20.06.2022 – Far and wide

We had a lovely group of snorkelers in the water with a small pod of Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) this morning, who briefly swam up to our participants in the water before foraging in the waters near Madalena do Mar. In contrast to our summer dolphins, the Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and the closely related Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) who tend to occur in areas with deeper water around Madeira, the common dolphins tend to remain closer to shore, at least in the summer months. The murkier waters didn’t make it easy for our snorkelers to see all the animals underwater but the few glimpses left us all smiling. Further out, our spotter located a group of Striped dolphins, who sped off as we arrived in their usual evasive manner. The little time we had with them still allowed us to admire the characteristic stripe pattern decorating the dolphins flanks.

The wind further out at sea in the afternoon made our team anticipate a difficult trip but our spotters sharp eyes quickly locked in on a group of Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) charging upwind. Both our boats sped to the spot but only our Stenella managed to reach the animals before they disappeared into the choppy waters. Our Ribeira Brava, however, also got extremely lucky after our spotter found a group of spotted dolphins, who cheerfully swam alongside our boat. Our zodiac also arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and guests aboard both vessels enjoyed a lovely sighting with the pod. It was such a great day!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

14:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins

Stenella

09:30 Short-beaked common dolphins, Striped dolphins

15:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Short-finned pilot whale