My last summer sea sightings in the Azores

All good things must come to an end. These are not my last Azores sea photos, but they are from my last complete summer season living and working in the Azores. As always, I was not disappointed by the huge array of marine species that show up in these waters. The photos below are just a selection oft he many species that can be seen here:

Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)

False killer whale (Psuedorca crassidens)

Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus)

Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii)

Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis)

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) displaying a rainblow

Some lucky whale and dolphin encounters

The first months of 2018 brought me encounters with some species that most don't get to enjoy often, or even at all in their lifetime. I was lucky to be a whale and dolphin watching guide, so being on the water on a daily basis gave me the opportunity to encounter some rare species, as well as the more common ones. The first month of the year started well, with beaked whales, humpback whale and fin whales (as well as three resident dolphin species and sperm whales). From there the fun continued throughout the last complete year of whale watching I had in the Azores. Below are just a few photos from the first months of 2018: 

Humpback whale lobtailing

Fin whales travelling together

Angel wings

The power of a blue whale blow

Yellow-legged gull with a fish

Humpback whale surface feeding - check out those baleen plates!

Big boy - bottlenose dolphin

Common tern with a fish

Great skua

Spring sea selection part 2

Spring - the time of the year when the ocean comes to life with marine species in the Azores.

Fin whale pushing itself over a large swell

Blue whale rolling over like a puppy

Bottlenose dolphins

Common dolphin in clear calm water

Portuguese man-o-war

A powerful robust bottlenose dolphin

Cory's shearwater - an abundant nester on the Azores Islands

Spring sea selection part 1

Spring is such a diverse time of the year for seeing marine life. The hardest part is choosing just a few best photos. Below is a small selection of mine from 2017, with some more to come in the next post...

 

Blue whale surfacing

Blue whale tail

Bottlenose dolphin with a water moustache

Bottlenose dolphin blowing a bubble trail

Humpback whale rainblow

Trio of Risso's dolphins surfacing in sync

Bottlenose dolphin

Common dolphin

Fin whale surfacing

A mix of marine mammals

Off the Azores islands, a variety of marine mammals can be seen. Particularly in the spring, which is the time that the largest number of species can be seen. Following is a small selection of this marine mammal mix, starting with a very rare visitor to the region: 

 

 Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) - a very rare visitor to the Azores

 Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

 Fin whale (Baleanoptera physalus)

 Blue whale (Baleanoptera musculus)

 Sei whale (Baleanoptera borealis)

 Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus)

Last but definitely not least - a beautiful common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

Species diversity in Spring

Spring in the Azores is a time of high ocean productivity. The increase in productivity and temperature attracts a wide range of marine species to the waters around the Azores Islands. Several species of baleen whales and toothed whales as well as  seabirds and other marine life all take advantage of the ideal conditions.

False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens)

Common tern (Sterna hirundo)

Mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca)

Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) creating a rainblow

Short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhyncus)

São Miguel Island

Blue whale tails and fin whale blows

Baleen whale action in the Azores! On this particular day out on the water I got to see numerous fin whales (2014 was a record year for fin whales, we encountered this species 35 days in a row!) and a very large blue whale. This blue whale was not only showing its tail at the start of dives, but it even surprised us with a powerful tail breach when some dolphins approached.