01.03.2022 – Lessons in hunting

Our trip this morning started off with a sighting right at our doorstep. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were busy hunting right in front of the sandy beaches of Calheta and were surrounded by Yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis). What prey they were after remains to be discussed but an Atlantic flying fish (Cheilopogon melanurus) that suddenly darted out of the water and quickly hovered away with a handful of gulls on its tail, allowed us to assume that the dolphins were after the same fish.

We definitely knew what the Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) were after further offshore. The dispersed group was split into hunting parties all pursuing Halfbeaks (Belone belone), a pursuit which is always characterised by the same behaviour where coordinated efforts of the group huddle the fish into a tight group before one dolphin leaps high above the surface to deliver the coup de grace. The common dolphins even had a few calves in tow, who were probably in the middle of one of their many first hunting classes provided by the more experience adults in the school.

The peacefully logging Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) that we met in between the two previously mentioned sightings had just finished their morning hunt, judging by the hopeful-looking marine birds in their vicinity. These summer dolphins turn up in small groups at this time of the year only to return to us in the summer months in massive pods that can contain up to 200 animals. While we look forward to experiencing these larger groups of spotted dolphins in the summer, we are eternally grateful for winter days like today!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Stenella

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins