Sunday | Whale Watching Azores

Today we went to the east of São Miguel Island to see whales and dolphins. We started with fin whales, what looked to be an adult and a juvenile travelling together. We had a brief visit with them, but our ultimate goal was to reach the sperm whales which our lookout had spotted further to the east. We had a really nice look at several different individuals that were coming and going to the surface. To top of this fantastic tour we still had a group of playful common dolphins to see on our way back to Ponta Delgada.

Common Dolphin

Zodiac boat

Zodiac boat

Zodiac boat and common dolphins

Zodiac boat and common dolphins

Fin whale

Fin whale

Sperm whales

Sperm whales

Photos by: Miranda van der Linde

Saturday | Whale Watching Azores

During this morning's tour the dolphins were in feeding mode again. In the case of the bottlenose dolphins, feeding often takes place at depth so when they are searching for food they spend the majority of their time going on dives. This was the case this morning, but still we could enjoy seeing them at the surface every time they came up between dives. In the case of the common dolphins, most of the feeding happens at the surface so that we sometimes get to see the action from our boats. That is what happened this morning, as we could see some of the needlefish that the common dolphins (and also gulls) were feeding on around our boat.

Common Dolphin

 Common Dolphin

 Common Dolphin

Yellow-legged gulls and common dolphins hunting

Bottlenose dolphins

Yellow-legged gulls fighting over a fish

Photos by: Miranda van der Linde

Friday | Whale Watching Azores

Today's tours were all about seeing some feeding action from our resident common dolphins. During both our tours today we could see the activity, as the common dolphins were herding fish into baitballs at the surface. The gulls were taking advantage of the dolphins' intelligence by diving down to grab some of the fish. We got to see the feeding really well and we even managed good enough photos to see that the prey were needlefish (Belone belone).

Needlefish (Belone belone)

Whale Watching Azores tour 

Common dolphin

Whale Watching Azores tour 

Common dolphin

Common dolphin

Whale Watching Azores tour 

Thursday Morning | Whale Watching

This morning was super good!  A sunshine day and with many dolphins.

We saw three different groups of bottlenose dolphins. Before we returned, we went to Vila Franca do Campo Islet. One of the most enchanted locations, classified as a natural reserve of São Miguel Island! 

Photos by Mariana Silva

Bottlenose dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins

Seagull

Vila Franca Islet

Wednesday Morning | Whale and Dolphin Watching

Today the sea was amazing! We saw some common dolphins and a big group of bottlenose dolphins with juveniles. We also saw a Gannet! This is one of the biggest bird species that pass by Portuguese waters, and here in the Azores it's even more rare to spot them. They are characterized by the big wings with a pattern on the end of them and their yellowish head. It was a pleasant morning!

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin

Gannet

Gannet

January 2018 Sighting and statistics

This year we are off to a great start with our whale and dolphin sightings here in São Miguel. We operate tours year-round, which is possible here due to the presence of resident species all throughout the year. As well as our residents we also routinely encounter a variety of migratory and occasional species, both during the “high season” and now during the “low season”. During the first month of 2018 we already encountered 7 different whale and dolphin species!

There are not many places in the world where you can encounter so many different species during all months of the year.

Our statistics from January show that the most encountered species was our resident:

• common dolphin (67% sighting frequency);
• bottlenose dolphin (38%)
• sperm whale (29%). 

One more dolphin species was encountered (Risso’s dolphin (10%)) as well as three other whale species (fin whale (14%), humpback whale (10%) and beaked whale (5%)).

Now we are looking forward to seeing what the month of February will bring us.

By: Miranda van der Linde

Friday Morning | Whale and Dolphin Watching

Today we saw Fin whales. There were three of them and they seemed to be two adults and a juvenile. They were always together. They were always together. Even when they were on the surface they seemed synchronized. :)
During our tour we also saw common dolphins.
Photos by Mariana Gardoki

Common dolphin 

Fin whales

Fin whales

Fin whales

Thursday Morning | Whale and Dolphin Watching

What a beautiful day! We saw common dolphins and today, for the first time this year, we also saw a Portuguese Man-o-War.
In the end of our tour, we pass close to a fishing boat. 
Photos by Mariana Silva 

Common doplphin

Common doplphins

Common doplphins

 Portuguese Man-o-War

Fishing boat

Tuesday Morning | Whale and Dolphin Watching

Today we had the visit of the bottlenose dolphins surfing the waves. We also saw a Sperm whale. The sea was a bit wavy but it´s always worth to find them. 😊

Photos by David Rodrigues

Whale watching 

Sperm Whale

Bottlenose dolphins

Friday - Morning | Whale and Dolphin Watching

This morning we were incredibly lucky to encounter a humpback whale feeding on fish among a group of playful bottlenose dolphins. When we approached the whale for the first time it came out of the water with its mouth wide open to take in a school of small fish. The bottlenose dolphins were swimming right around the whale, possibly to take some fish too, or maybe to watch the whale just as we were. At one point the whale even came close to our boat to watch us for a while, making us feel incredibly lucky to have this experience that doesn't happen every day. During our tour we also encountered a nice group of common dolphins, giving us a total of 3 different species to enjoy.

Photos by ©Miranda van der Linde​

Humpback whale open its mouth to feeding fish

Humpback whale

Bottlenose dolphin

Common dolphins

Bottlenose dolphin

Common dolphins

Humpback whale Spray 

Common dolphins

Bottlenose dolphin