azwhalesToday is the International Day for Biodiversity and here in the Azores
archipelago, we are in one of the best places to celebrate this day because we
have a huge range of wildlife.
During the Springtime especially the ocean is
teeming with life, ranging from the small plankton all the way up to the great
whales.
teeming with life, ranging from the small plankton all the way up to the great
whales.
During today’s tours, we saw a variety of different types of animals,
starting with our resident common dolphins in the morning and later going to
some sperm whales to finish the morning tour.
starting with our resident common dolphins in the morning and later going to
some sperm whales to finish the morning tour.
We also had a lot of seabirds around (Cory’s shearwaters, common terns and yellow-legged gulls), some of us saw a loggerhead turtle and we could also see a lot of Portuguese man-o-war which is very typical for this time of the year when we have a lot of nutrients and plankton in our waters.
Common tern
Portuguese man-o-war
Loggerhead turtle
Yellow-legged gull
During the afternoon, the list of sighted species became even bigger! We
started our trip with a baleen whale, a Sei whale, swimming fast but calm along
our boat. We had many chances to appreciate the details of the animal and we
even saw the whale surfing the wave with its head sticking out of the water!
started our trip with a baleen whale, a Sei whale, swimming fast but calm along
our boat. We had many chances to appreciate the details of the animal and we
even saw the whale surfing the wave with its head sticking out of the water!
We
continued our trip and arrived to an area of sperm whales with a lot of clues
indicating the presence of these animals like pieces of fresh squid, and soon
enough we spotted the blow of the sperm whales which were being stalked by the
common dolphins. One of the sperm whales was a juvenile and tried to use the
boat to distract the dolphins as it went for a dive.
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| Sperm whales’ food |
The sperm whale group was one that we know well from previous encounters
over the years, both off São Miguel and Pico islands. It is a group with at
least 6 adult whales, and today we also saw a juvenile and a smaller calf. One
of the individuals whose tail we photographed is one that is known in our São
Miguel catalogue as “Penakabe” and is an individual that was named by
our guest Doris Thomas who was with us just last week as well as in many
earlier years.
over the years, both off São Miguel and Pico islands. It is a group with at
least 6 adult whales, and today we also saw a juvenile and a smaller calf. One
of the individuals whose tail we photographed is one that is known in our São
Miguel catalogue as “Penakabe” and is an individual that was named by
our guest Doris Thomas who was with us just last week as well as in many
earlier years.
A Sooty shearwater was
seen after the whales adding one more species to the biodiversity day! What a
lovely afternoon in São Miguel waters, wishing everyday would be like this one!
azwhales
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
