The Azores islands are an archipelago of volcanic peaks rising out of the ocean along the mid-Atlantic ridge. The 9 islands are covered in dark volcanic rock and lush green vegetation. The landscapes are broken up by steep cliff faces, cascades and lake-filled craters. A nice way to appreciate the Azorean islands is from the viewpoint of the ocean. Below are just a few examples of the largest island of the Azores (São Miguel island) as seen from the sea.
Short-finned pilot whales are the second largest species of dolphin (Yes, despite the name they are classified as dolphins). As with other dolphins, pilot whales have strong social bonds. They form matrilineal societies and are well-known for their long-term stability. Pilot whales are also just really cool to watch. When they are at the surface between deep feeding dives they usually cluster at the surface and often lie very still in a behaviour termed "logging". They are simply beautiful animals.
Good water visibility can make all the difference to the quality of dolphin sightings. In the Azores we would sometimes be able to see down to about 30 m deep. When the top later is perfectly clear it's amazing to be able to see dolphins bowriding right beneath your feet. When there's not a ripple in the water it can look like the dolphins are gliding through the sky rather than water.
On just a few days each year, the wild oceanic waters around the Azores are completely flat, like a mirror. The locals would say that the water is like olive oil. These are my favourite kind of days to be out, especially when the surface of the water reflects like a mirror.
This viewpoint over Sete Cidades crater is covered in cloud or mist more often than not. So it was a lucky moment on a completely covered afternoon, that the sunset burned its way through the mist and lit up the whole area in a warm orange glow.
During the summer months it's possible to visit an offshore islet in the form of a sunken volcanic crater. This place is called Vila Franca Islet and it's classified as a Birdlife International Important Bird Area (IBA). IBAs support key bird species, so they are recognised globally important for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity. Vila Franca Islet is frequented by nesting Cory's shearwaters, common terns, ruddy turnstones, black-backed gulls, the occasional Azorean buzzard and some rare winter vagrants like egrets, herons and whimbrels.
The Azores islands is one of the best places to see a huge range of species of cetaceans (whales and dolphins). In 2014 I encountered 16 different species! Below are some photos of just a few of them:
I could never get tired of watching a humpback whale breaching. It's not until they are completely out of the water that you realise how big these animals really are. This particular individual who breached multiple times must have been at least 14 metres long!
