Sightings Statistics August 2020

In the month of August we had generally good weather conditions only on three days the boats stayed in the harbour.

Of the 28 days we were on the water on 24 days we met the seasonal Atlantic Spotted Dolphins  which are number one of the August ranking.

Followed by the Bottlenose Dolphins which were observed on 21 days. On position number three are two of our resident species the Common Dolphins as often seen as the Sperm Whales.

In the summer baleen whale sightings are getting rarer compared to the spring season but eventhough this August we had on 8 days encountered the Sei Whales and on 5 days the Bryde’s Whales a more tropical species which is not appearing every summer.

Also the last resident species the Risso’s Dolphins are on the same ranking position as the Bryde’s whales with 5 sightings this month of August.

Apart of that we had one occasion to come across pilot whales, beaked whales, a Minke whale and once we saw a blow of a whale in the distance that we couldn’t identify as it disappeared afterwards.

So in total there were 9 species of cetaceans identified plus beaked whales this month but that was not all.

On 10 days Portuguese Man of war were on the ocean. We had as well Loggerhead turtles and Sickelfin Devil Rays on 6 different days. On 3 days Flying Fish and on two days tunas appeared.

A huge highlight was on the 28th of August when a friendly Whale Shark visited some of our boats and once a Hammerhead shark was identified too. Even more species like shoals of fish, remoras, Mahi Mahi and Flying Squids were seen in August.

In the air there was as well wildlife around. Everyday we had Cory’s Shearwater and Yellow-Legged Gulls. Most of the times as well Common terms were seen and on more then half of the trips we met Great shearwaters and on 6 days the Bulwer’s Petrel and once a Manx Shearwater.

All in all Futurismo registered sightings of 24 identified species and the rest which were identified to the order but not to the species level. Once again we have a proof that the Azores are a location of great biodiversity. So come and visit us on the ocean.

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