Our third day at sea saw us venture into new waters, for the 2016 expedition. This time we headed south of Faial.
Under rather grey skies, common dolphins and loggerhead turtles were among the first sightings of the day. They have been the consistent ‘data points’ for each day so far.
For the second day running, we also encountered another fin whale. A relatively brief encounter, but nevertheless an important one. With GPS positions logged (as we do for all sightings), data recorded and photos documented, we moved on. Heading further off the southern coast of Faial.
As the weather improved in the afternoon, so did our luck, with multiple sperm whale encounters. At one point we were trailing five individuals in a line. There won’t be many days when you get to linger behind five sperm whales! Though when trying to document the tail flukes of each whale, as well as monitor blow rates, activity on the boat can get fairly frantic. And you can always guarantee that multiple sperm whales will appear when we have some of the team on bird or turtle surveys.
The upshot was another great day of data collection, aided by some great weather and calm seas. More of the same tomorrow please!
Update from our volunteer vacation / conservation holiday protecting whales, dolphins and turtles around the Azores archipelago
Biosphere Expeditions: blogs from the frontline of wildlife conservation and the fight for a more sustainable planet 