21.01.2023 – Beneath rainbows

The ocean looked incredibly beautiful as we drove out on board our zodiac this afternoon. Our spotter had discovered a small group of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and our Stenella searched the area to find them. These intelligent cetaceans are generally encountered in smaller group around the archipelago and tend to prefer coastal waters, making them subject to a high amount of boat traffic, particularly in the summer months. This fact together with their strong site fidelity towards Madeira’s waters demand that we take extra care to not disturb them during a sighting.

Pedro, our captain, gently manoeuvred the boat towards the group of dolphins around 3 nautical miles offshore and we all enjoyed moments with the animals briefly diving and resurfacing in pairs…and all that with a rainbow above Paul Do Mar in the background. What a magnificent backdrop to this peaceful sighting! Our zodiac then swept across the waters further offshore to try its luck in locating a group of Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) that our spotter had observed leaping in the distance. The dolphins had stopped hunting by the time we arrived and discreetly disappeared into the sun, making them virtually impossible to find. We continued our search on our way back to Calheta and arrived there with no further sighting, but with massive smiles on our faces!

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

13:30 Bottlenose Dolphins