azwhales
This morning we went out for whales and dolphins but another surprise was there out of São Miguel.
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| Sei whale sighted today in São Miguel |
Everything was going good, we spotted a group of common dolphins, the resident species that we see more in Azores, with their yellow sides that allow us to recognize the species.
The group was full of babies very curios with our boats. Then we went to the area of Atlantic spotted dolphins, it was a big area with dolphins everywhere a bit spread out.
We think that the area was full of fish, we could see tunas close to the area, it should be because the fish. Unfortunately, we didn’t see whales this morning, it happens when we deal with nature. Anyway we had a wonderful morning.
In the afternoon we got to see 4 different species! The first one was a baleen whale that is showing up quite frequently now, sei whale!
This os the third largest animal in the world and apparently it’s enjoying its time here in the Azores. In the beginning it was quite difficult to spot the whale but in the end it was really calm and easy to see.
After we went 13 miles away and to see the most emblematic species of Azores, the sperm whale, internationally known as Moby Dick!
We started only with 2 adults in the surface and after they fluked (showed the tail, meaning it is going for a feeding dive) we realized the group was way bigger than we thought …there was a 9 sperm whales confirmed! Adults, juveniles and even a small baby. One of the whales as very popular for the futurismo crew, Tonga!
The third species was the Atlantic spotted dolphin. It was a small pod but they were quite happy around the boat, always jumping and doing bowriding …crazy as always.
When returning to ponta delgada we had a small bonus that we were not expecting. A very nice group of common dolphins with an association with black-headed gull, a bird that we start to see in this time of the year.
During One of our tours our crew was able to take a fishing net from the ocean.
This nets that wonder around the oceans are called ghost fishing nets and unfortunately it kills a lot of marine life, including dolphins, whales, turtles, sharks, etc.
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| Sunrise, just before all the adventures started |
azwhales
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
