Futurismo Biologists Team
The day started off with the wind blowing fast but the sun shining upon our heads. These conditions allowed us to go out in the search for some marine mammals since our lookouts had surprises for us! It did not take us very long time to sight a group of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). We were lucky to see one of our resident species and even more when they decided to join our boat by doing bowriding! The morning had a final surprise stored for us and that is because we could spot a turtle from one of our boats!
The conditions during the afternoon remained stable and we could go out and see what the sea had stored for us! And that was… more dolphins! In that case we could enjoy the company of a group of bottlenose dolphins again which were very diving frequently, possibly in the search for fishes! Nonetheless, we could also see their playful behaviour for example when slapping with their tail on the water.
On the way back, we decided to pass by the Vilafranca islet, a very important place for birds to nest and crabs. Yet, this was not the last thing nature had stored for us since on our return to Ponta Delgada we saw some splashes and then… common dolphins! Another one of our resident species came closer to our boat and we could enjoy their company for a while! The group was quite big and thus we could observe juveniles and calves in it because during summertime it is the reproductive season for dolphins!
These last surprises amazed us all and put to an end a fantastic day, once more, in this incredible island!
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
