It is summer and here the sun is illuminating the ocean.

A hot Thursday morning. So if you ever decide to come on one of our tours, no matter what the sea conditions are, remember to drink water. Hydrating is a very important habit especially when out in the ocean.

We started our tours by sighting a group of Common Dolphins (Delphinus delphis). The animals were socialising and going to one side of the boat to the other.

We continued to the area where a Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) was sighted by our lookout. Minke whales are the smallest baleen whales, their baleens are usually white. Minke whales in the Northern hemisphere have the characteristic of having a white flipper. Baleen whales are migratory in the Azores. We navigated in the area of the Minke whale, we had to wait a long time and the sun was quite strong,but none of this discouraged us while waiting for the whale.

Minke whales
(Balaenoptera acutorostrata) (Illustrations by Uko Gorter).

We saw in the meantime, Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus). The white coloration when adults is very impressive. These deep diving, cephalopod eating dolphins are very special.

I can’t stress enough that whenever someone sees an Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis), there is nothing as special as seeing them in their natural habitat. We saw a baby jumping, we could not stop saying “WOOOOWWWWWWW “. So many newborn and small calves were in the pod. There are no words able to describe the feeling of seeing them. I would just recommend to all our readers to come and observe how gracious and unique these animals are.

Acrobatic young spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis )

Anaïs Builly

About Anaïs Builly

Anais Builly is Marine Biologist and Master of Biology, Ecology and Ecosystems, and of Bioproducts & Bioproduction of Marine Ecosystems, studied in France and South Africa. She is also Marine Wildlife Guide & Community Manager at TERRA AZUL. She is passionate about conservation of marine mammals, and loves being out in the ocean everyday.