| Natural Calendar | July - Julho

The temperature is now quite high, being well above 20º in land and reaching more than 22ºC at sea. A white mist is often formed at sea from the high evaporation, difficulting the life of the whale spotters and the whale watchers. The days withouth wind with a flat sea are common, and seaturtles are often found drifting and heating up (a behaviour called "basking") at the ocean surface.

Bombus terrestris searching polen on a flowering cf. Lavandula

Cetaceans

Sightings of whales are regular as the sea conditions are normally great. Sperm whales can be observed around the islands at a daily basis. The resident dolphins, particular the bottlenose and commons are frequent, with numerous pods of Atlantic spotted dolphins in the area. Sei whales or Bryde whales can be seen during this period. The sea is also good for observing beaked whales, such as Mesoplodon species. Pods of false killer whales can also start to be observed, as well as Pilot whales as they reach higher latitutes with the warming of this region.

Sperm whale diving north of Faial Island, Azores

Pilot whales off Pico and Faial in July, Azores

Resident Bottlenose dolphin south of Pico/Faial in July, Azores

Beaked whale Mesoplodon sp. jumping in the Azores in July, Azores

Bird Fauna

The passeriforms are in a hurry, hunting worms and insects for their recent offspring. Sometimes with their females. On some cases already the new chicks are around the nest area, such as Azorean gold-crests, with loud vocalizations on their bushes.

The Corys' shearwater are starting or nearly hatching their single egg, so hundreds of seabirds gather on rafts close to the colonies, as eager to visit their loved ones with the fishing of the last days.

Corys' shearwater flying in the Azores

Some of the Flowering plants this month

Land Flowers are now at their greatest extent. Late flowering native and endemic plants of this month include Tolpis azorica, Euphorbia stygiana, Carex peregrina as well as Morella faya. Flying insects are overdosing on polen. Spiders and many of the insects actively reproducing as the abundance of food supply is extream.

Native and Endemic