A balmy winter of whale and dolphin watching

The winter of 2011/12 was a particularly good one in terms on weather and sightings in the Azores. The Atlantic spotted dolphins in particular seemed to enjoy the Azorean waters for longer than usual. We encountered them until February 3rd, when they normally head for more equatorial waters in November/December. 

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)

Sperm whale head (Physeter macrocephalus)

Two sperm whales

Silver scabbardfish

Portuguese man-o-war feeding on two fish 

Tropical forest butterflies

Besides marine life and birds, I also love to photograph butterflies and any wildlife in general. The following examples aren't truly wild animals, as they were in an indoor tropical forest. However, it was a nice place to practice my photography skills and the result was some of my first butterfly photos to start off my collection.

Paper kite butterfly (Idea leuconoe)

Paper kite butterfly (Idea leuconoe)

Emerald swallowtail (Papilio palinurus)

Lime swallowtail butterfly (Papilio demoleus)

Paper kite butterfly (Idea leuconoe)

New Zealand gecko (Naultinus sp.)

Summer in the Azores

Today I'm dreaming of bright sunny days, reflecting back on some of the cetacean sightings I had in the Azores on such summery trips out on the water... 

Atlantic spotted dolphin

Atlantic spotted dolphins

Atlantic spotted dolphins

Pilot whale

Sperm whale tail

Sperm whales

Azores - a home away from home

Around this time 10 years ago I was making final arrangements to move to the Azores. I had almost no idea what awaited me on the island that would become my home for more than 9 years. Perhaps one of the most pleasant surprises was that the lush volcanic islands look like a small version of New Zealand. Almost all plants grow well in the Azores, and the endemic species of ferns and Pōhutakawa are no exception. São Miguel Island, often referred to as the Green Island was like a home away from home.

Fern frond

Madeiran wall lizard (Teira dugesii)

Springing into spring

After a brief visit to New Zealand, it was nice to be back in the Azores, just in time for spring. This is the time of the year when a spring bloom occurs, and life in the oceans increases in general. It's the best time of the year to see the most species of cetaceans, especially the migratory baleen whales such as the beautiful humpback featured in the majority of the photos below. 2011 was one of our best years on record to see humpback whales!

Extreme closeup - Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) pectoral fin as it breaching close to the boat

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in a flat calm ocean

Male sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) going on a dive