21.02.2023 – Golden skies and silver seas 

Todays golden skies as a result from the northeast wind, locally known as leste, created a beautiful setting for some lovely sightings with Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). These gorgeous dolphins are decorated with a lovely marble like pattern that stretches along their flanks and in comity perfectly matched todays silver seas and golden skies.

The first sighting in the morning was a perfect demonstration of the species abundance during the winter months. Four to five groups, each consists no of around 20-30 dolphins, were on the move heading west. A few calmly approached our boat, some in the company of little calves, before regrouping and continuing along their trajectory.

By the afternoon these pods had dispersed over an enormous area and the glare of the Saharas mist didn’t make relocating these widespread tiny groups any easier. We finally encountered 2 dolphins before heading back to gear up for our evening tour. The dispersed group of dolphins was more or less in the same area but this time we found a handful on full hunting mode, likely pursuing Halfbeaks (Belone belone). 

The combination of mist and overcast skies doesn’t make finding animals easy at sea but the contrast at the surface did allow our team to discover a few other surprises at the surface including a cadaver of a deep sea squid, a Portuguese Man o War (Physalis physalis) and, unfortunately, the remains of an Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica). Our day ended with a sighting of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), who lifted their heads high above the silver sea to take a peek at everyone aboard. 

By Paula Thake 

Sightings of the day 

09:30 Short-beaked common dolphins 

13:30 Short-beaked common dolphins

16:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-beaked common dolphins