azwhales
Today the beautiful summer weather has returned to us so that we were able to return to the sea. The ocean is flat and basically perfect. In the morning we had our 3 resident dolphins out there awaiting our return (we had to cancel our tours the past days due to rough weather). We encountered 2 groups of common dolphins, a small group of bottlenose dolphins and an even smaller group of Risso’s dolphins. We spotted 2 young Risso’s dolphins in the group, one of them was the smallest and cutest ever!
In the afternoon the weather and sea conditions improved even more so that we had perfect dolphin encounters as they were swimming in the crystal clear waters around our boats. During the afternoon we encountered bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins again and this time we also had a group of Atlantic spotted dolphins. The sea couldn’t have been any better – it was perfectly clear and blue which is great for watching the dolphins bowriding, especially in front of our catamaran. On the way back we enjoyed some beautiful coastal views of São Miguel Island and Vila Franca Islet.
*** To see a video of dolphins bowriding in the afternoon click HERE ***
*** To see a video of dolphins bowriding in the afternoon click HERE ***
Photos from this morning:
Risso’s dolphin – mother and calf (notice the colour difference – this species becomes paler over time)
Bottlenose dolphins
Our zodiac passing close to the coastline
Photos from the afternoon:
The bow of our catamaran “Cetus” – the best place to view dolphins!
View of a young Atlantic spotted dolphin from the bow of our catamaran
Atlantic spotted dolphin in crystal clear waters
Our conservation efforts – taking abandoned rubbish out of the ocean
Educating our clients about the effects of rubbish in the oceans
Our final dolphin encounter of the day – a small group of common dolphins
Vila Franca Islet
A juvenile tern from this year’s nesting season
A piece of octopus or squid found during afternoon tour
azwhales
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
