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

A year of whale watching

An entire year of whale watching in the Azores will reward you with a huge number of sightings and a wide variety of different species. Every year is different, every day is different and every encounter is different. There are often surprises and each year will give you different highlights to look back on. For example in 2017, Bryde's whales made an appearance after a 4-year absence - one of them with a calf! The water may have been warmer or more productive than usual, as Atlantic spotted dolphins stayed longer than usual (right through to mid-December) and in large groups with calves. Cory's shearwaters also stayed longer than usual, as did sei whales that stuck around into December when they are usually seen from Spring to early Summer. I encountered 17 whale and dolphin species in 2017

Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) and adult and juvenile pair

Cory's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea borealis)

Great shearwater (Puffinus gravis) catching a meal

Sei whale (Baleanoptera borealis)

Mid winter in Massachusetts

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.  

Coal tit

Red-bellied woodpecker

Meet the sei whale

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.  

Sei whale surfacing to breathe

Sei whale dorsal fin (with a hole made by a cookie cutter shark)

Sei whale surfacing, showing the characteristic curved top of its rostrum

Two sei whales travelling together

Butterflies, flowers and bees

Pale clouded yellow butterfly (Colias hyale)

Cascais, Portugal

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. 

Risso's dolphins

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. 

A well-scarred adult Risso's dolphin

A recently born Risso's dolphin

Adult and juvenile

Risso's dolphin leaping