09.10.2023 – “Poeira” pilots
October 16, 2023
11.10.2023 – Bottlenose dolphins and their favourite feeding spot
October 18, 2023
This morning we met our lively Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). As we approached them, they suddenly began to jump across the surface of the sea like bouncy balls. When dolphins catapult themselves through the air in this way, they take advantage of the fact that the air resistance is lower than in the water. This means they can move forward quickly using less energy. Luckily they changed their behavior again and came towards us. We were able to admire them in the bow wave of the Ribeira Brava.
In the afternoon we went searching and found four Blainville’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris), two mothers with their calves. Although this species of Beaked whale is widespread, not much is known about it. Afterwards we observed three Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) before we went back to the harbor.
By Fatima Kutzschbach
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins
14:30 Blainville beaked whales, Bottlenose dolphins
Stenella
09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins
13:30 Blainville beaked whales
16:30 Bottlenose dolphins
