29.10.2022 – The good, the bad, the ugly

As whale-watchers we are constantly exposed to all the faces of mother nature; the good, the bad and the ugly. As disturbing as the ugly sides of nature may be, our team makes sure not to hide these aspects of nature from our guests since they are a part of the stark reality of things and realities are what we wish to communicate.

We had a beautiful day out on the ocean filled with incredible sightings today with all tours including sightings of peaceful Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) that were in the company of small nursery pods of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the morning and late afternoon. The latter species are often encountered associating with the pilot whales with their calves and our theory is they may do so out of protection. Bottlenose dolphins are street-smart and know which fellow cetaceans they can approach and which they’d rather steer clear of with their youngsters. The mighty False orcas (Pseudorca crassidens) demonstrated their formidable presence during a marvellous sighting during our mid-afternoon tour, underlining why most cetaceans are reluctant to cross their path. 

All our peaceful and dynamic sightings were preceded by a sadly common occurrence this morning. A young and very weak Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) was discovered by our team aboard the Stenella at the surface. At this time of the year young Cory chicks are left to fend for themselves once their parents leave the archipelago after spending the summer fattening their young with catch from the ocean. The chicks usually leave the nest out of hunger and are then disorientated by lights along the coastline, often crashing into structures and injuring themselves. Some animals recover and reach the ocean fairly unscathed, other aren’t so lucky. The stormy past two weeks haven’t helped in decreasing the number of unlucky Cory’s and, despite our teams effort to help the chick, the animal died a few hours later on land. 

We encourage anyone who discovers an injured or disorientated Cory or other marine bird, to carefully place the animal in a cardboard box, keep it somewhere safe and dark and call SPEA (The Portuguese Society for Ornithology) on the following number: (+351) 967 232 195.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

14:30 False orcas, Short-finned pilot whales

Stenella 

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

13:00 False orcas, Short-finned pilot whales

16:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales