Dolphins on the surface, something rare beneath us

 

Today was a good day in between the stormy ones! We were lucky that the sea looked almost flat from the moment we went out, and just gave us some small waves during the tour. We started with our usual species of Common dolphins that we have been seeing on almost every trip lately. They were feeding on “needle fish” very close to the surface and it was super enjoyable to watch them with their mouths wide open, hunting the balls of fish, under water.

 

After a while our lookout saw a Minke whale mother and baby, so of course we got very excited too because it is a very rare species in the Azores and mostly only seen once a year, by us. Actually, last year we did not see any at all, but from our data records we know that most sightings from the past 9 years are seen in April, May and June.

We really believed we would see the 2 Minke whales since our lookout saw them coming up several times, but then a huge container ship passed our route and the whales seemed to have left together with the ship. A pity! We all would have loved to see them.

But as we made our way back, our new guide Levina spotted a small Loggerhead turtle that was floating around us for a while. (see feature photo) That was it for today, I hope you have enjoyed and see you soon again!

Milou

About Milou

Milou is Marine Biologist, and was Marine Wildlife Guide at TERRA AZUL from 2010 to 2019. She is from Holland, and is passionate about being out in the ocean with wildlife, informing visitors, and collecting field imagery and data for local Cetaceans and Sea Turtles Research & Conservation projects.