Today the weather was still very nice (to not say perfect!) to go out on the sea and observe marine wildlife in a peaceful way 🙂 You know, this kind of day that you are enjoying sun, flat sea and especially marine mammals hunting for their breakfast or lunch.
We had the chance to observe many different species today, all were feeding in the morning, starting with Common dolphins: a large group composed by adults, juveniles and calves, accompanied by Cory’s shearwaters of course 😉 By the way, did you know that seabirds eliminate the salt that they ingest thanks to the salt glands by 2 small holes set at the base of the beak?
Cory’s Shearwater/Calonectris borealis
Three fin whales were feeding as well, quiet close to the coast, making circles around us to catch krill, their favourite food. Close to them 2 Sperm whales showed up. One of them came straight to us and spied on us as they like to do, just before taking a deep dive and finding some squid to chew 🙂 A funny note is that, in the afternoon, some Bottlenose dolphins joined the resting fin whales. Because of the active movements of the dolphins, the whales started to swim away faster. Maybe they were annoyed, who knows 😉
As the water was temperate enough, the Spotted dolphins showed up. They were playfully surrounding our boat and showed us their white belly. As they get older, the Spotted dolphins get more and more spots.
Our trips are not just about whales and dolphins, if you look in all directions, your efforts are rewarding: sea turtles, fishes, jellyfish and Portuguese man O’war!
Dutch group of swimmers this morning. The old friends go on holiday together each 5 years and this year the choice fell on Azores!
Lots of life in the ocean, when is your day to enjoy with us ?
