07.09.2024 – One Rare One Regular

Today two very key events happened. Firstly, amongst beautiful and showy Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella frontalis), we spotted a red-billed tropic bird (Phaethon aethereus). This is a glorious and rare visitor that feeds on fish and squid like our dolphins, and like many species Rough-toothed Dolphins (Steno bredanesis) and Bryde’s Whales (Balaenoptera edeni), they slowly drift up from warmer climates to Madeira. Unlike these species, however, these birds are bad swimmers and tend to hunt alone, so the single individual today was a beautiful sight, rivalling the jumping dolphins around him

Perhaps our tropicbird was just foreshadowing the second key event of the day. The return of some other visitors, namely the seasoned whale-watching eyes of our good friends and regular guests, the “Shorties.” We wish them good sightings for the entirety of their stay, as much for their sake as also for ours.

*This view may be swayed by the slightly biased opinion of Pete, a keen birder who has been waiting for this species since he arrived here in May, and does not reflect the views of the everyday whale watcher.

by Peter Worth

Sightings of the Day

Stenella

09:30 Bottlenose Dolphins, Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, Red Billed Tropic Bird

14:00 Bottlenose Dolphins, Rissos Dolphins

Ribeira Brava

09:30 Bottlenose dolphins