04.03.2020 – Captured

After enabling me to make some beautiful photos of some decorative Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) aboard our zodiac this morning, our camera was picked up this afternoon to be shipped to Porto for some maintenance. For the duration of our camera’s maintenance, all memorable moments for our blog posts will be captured by my GoPro. These little cameras can work wonders too and are especially handy in making underwater pictures of the animals which one of our guests on board the Stenella had the pleasure of taking. Underwater videos including dolphins are rarely silent, the animals squeaks, squawks and whistles ring through the ocean as they gather near our boats so anyone who manages to get some footage can expect a wonderful surprise!

Recording the animals aboard the Ribeira Brava is a little harder but, funnily enough, the encounters are most spectacular when cameras are down. Our traditional boat managed sightings with Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and common dolphins. Working without the camera allowed me to appreciate the company of the animals and enjoy the sightings a lot more with my guests, which is always wonderful! While I didn’t manage to make any underwater videos of the animals, I did manage some nice wide angle shots of everyone aboard our picturesque traditional boat.

Anyone curious about dolphin sounds beneath the surface should check out Lobosonda’s Underwater sounds and Below series on our social media pages on Instagram and Facebook. Sightings with cetaceans are simply wonderful both above and below the surface..  

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava 

14:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

Stenella 

10:00 Short-beaked common dolphins