19.02.2020 – May the odds be in your favour
February 28, 2020
21.02.2020 – Wild waters
March 2, 2020
Our trips today were just as dynamic as the weather and the sightings seemed to suit the conditions at sea perfectly. As both our boats set out onto a placid ocean this morning, we were welcomed by a calm and dispersed group of Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) right in front of the marina. The glassy surface of the Atlantic allowed us to admire this tranquil group of beautiful dolphins in their full glory, with each animal showing off its ornamental flanks as the animals swam alongside our boats. The forecasted gusts of wind from the east soon caught up with our boats and before long we were heading upwind in pursuit of a group of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The impressively large dolphins were curiously lifting their heads to take a glance at all the excited faces on board and grab an easy breather as they dashed eastward through the waves.
After such an eventful morning our crew was stoked to get back on the water for the afternoon tour on board our zodiac. This time the sightings were reversed; we first met a group of Bottlenose dolphins who swiftly darted around our boat and glanced up at us from the clear waters of the Atlantic during the sighting. The commons were not far from their larger cousins and were completely engaged in an enormous feeding situation, leaping to and fro before finally gathering their prey at the surface. Once again, gusts of wind accompanied the second sighting of the tour, this time from the west but that only made the feeding situation more dynamic and spectacular.
Several species of birds also took advantage of the feeding situations today, including Northern gannets (Morus bassanus), Cory’s shearwaters (Calonectris borealis), Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus) and Yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis). What wonderful day on the ocean!
By Paula Thake
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins
Stenella
10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins, Loggerhead turtle
15:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins
