False killer whales, blue whales and fin whales

Best morning ever! We had a blue whale (maximum size 33 meters) passing just under our zodiac boat (8 meters), normally blue whales are a little shy but this one was really curious. After we went for a small pod of false killer whales that were very active on the surface and out of the blue, some common dolphins join us. At a certain point, the false killer whales reached the blue whale from the beginning and unfortunately, they were trying to hit
the whale. One of the preys of false killer whales is whales. To end this beautiful morning we encounter a very big pod of bottlenose dolphins that were always around the boat. In the afternoon we saw a blue whale swimming really fast, a small pod of bottlenose and common dolphins and we still add one more species to the list! Two fin whales side by side and another one a little bit further away!

Blue whale blow

Blue whale

Blue whale fin

Blue whale 

Cory's shearwater

Loggerhear turtle

False killer whale

Bottlenose dolphins jumping

Bottlenose dolphins juvenile and adults

Bottlenose dolphins close to shore

Jumping bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphin

The perfect spring day in the company of marine wildlife

Today the ocean looks like a mirror, reflecting everything at the surface. Calm and still. We started our tour with a big group of bottlenose dolphins and then our lookout send us to see several fin whales; they were very calm and looked like they were just there floating and a bit curious with the boats. After this encounter we had a very rare sighting, Blainville’s beaked whales, this is a very shy species. On our way back to Ponta Delgada we also got to see some common dolphins swimming in the direction of Cory's shearwaters that were feeding. (The smell of the fish was super intense!).

In the afternoon we barely got out of the harbor, all the animals were so close to the shore! We saw some bottlenose dolphins bow-riding our boats, and one of them had half of its dorsal fin, which made him unique for us. After the dolphins, we saw a fin whale and a blue whale. When we were leaving the blue whale, another one joined to say goodbye to all of us. The perfect spring day in the ocean.

Cory's shearwaters close to our boat

Fin whale blowholes

Fin whale dorsal

Cory's shearwaters

Beaked whale

Fin whales

Blue whale

The three resident dolphins and the two biggest animals of the history

In the tour of the morning we had the luck to be with the three resident dolphin species from Azores, bottlenose, common and Risso‘s dolphin and also we shared a fantastic moment with two blue whales, the biggest species in history. Then in the afternoon tour we had a lovely sighting with a group of bottlenose dolphins that were really sociable and then we went to a area of the second biggest species of the world, the fin whale.

Blue whale blow

Blue whale dorsal

Blue whale rolling on its side

Bottlenose dolphin doing people watching

Bottlenose dolphin

Common dolphin

Common dolphins

Common tern

Fin whale

Fin whale

Fin whale fin

Risso's dolphins

Risso's dolphins

Risso's dolphins

Blue whale day and a shining one!

This morning we were out with the two biggest animals in the world they were in the
same area, a blue whale and a fin whale. Moreover our resident species
bottlenose dolphins were seen by our zodiacs.

Then in the afternoon we went out again, and we shared a nice moment with a blue whale! Really impressive, the whale even showed the tail, a behavior quiet rare from this species. After the blue whale, our boats went to the area where the bottlenose dolphins were. Again, a really sociable and playful behavior. So, as it is said in the title another blue day here in São Miguel with a shining sun. Also the boats from swim with dolphins spotted a group of Risso‘s dolphins, a resident species from these water, but they didn't let us swim with them, they used to keep the distance with the boats and we respect them.

Blue whale

Blue whale tail

Bottlenose dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins from our boat

Jumping Bottlenose dolphin

Fin whale

Common Tern

Orcas in São Miguel island for the first time this year!

Today we had an amazing surprise! We had an incredible encounter with orcas (also known as Killer whales) in São Miguel island. This is not a species we see very often so we get really excited when they appeared! Today’s group was a male with several females and a juvenile, we will check with our previous catalogue to see if we have any much! In the Azores we never know when they will show up. 

Orca is the largest species of dolphins that exists and they live in well-organized and complex social structures within their podwhich often consists of large groups of family members that can span several generations. In fact the social structure of killer whales is considered one of the most stable social structures of any animal species and is sometimes compared to the cultures of humans and elephants. Besides Orcas we also saw blue and fin whales in São Miguel Island.

In Pico Island we also saw two Fin Whales and two females sperm whales with their calves. It’s an amazing start of May!

Photos by Marina Gardoki e Rui Santos

Watching orcas in São Miguel Island tour

Orcas in São Miguel Island tour

Orcas in São Miguel Island tour

Orcas in São Miguel Island tour

Orcas in São Miguel Island tour

Orcas in São Miguel Island tour

Fin whale in Pico Island

Fin whale in Pico Island tour

Sperm whale tail in Pico Island tour

Common dolphin in Pico Island tour