30.07.2025 – The reality of whale watching

In summer, we see a lot of interactive Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Today was one of those days. During the first Stenella trip we were also hoping for some beaked whales. However, these elusive animals spend a lot of time under water, making it difficult to keep track of them. This often leads to waiting for them to resurface in vain. While this might be disappointing to some, it very much reflects the reality of whale watching. Different species will show different behaviours and even within the same species there will be variations that lead to a broad palette of possible encounters they allow us to have with them. This makes situations in which we encounter species that are trickier to locate even more rewarding and towards the end of the day, we did manage to see some Blainville’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris).

During mid-day, we also saw a number of Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). As turtles are not something we are actively searching for and sightings are usually pure luck and our captains’ sharp eyes, we were very happy to see three of them today.

By Hannah Carstens

Sightings of the Day

Ribeira Brava

14:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead sea turtle

Stenella

09:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins

13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Loggerhead sea turtle

16:30 Atlantic spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Blainville’s beaked whales