July 2009 sighting statistics

Several baleen whales are still passing São Miguel, Azores! This past month we have seen migratory fin whales and sei whales that are travelling north to their Arctic feeding grounds to spend the summer time gaining weight. It is late in the season to be seeing them, so they must be the last ones straggling behind. At this time of the year our resident sperm whales are seen more often. During the summer months we also see a big increase in the number of Atlantic spotted dolphins that prefer warmer waters. In total we have seen 11 different whale and dolphin species this July. These species are listed below (those most encountered are at the top of the list) and their sighting frequencies (days sighted of all the days we went to sea) is indicated by the bars in the graph above.