|14-5-2019 am| Dolphins mating in front of Horta, Faial
The morning started with a period of "whale waiting". The lookouts were not finding blows, perhaps whales were too far from the shoreline. But dolphins made us go out. There was a big pod of 50 Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) near to the coast of Faial Island. We only needed to sail for 10 minutes before reaching them. We realized that they were mating: with plenty of surface activity. In Bottlenose dolphins, the courtship consists about several males going for a sin
|9-5-2019 am| Last minute call for a morning full of Sperm Whales and Bottlenose dolphins
Thursday morning started with little information from the lookouts. After more than half an hour we received exciting information: dolphins in the North. We all agreed that dolphins were a good start and a perfect excuse to enjoy that sunny morning at sea so we started to get ready for the expedition. Arriving to the boat, we recieved a new call from the North spotter Martins - Vigia do Salão: Sperm Whales in the North of Faial! with such good news we started our way to the a
|7-5-2019 am| Lonely whale watchers' off Pico Island
Last Tuesday we took a window of opportunity between two stormy days to reach a group of Sperm Whales that the lookouts spotted for us. The sea was wavy, the swell made finding the animals a hard work. We could hear the animals using the hydrophone but we could not see them, so we kept tracking the three Sperm Whales that we were listening to. Meanwhile, we could enjoy an impressive view of Pico Island. We were the only ones in the area. Finally, Captain Marco found a blow
|4-5-2019 am| Sperm Whales and Common Dolphins in a windy day in the Azores
Sperm whales can be challenging to watch under spring time windy days. Azorean amazing whale spotters know this and still they manage to find and track them under such conditions . After a pod of common dolphins full of calves, we headed to the Northern Faial colony of Common and roseate terns. A scenario of Game of Thrones at Pesqueiro do Nunes Rocky outcrop. An enthusiastic group allways takes the best home! #naturalistpt #atlanticnaturalist #azoresnaturalist #azores #whale
|2-5-2019 am| Juvenile Sperm Whale practicing deep dives and Bottlenose dolphins off "Queimada"
This expedition took the Azores Naturalist Team to watch sperm whales south of Pico Island departing from Horta. Calm sea and a low cloud cover set the stage for a good morning session with Sperm whales. These were diving deep and long, making it difficult to track the animals from the surface. A great surprise was a young juvenile, of ca. 3-4 meters, performing the typical movements of a deep diving adult sperm whale. Resting calmly for several minutes, keeping the direction
|1-5-2019 pm| Sperm Whales North and Blue Whales South of Faial!
The afternoon started by heading straight North to find a group of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus). There is always time for a stop for a pod of the resident Risso's Dolphins (Grampus griseus) that crossed our path. They were resting: this species hunts at night and rest during daytime. After this fleeting encounter we continued to the area where the lookouts were spotting Sperm whale's blows. First, we found a female and a juvenile, then a second pair that turned out
|1-5-2019 am| First Sei whales
It was our first record of Sei Whales (Balaenoptera borealis) this year, the third largest rorqual after the Blue and the Fin Whale, reaching 18 meters long in the Northern Hemisphere. In Portuguese "Baleia Sardinheira" for their preference for small pelagic fish such as sardines. They can be found in open ocean waters in temperate and sub-polar regions. Despite being hunted in the 60's and 70's, they are the most poorly understood of all baleen whales, maybe due to their off
|30-4-2019 pm| Bottlenose dolphins by the coast. Relaxing afternoon
The afternoon expedition led us to a pod of 40-50 bottlenose dolphins that were particularly close to shore, over depths ranging from 40 to 11 meters. The pod remained particularly close to shore, near the bay of the Nature Reserve of Castelo Branco, of the Faial Nature Park (Parque Natural do Faial). A subgroup of females and juveniles remained tightly clustered together throughout the observation, while more active juveniles and adults were jumping and apparently foraging f
|30-04-2019 am| Splashy morning with Fin whale, Risso and Common Dolphins
The morning expedition lead us off shore towards a windy area for observing a transiting fin whale. The conditions were not easy so the calm seas and social common and risso dolphins made our expedition memorable. #naturalistpt #atlanticnaturalist #azoresnaturalist #azores #whalewatchingazores #birdwatching #dolphingwatching #dolphinazores #faialtour #faialwhalewatching #Pico #Picowhalewatching #azoren #acores #portugal #bluewhale #spermwhale #finwhale #baleenwhale #pilotwhal
Blue whales crossing Faial-Pico channel |29-04-2019|
Two blues across the channel. It is uncommon to see large whales crossing between the 4nm wide channel separating Faial and Pico Islands. Depth's average is less than 150m, with banks and shallows. However, two large blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) decided to cross the channel today. Duas Baleias Comuns atravessando o Canal Faial Pico. Não é comum verem-se grandes baleias a atravesar o canal de 4 milhas náuticas que separa as ilhas do Faial e do Pico, com profundidades mé