22.09.2022 – Summer’s end

Our tours tend to be filled with Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) during the summer, small delphinids that arrive in the islands waters in enormous groups at the beginning of the summer. These extremely curious, warm-water-loving dolphins also leave the islands waters in such massive groups as these provide more safety to these little cetaceans as they travel through the perilous open ocean.

The enormous group we encountered this morning may have been one of the first that was in the process of leaving Madeira which is always a bit of a downer for our team. The upside to this was that both our snorkelers aboard the Stenella and the guests aboard our Ribeira Brava had the pleasure of enjoying a beautiful encounter with this large pod.

We met a few other small groups of spotted dolphins in the afternoon, that evidently decided to stick around a little longer in Madeira. We also met Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) today, a species that, unlike the spotted dolphins, can be encountered in the islands waters all year round.

The gradual departure of the spotted dolphins only means one thing; summer is coming to an end. A bittersweet feeling since autumn is known to be an equally exciting season.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins

15:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins

Stenella

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins

14:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins

17:00 Atlantic spotted dolphins