Jumping beaked whales!

This morning we were very lucky to experience a rare moment – jumping beaked whales! Beaked whales are normally very difficult to watch because of their shy nature and short amount of time they normally spend at the surface. But this morning we were lucky to have a large group of about 10-15 individuals (including two small calves and a juvenile) that was staying up for a long time. We already considered ourselves very lucky to see them so well, so the moment got even better when several of the beaked whales started jumping out of the water. We could identify them as Sowerby’s beaked whales, based on their very long beaks and they way they were surfacing. 

We also encountered bottlenose dolphins in the morning, very near to where the beaked whales appeared. Closer to Ponta Delgada we had a group of common dolphins to give us a total of three species for the day. In the afternoon we received word from our lookout that the beaked whales were jumping again, but this time we didn’t get to see them, which is often the reality with beaked whales, so we remembered how lucky we were in the morning. We did however get to see a nice group of bottlenose dolphins in the afternoon.

Photos by Laura Gonzalez

Beaked whales, mother and calf

Photos by Carine Zimmerman

A bottlenose dolphin with natural marks on its fin

Common dolphin surfing

Breaching Sowersby’s Beaked whales

Breaching Sowersby’s Beaked whales