12.04.2023 – Practical matter
April 19, 2023
14.04.2023 – Hide and seek
April 21, 2023
Todays tours were all different and, as always, each had a few wonderful surprises in store for our lovely guests. The morning began with a pod of Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) foraging in a dispersed formation outside Calheta. These gorgeous dolphins are highly specialised hunters, applying specific strategies for the different prey they pursue in the archipelagos waters. Their determination to successfully land a meal didn’t, however, stop them from engaging in a brief bow-ride near both our vessels and our speedboat was able to enjoy more of their magic in the choppy waters further Offshore during our midday tour. Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) were also around today and leapt alongside us in their usual charismatic manner on this mornings tour as well as later in the afternoon.
The sightings of smaller dolphins were succeeded by a surprising encounter with their bigger cousins later on in the day. Two large Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) were travelling outside Calheta as well as a large Blue whale (Balaenoptera m. musculus). While our team managed a fantastic sighting with the elegant fin whales, the difficult conditions made the blue whale much harder to track and we ended up not finding it in the end. We were all smiles nonetheless; being in the presence of such magnificent animals is incredibly humbling and reminds us of how small we are and how incredibly vast our beautiful planet is.
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins
Stenella
09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins
13:30 Short-beaked common dolphins
16:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Fin whales
