30.11.2021 – Close or/and far

One of our guests asked today whether we will find the marine mammals closer to the coast, or whether we have to go further out to sea to meet them? There is not one answer to that, but several. On the one hand it depends on the type and on the other hand on the situation. Our coastal Bottlenose dolphins can sometimes be found very close to the coast, but sometimes we meet them together with Pilot whales a little further away. Striped dolphins often stay five nautical miles or more, thus further away from the coast. All octopus lovers, such as Pilot whales and Sperm whales for example, need a greater depth to get to their filled belly. They are seldom found closer than two nautical miles from the coast. Atlantic spotted dolphins and Common dolphins can appear near and far. Tropical whales are not deep divers. We have seen them many times half a nautical mile offshore. Where we meet marine mammals depends on the feeding behavior, the diving depth and the respective situation. Today’s lesson? Never give up hope!

Today we went far out at first because our spotter had sighted Striped dolphins. But we didn't have a chance to catch up with them. In the end we had a wonderful sighting with Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) very close to the coast. So today it was necessary to be patient for a long time and then to be all the more happy about the great encounter.

We also met a black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) in winter plumage. In winter, she has a black spot behind her eye, but in summer her head is black. What a great transformation. See photo of the seagull in flight.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sighting of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins