Equipa de Biólogos da FuturismoOur morning today was dedicated to dolphins, as it seems our Mr Liable has decided to take a break today. The day started with a bit of rain, but this soon turned into a sunny day full of rainbows, offering a stunning view! We have already begun to feel the cooler wind and the sea is beginning to sample its strength with higher waves.
We first arrived to a large curious pod of bottlenose dolphins with calves in it. This resident species were likely feeding because the Cory’s shearwaters were quite active at the surface. The guests who were on the bow of our boat even had the opportunity to hear the dolphins communicate. Indeed, they love to communicate with each other through clicks and whistles that can be heard even out of the water. Have you ever heard a dolphin in the wild? It is truly a unique experience!
Then we had the ultimate proof that the summer is not over yet as we headed to another species, the spotted dolphins. This pod was even larger than the one of the bottlenose dolphins! Everywhere we looked, we saw dolphins! We estimated that they were thousands of them! The individuals close to the boat were mainly juveniles and mother and calves!
It was also full of Cory’s shearwaters and seagulls. They also were everywhere! We even saw some Cory’s shearwaters fly away with some fish. So this area was definitely abundant in food for the dolphins and birds. As we tried to move to another area, we kept on seeing more and more spotted dolphins.
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| A Great Shearwater |
These animals stay here in the Azores when the water is warm and we usually start to observe this species in June or July. Sometimes they stay until the end of November or December. At the moment the water is around 21°C and apparently this species is already creating a super pod to travel to warmer destinations. Hopefully we can see this species a few more days.
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
Equipa de Biólogos da Futurismo
Futurismo Biologists Team
