17.08.2018 – What a trip!

The afternoon trip with Stenella today has been one of those tours during which it all seems to be so easy… We went off the marina, just 20 minutes later and not even two miles offshore we found a nice group of more than 15 Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) right next to our starboard side. The dolphins were exceptionally large and therefore most probably members of the offshore population of Bottlenose dolphins.

Some of the animals came right into the bow of our zodiac and we could see them very clear with the darker shading of the back as well as some scars and individual markings. It was nice to spot one very young dolphin within the pod. This animal was way smaller than all the others and swam particularly close to an adult.

The smiles were still on our faces when we moved off to look out for some larger ocean dwellers. There should be baleen whales around. It took a few minutes until we could see them blowing in the distance. We were able to confirm the initial impression – there were two whales, most probably Tropical whales (Balaenoptera edeni), an adult and a juvenile, on their way to the East.

Those giants can reach up to 16 m in length. The young whale looked tiny compared to its mum next to whom it was swimming very closely. They came up to the surface not for form our boat and we have seen their blow and could hear them breathing.

The fluke-prints which are patches of smooth water remaining at the surface after whales have been moving their tail under water were still visible when a large number of circling Corey´s Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) indicated the next sighting already from far away. Now we approached a hunting scene. Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) were looking for some afternoon snacks. Fortunately, they have not been too busy for a quick approach to our speedboat.

We were fed up by all these impressions and already on the way back to shore when a small pod of inquisitive Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) came into sight. The dolphins took a ride in the bow wave and speeded up along both sides of the vessel. This was the perfect end of a great trip. We are only guests out there but sometimes the Atlantic Ocean is a generous host.

by Jan-Christopher Fischer

Sightings of the day

Stenella

08:30 (snorkeling) Short-beaked common dolphins, Striped dolphins

15:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins, Tropical whales

18:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Tropical whales

Ribeira Brava

13:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Tropical whales