Orcas, running dolphins and a sunset

I remember a day that I encountered orcas, running dolphins (no, they were not being chased by the orcas) and a sunset over the ocean, what better combination can you ask for?

The tall fin of a large male orca

Striped dolphins "running"

A perfect end to the day

The year of the orca in the Azores

In January 2013, a male orca arrived to São Miguel and he was later followed by a pod of several females and young that visited the island sporadically until the end of May. It turned out to be the best year on record to see orcas in the Azores, so we felt very lucky that they had chosen our island for whatever reason. I still find it fascinating that almost nothing is known about the orcas seen in the Azores. They have not yet been assigned to an existing orca ecotype, and we don't even know where they come from or go when they are not in close proximity to the Azores islands. When I have seen them here, I observed them feeding on loggerhead turtles (one orca even breached with a turtle in his mouth and released it mid-air so that the poor turtle went flying before being devoured). I have also seen them chasing dolphins and our famous male that first arrived in January was toying with a stingray. Hence this male orca is still known today as "Mr Ray".  

The male orca we call Mr Ray

Orca in the last light of the day

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my photography blog. My wildlife photography story begins in a small seaside town called Kaikoura in New Zealand. Throughout 2006 and 2007 I had the privelege of taking a small research boat out on the ocean to collect data for my masters project on the sperm whales that feed in the deep waters of the Kaikoura canyon. I became addicted to the marine life of Kaikoura, so after my research I stayed another 2 years to work as a whale watching guide. This is just a small selection of the first photographs I took as a budding wildlife photographer in Kaikoura. The following photos are all from 2006, my first field season and the year in which I encountered my first whales (starting with the sperm whale), orcas, dusky dolphins and a huge variety of oceanic birds. More photos from 2007 will follow shortly.

Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans)

Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) diving into the depths

Sperm whale replenishing its oxygen stores at the surface

Orca (Orcinus orca) passing close to the rocks where a New Zealand fur seal colony can be found

Two male sperm whales diving in synchrony - a rare and magical moment

Dusky dolphin (Lagenorynchus obscurus) - a very acrobatic species

Southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus)