19.09.2019 – Beaked breacher
September 30, 2019
22.09.2019 – Efficient scrounging
October 2, 2019
Mother nature is not to be trifled with, it is easy sometimes, to take the calm waters south of our island for granted. So when the winds turn and bring rain, waves and wind to our island, we should consider it a reminder, not to forget how fortunate we usually are. When the cetaceans are far or hard to find, we are reminded, never to forget to appreciate what we have.
The beautiful animals we find out here always require effort. A coordination between spotter and skipper and even then, nature doesn’t take orders, doesn’t follow a schedule and laughs at our plans. We must go out and try our best, and we will see if today we are rewarded.
Some trips today were rewarded, but not all, some pilot whales were seen (Globicephala macrorhynchus) large and calm at the surface, yet very fast and agile when they dive into the deep, where the real action happens, a high-speed hunt that we are not invited to see.
Some Bottlenoses (Tursiops truncatus) and spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) as well, very different, yet both friendly animals, highly social and a joy to encounter. There even was a baleen whale nearby at some point today, but it was quite difficult to get a good look at this evasive creature today let alone an identification as this can be very tricky at sea.
All struggle contains lessons, when things get difficult, we are reminded of their value and the next day we set out we shall not underestimate how lucky we are to see whatever we get to see.
By Scott Dorssers
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:00 Pilot whale
13:30 No sightings
Stenella
12:00 Pilot whale, Bottlenose dolphin
15:30 Atlantic spotted dolphin, unidentified baleen whale
