WOW just WOW! there are days that you can’t forget and today it was that day for me 😀
Flat sea and beautiful sky. Today it was a pleasure being out at sea!
Once again the morning sea was flat and the sky decorated with beautiful clouds in all shapes and shadows. The sunlight playing on the sea surface looked like brush strokes on a canvas. Just being out at sea in such scenery was a pleasure. As a plus we met a large group of Risso’s dolphins, composed by adults, likely many females, some juveniles and calves. It was possible to observe the different coloration of the different age classes. Not far from the dolphins, a sperm whale was recovering from a foraging bout, logging at the surface for about 10 minutes, time enough for us to reach it and seeing it diving for another meal. With the onboard hydrophone we could also clearly hear its clicks while descending in the deep blue. What else could we ask for? perfect conditions, whales and dolphins and happy human beings.
Risso’s dolphins color gradient (Grampus griseus)
Adult and young Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus)
Well, the best was yet to come… our lookout André spotted some life in an area with high sea reflection, so we decided to check this out. There were three Blainville’s beaked whales hanging around. They even got curious of our boat approaching and circling it few times. Such proximity allowed us to identify the species, otherwise a rather hard task. Known as shy and sensitive to noise, beaked whales are probably the whales recording the shortest encounters of all, but today it was different! The excitement onboard was a lot and both guide (me) and skipper (Nuno) couldn’t just stop being amazed 😀
Balinville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) surfacing next to the boat
Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) with a well-marked dorsal fin
The time to go back to reality arrived though, so bye bye beaked whales and thank you for such a beautiful moment!
Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)
