05.10.2020 – Powerful – vivid – relaxed

It was wavy today, but thanks to the good performance of our spotter there were three different species to observe. First we had a school of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that swam together against the wave. One of the calves seemed intrigued by the Stenella. Boldly it approached again and again. The whole situation appeared very powerful.

The Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) that we had afterwards surfed in the waves and showed great leaps. What a vivid observation.

At the end we could observe a group of Short finned Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) swimming through the sea at a leisurely pace. They were quite relaxed.

There was one more surprise on this tour. We saw a Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) that is rarely seen here. These seabirds do a very impressive job. They are plunge divers and dive into the water at 100 km / h. How is that possible? Physical adjustment is required. For example, they have no external nostrils, only secondary nostrils that are closed with movable flaps when diving. In addition, these gannets have a strong and long breastbone that acts like a shield to protect the organs when the bird hits the water.

By Fatima Kutzschbach

Sightings of the day

Stenella

15:00 Atlantic Spotted dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Short-finned pilot whales, Northern Gannet