Jumping whales and dolphins

Today was a day of action. The sperm whales in the morning were jumping several times giving us and our clients a fantastic memory for life. We also had a great time with bottlenose dolphins. In the afternoon we tried our best to see the whales again, we saw one breaching far away but we never encountered them. But we got to see over 100 Atlantic spotted dolphins feeding together with Cory's shearwaters.

Photos from today:

Sperm whale breaching

Sperm whale tail

Part of the sperm whale group together

Bottlenose dolphin wave surfing

Atlantic spotted dolphin jumping

Atlantic spotted dolphin

Breaching beaked whales and a big Sperm Whale

Despite the bad weather today we had many different specie encounters during the day. We saw many different dolphin species: common, bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins.
We also saw breaching beaked whales and a big Sperm whale male!


Some photos of our trips:

 Sperm Whale diving

 Common dolphin

 

 

Northern dolphins

Today we cancelled our tours on the South coast as the wind was too strong and the waves high. So, we drove around and went out whale watching on the North side. Our lookout did see sperm whales but our boats never encountered them. We split up in different directions to search a big area but no luck with the whales. We were really lucky on the other hand with the dolphins, we saw first a group of 4 big bottlenose dolphins, maybe some tough males searching for females and later a realy playful group of Atlantic spotted dolphins. Our swimmers also had a good time with them. And as a cherry on top of the cake many of our clients spotted flying fish.

Photos from our tour today:

Three out of four bottlenose dolphins

And nr. 4 :)

Atlantic spotted dolphin

Baby spotted dolphin surfacing

Cory's shearwater

Our friendly sperm whales and dolphins

Today was a beautiful sunny day in São Miguel and we had some great summer sightings out on the water. During the day we had one of our familiar resident groups of sperm whales a few miles out of Ponta Delgada where we depart from. In the morning from our catamaran we encountered an adult we know since 2012 and she was together with a newborn calf. In the afternoon we encountered two different individuals from the family same group. We also had some great encounters with some of our resident dolphin species throughout the day. In both the morning and afternoon we encountered common dolphins that were very calm and curious, and in the afternoon we ended the tour nicely with a small group of bottlenose dolphins. What a beautiful day!

Photos from the morning:

Sperm whale adult (left) with a newborn calf (right)

The adult going on a dive

The baby sperm whale

Watching common dolphins

Common dolphins

Photos from the afternoon:

A sperm whale we call Peregrine, with a distinct white patch on its back

Peregrine going on a dive

Sperm whale with Ponta Delgada in the background

Another sperm whale tail

Jumping common dolphin

Watching the playful common dolphins from aboard our catamaran

Bottlenose dolphins

Sperm whales have returned

We started the day close to Ponta Delgada, where our lookout had spotted some sperm whales. Nearby there were also some Atlantic spotted dolphins, so we enjoyed their company while we waited for the sperm whales to return from a dive. We didn't have to wait long as the whales came up one by one, spread out across a large area. We went between the whales, trying to see different individuals as they were coming up only for brief periods and slipping under to go on shallow dives. We counted 4 different sperm whales during this morning tour. In the afternoon the whales were still out there, again spread out and coming up at different times, and this time after a bit of waiting we got to see two tails from these sperm whales. It's nice to have the whales back, after not seeing them for a few days. In the afternoon we also encountered a very social group of common dolphins close to shore, so today it was whales and dolphins for all!

Photos from the morning:

Sperm whale at the surface

Another sperm whale

Watching Atlantic spotted dolphins

Photos from the afternoon:

Sperm whale preparing to dive

The tail!

A sperm whale travelling fast

Juvenile common dolphin surfacing next to an adult

A playful common dolphin

Enjoying the show

Common dolphins

Dolphins surfing the waves

Another adventure at the sea today! For the last few days the wind has been blowing along the coast, making our tours more wild and adventurous. Some of the animals that we have seen these days are enjoying the waves, giving us a show!

Today we have seen different family groups of dolphins from two different species: common and bottlenose dolphin.

The group of common dolphins was really fast, breaking the surface with their dorsal fins... In the same area, searching for food we had Cory's shearwaters. About 60% of the world’s population of Cory’s Shearwaters nests and breeds in the Azores. This year we are seeing many groups of this bird during our tours, they feed on the same species of fish than the common dolphins so we see them together in the same area really often.

Dolphins are well known for their agility and playful behavior and today we could see   it by ourselves. The group of bottlenose dolphins was surfing the waves really fast, it looked like they enjoyed swimming fast! 

Photos from today:

Common dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins surfing the waves

Common dolphin breaking the surface

Bottlenose dolphins swimming fast

Dolphins of the Azores

Again the dolphins made our tours. In the morning we set out to encounter the different species that our lookout had spotted from shore. Close to the marina there was a small group of bottlenose dolphins as well as common dolphins almost in the same area. The bottlenose dolphins turned out to be 3 familiar individuals from a group we refer to as "Bubblemaker's group". Our swimming clients went between both species as they were so nearby each other. Our whale watching boats set out further to the west where our lookout had found some Atlantic spotted dolphins. We did manage to find some from aboard our catamaran, although a larger group of bottlenose dolphins stole the show. These dolphins were very active, leaping out of the water and really making a splash and memories for our clients.

Photos from today:

Bottlenose dolphins

Cory's shearwater

Friendly dolphins

Our wonderful resident dolphins were extra playful today in the waves, both the common dolphins and the bottlenose dolphins. We had Bubblemaker with family around so we could say "hello" to them, as it was a while since we saw them during whale watchers, but our swimmers have been swimming with them. We saw several groups of common dolphins, more or less everywhere as we encountered several groups. 

Photos from today:

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins

Watching a bottlenose dolphin

Watching bottlenose dolphins

Common dolphins

Common dolphins