07.11.2024 – A bit of guesswork

Our coastal Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), like the ones we had today, don’t always interact with us. But today we were lucky and the animals were in the mood to interact with us. A Cory’s shearwater sailed elegantly over the smooth surface of the sea.

After that, there was a bit of guesswork. Drumond, our spotter, had discovered Beaked whales. We actually had the chance to see the group briefly before they dived off again. The light conditions did not make identification easy. The tendency was towards Cuvier’s beaked whales or Sowerby’s beaked whales, perhaps also True’s beaked whales. After zooming in on the photos, however, we assume that they were Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris).

At midday, thick rain clouds hung over the sea. Unfortunately, we had no luck with sightings.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins

13:30 no sighting

Stenella

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Beaked whales

13:30 no sighting