With our beloved RIBEIRA BRAVA at dry dock, for the annual maintenance procedure, were she will once more have her “fingernails” repainted, we went out with STENELLA. And had three nice sightings of toothed whales. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were the dominant animals jumping very close to our boat, providing some spectacular moments. Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhyncus) in their usual resting behaviour and Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) playing with a small skull of fish followed by seagulls (Larus argentatus) that were hovering nearby and a Skua (Stercorarius skua) in the periphery waiting for some distracted seagull to prey on. A perfect scenario to describe one of Nature’s Laws, “to eat or to be eaten”….
by Daniel Jardim
Sightings of the day
Stenella
10:00 Bottlenose dolphins; Common dolphins; Pilot whales
