the morning we started with Risso's dolphins, followed by striped dolphins, a fin whale, a humpback whale and an incredible encounter with false killer whales to end the morning. In the afternoon we added two different dolphin species to our list - common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins, and again we encountered the same humpback whale from the morning and some fin whales, including two incredibly curious ones travelling together that approached one of our boats. Everyone had slightly different experiences of this cetacean filled day, but all of them were great ones that will leave lasting memories. Our photos below tell just some of the stories from the day. Check back later here on on our Facebook page for some videos that our crew also made during the day.

Photos from the morning:

Humpback whale diving

The other perspective

Humpback whale (notice the bright blue colour from the white pectoral fin seen through the water)

Fin whale surfacing to breathe

One of our boats with the fin whale

Risso's dolphin

Risso's dolphin face peaking out behind the dorsal fin of its mother

Striped dolphin leaping high

One of our boats with a false killer whale

Jumping false killer whale

Part of the group of false killer whales

False killer whale surfacing

One of our boats on a perfectly calm ocean

Photos from the afternoon:

Bottlenose dolphins (Bubblemaker's group)

Humpback whale head (note the bumps called tubbercles)

Humpback whale curving its back to dive

The tail of the humpback whale

A curious fin whale passing in front of our boat

Two fin whales side by side diving together



Bottlenose dolphins fromthe swimming


Bubblemaker


Loggerhead turtle

Just like the great start, we had a beautiful end to the day

Whales every day in São Miguel

Despite different weather conditions throughout this month, here in São Miguel we have encountered whales every day and every tour that we have been on during April. This morning we rode out on a wavy ocean, but nevertheless the whales were out there waiting for us. There were fin whales all around, we really can't way how many were out there because we aren't sure. Our boats spread out in the area, encountering the different fin whales as they came up to the surface. Like yesterday photography was difficult due to the waves, but from one of our boats we got lucky in the end, just when we tried to leave the area the beautiful fin whale (in the photographs below) surfaced right next to us. As well as the whales we also encountered a small group of common dolphins inshore and some loggerhead turtles were seen from the different boats we had out on the water.

Photos from today:

A loggerhead turtle with algae on its back