Just another visit to Massachusetts. This time to see family, but still finding some time to do a bit of exploring and search for wildlife. There was snow right down to sea level, so it wasn't easy to find signs of life. I did manage to find a few birds among the beautiful winter scenery.
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Say what? Sei whale (Baleanoptera borealis).
The Sei whale - pronounced "say" whale is the world's third largest animal after the blue whale and fin whale. They are not as well known as these two larger species, but are definitely as cool.
The sei whale is a large filter feeding whale species that can grow up to 21 m in length! Sei whales are sleek and slender but often have round pitted scars on their body. These marks are the result of bites from cookie cutter sharks. The cookie cutter marks can even be entire circular holes going right through the dorsal fin of the whales.
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Cascais is a picturesque coastal village that is just a short hop out of Lisbon. The place is vibrant a nice escape for a day.
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A very unique species of dolphin - the Risso's dolphin is easily recognised by its scar-covered robust body and rounded forehead. They are born dark grey and white accumulate scars over their lifetime, until they are almost entirely white at maturity. These scars may be caused by encounters with other Risso's dolphins and from the sharp beaks of their prey - squid. Risso's dolphins are resident in the Azores, so over the years I was there I had many encounters with them. The Azorean Risso's dolphins tend to be shy in nature and it's not often that you see them leap out of the water, however I had a few lucky moments that I managed to see and photograph this behaviour.
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