29.04.2023 – Saturday mood
May 5, 2023
02.05.2023 – Waiting
May 9, 2023
Southeast winds were predicted for today, a wind direction that doesn’t exactly favour finding animals for our trips. Ocean conditions, however, remained stable for the morning and allowed our boats beautiful sightings of Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhychus) and a huge pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). We had marvellous sightings with both species and this left our team hoping for similar conditions in the afternoon.
As predicted, the wind got worse in the afternoon but only further offshore and this allowed our spotter to follow the movement of two Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) along the coast. We rarely have sightings with these charismatic baleen whales, whose white flippers give it an almost angelic appearance. The whales also surfaced right in front of the coastal stretch between Madalena do Mar and Ponta do Sol which, (ironically), is frequently referred to as “Anjos”. Apart from their white flippers and belly, Humpback whales also have a characteristic white pigmentation on their tail, the grade of which acts as a characteristic used for identification purposes. The whale tails are categorised between 1 (high white pigmentation) and 5 (high dark pigmentation) and further markings are then used to recognise individual whales.
For now it is assumed that Humpbacks simply use Madeira as a pitstop but we look forward to future research indicating how these marine mammals move through Macaronesia and what role our beautiful archipelago plays as a habitat.
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales
13:30 Humpback whales
Stenella
09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales
13:30 Humpback whales
