03.11.2018 – A fintastic day

Four tours, nice sea conditions, plenty of fins around, spectacular jumps and the rescue of a little bird. That is the very short summary of the day. The Atlantic Ocean has been in a very generous mood today…

We encountered Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) on all our trips into the wide blue to the South out of Calheta. Especially remarkable have been the high numbers of the animals: several separate pods and subgroups of Bottlenose dolphins but also plenty of Pilot whales were slowly on the move to the West.

We could see them socializing and interacting but unforgettable was the show one particular Bottlenose dolphins gave on our way back into the marina. There was a group of three younger animals. They might have been in their teen age and came directly into the bow of the Ribeira Brava, our traditional fishing vessel. First, they were just cruising in front of the boat. They seemed to enjoy the bow wave pushing them forward. At one point one of the three decided to jump so close to us out of the water that we had to be careful with the cameras to avoid them catching saltwater from the splashes the playful dolphin created. The animal jumped for more than 20 times always with its backside diving back into the water – an unexpected performance that left us all speechless on board.

On the trip in the afternoon we took a juvenile Corey´s Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) with us to release it out on sea. The disoriented fledgling was trapped in the toilet in the marina. We set it free two miles offshore. Just after a few seconds on the water the young bird took off. A bit clumsy but right away joining some others of its kind gliding over the surface. Hopefully this juvenile will make it and come back to Madeira in a few years to have his own family!

by Jan-Christopher Fischer

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

15:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

Stenella

10:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales

15:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales