|Visitor Stories| Erika Zahn: a german woman full of passion for cetaceans
Erika chose the Azores Naturalist Team in Horta to explore On the 18th of May, we met Erika. She spent 10 days with the Naturalist team. She was a cetacean lover and her dream was to do whale watching and swim with dolphins. She was able to se a lot of different species of cetaceans here in the Azores: from the smallest resident, our Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), to the biggest animal on Earth, the Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). Other animals that she saw were the
|30-05-2019 am| Local school Day!
We observed more than 10 Sperm whales in the South of Castelo Branco, Faial Island this morning. Esta manhã a equipe da Naturalist.pt nos Açores observou mais de 10 cachalotes a sul de Castelo Branco, Ilha do Faial. The windy conditions did not allow for great images to be collected. The group was composed of females and juveniles and kept diving towards west. The team managed to collect several samples: images and biological material. O grupo teria mais de 20 animais, e era
|29-05-2019 am| Jumping and socializing Risso's dolphins and Sperm whales in the Azores
It was an incredible expedition with a group of Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) near the north coast of Faial. The pod had 45-70 animals, both males females, juveniles and a few calfs and was socializing. Some younger individuals jumped were active and even breaching outside of the water. The 5 young Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) that were observed futher west, were travelling far from the coast and in a windy area, Itwas tough for the spotter as the humidity the
|28-05-2019 am| Two spy hoping Sperm whales
The morning started with Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the North and in the South, but in the North the wind was softer so that was the right option. The first that we saw was a big female Sperm whale off Faial. It dove vertically for a deep dive, allowing for superb view of her fluke. The lookout told us that there was another blow nearby, so we moved towards that animal, and we found an other female of Sperm whale. An other Sperm whale was coming to join that fem
|26-05-2019 pm| Common dolphins including three week calfs, and a friendly a loggerhead seaturtle.
A group decided to experience to swim with azorean dolphins and we took the opportunity to collect further data about the behavior of the animals during each encounter. It is a simple research approach we are developing to address the impact of the activity that we will explain later on this blog. We went to the South of Faial Island, where a pod of Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) were spotted south of Monte da Guia. The pod was divided in several small groups, some of th
|26-05-2019 am| A morning full of Odontoceti: Sperm whales, Risso's and Stripped dolphins
The day started early for us: Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) were found in the North of Faial Island. We dressed up and went North. The pod was composed by females and was shallow diving, and traveling. It was an impressive pod of large female Sperm whales, under a great spring light. Finally we moved to find some Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus). The pod was resting and socializing. We noticed that there were some old individuals as they were almost completely white
|23-05-2019 am| Male Sperm whale and Common dolphins
The first animals that we saw were Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and a few Cory's Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis). This interaction between these two species is often because the Shearwaters take advantage of the dolphins' hunting techniques to catch some fish for themselves. The pod of dolphins was swimming fast as they were hunting. We spent little time there to not disturb them and we continued to the South, where a Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) was found.
|21-05-2019| Pico Full Day - Photography
An epic sun shinning Pico Full Day Tour through the best of its lakes, forest and plants. Here some photographic memories, including the first records of this year of flowers of the endemic "Uva-da-Serra" Vaccinium cylindraceum. #naturalistpt #atlanticnaturalist #azoresnaturalist #azores #whalewatchingazores #birdwatching #dolphingwatching #dolphinazores #faialtour #faialwhalewatching #Pico #Picowhalewatching #azoren #acores #portugal #bluewhale #spermwhale #finwhale #baleenw
|22-5-2019 am| A day for resident (species) only: Sperm whale, Risso's and Bottlenose dolphins
The swell was large but the low wind and the presence of animals allowed us to go out. The first species that we saw were Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus). It was a pod of 6 animals resting, difficult to keep at sight. We left to the area where a Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) was spotted. But it was tough: the sea made difficult to find the whale. All boats worked together to find the whale, using the hydrophone those that had one. We put it one time, we couldn't hea
|20-5-2019 am| Fin whales, Blue whale, Sperm whales, Common dolphins and a loggerhead seaturtle!
The day started with our regular briefing about the species of cetaceans and the oceanic relief of the Azores. We didn't need to wait as there was information about baleen whales. We dressed up and we went to the South. While reaching the whales a pod of about 20 Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) crossed our path and, of course, we stoped and took some pictures. We left the animals and reached the first pair of baleen whales: two Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). Fin whal