Island Hopping in the Tropics – Part 4

Day 11 saw us back in a similar area as day 6, our whale watchers’ dream day (see Island Hopping in the Tropics – Part 2), but the days could not have been more different in terms of sightings.  With a northeasterly force 4, weather conditions were reasonably favourable for picking out cetaceans, but there was very little seen. Even the seabirds seemed to have disappeared with just a handful of large shearwaters and storm petrels seen!  We had to wait until 5pm for our first and only cetacean sighting of the day when a very large bull Sperm Whale surfaced close to the ship.  He showed well as he re-oxygenated at the surface with the photographs showing him to probably have a twisted spine or bone deformity – maybe a birth deformity? This is something I have seen with large whales in the past and has been recorded in Sperm Whale.

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Adult male Sperm Whale with a bone or spinal deformity
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One of three Loggerhead Turtles seen throughout the day

The next day saw Braemar docked in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the day. With blue skies and very little breeze, it seemed like it had been a good decision to escort the official Fred Olsen whale watching excursion – and it certainly was!  A small, but excited band of us travelled down to the tourist town of Playa de las americas at the south of the island to board a catamaran for a few hours of whale watching and relaxing on board.  We had hardly left port when I picked up the black, shiny fins of a small pod of Short-finned Pilot Whale ahead of us and a scan around revealed a wide-spread group resting at the surface in various locations.  We spent time with one group which had two very small calves with them which could only have been a few days old, they were absolutely tiny! We were treated to some amazing close encounters as the animals got used to us and moved around the vessel.  It was an absolute treat to share some time with this small family on a vessel whose Captain knew how to responsibly position the vessel to minimise disturbance – unfortunately, the same can not be said about some of the private vessels in the area.

Research in Tenerife suggests that there are as many as 1,000 Short-Finned Pilot Whales which frequent the water off the South West coast of Tenerife. Out of these, it thought that only about half are resident to the area.  During the day (especially the morning) they tend to rest at the surface to recuperate from night-time hunting efforts in shallower, warm water so are fairly easy to find.

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Short-finned Pilot Whale including a very small calf

It was very much a different trip for us in Lanzarote away from the normal wildlife watching.  As a geologist by training, I was keen to see the Timanfaya National Park so Russ and I headed out on the official excursion. The park itself is a vast volcanic landscape that covers a quarter of the island and was created over six years of near-continuous volcanic eruptions that took place between 1730 and 1736 giving an almost alien landscape.  Never ones to ignore the wildlife however, we were delighted to find the endemic Bertholot’s Pipit hopping round our feet as we disembarked the coach at our first stop.

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A very friendly Bertholot’s Pipit in the car park

After a fantastic demonstration of the power of the Earth, we were taken on a spectacular 50 minute scenic coach trip around the ‘Ruta de los Volcanes’ – the only way you can see the park – before stopping for the obligatory camel ride (we didn’t!) included in the tour.

We decided to take a closer look at the lava field instead which turned out to be a good decision as we found a small flock of Trumpeter Finch feeding on the ground – a new species for me!  An awe-inspiring trip which I highly recommend if you ever visit Lanzarote.

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Trumpeter Finch
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The distinctive Lanzarote Vineyards near Timanfaya National Park

Luckily, we sailed away from Arrecife, Lanzarote at 2pm giving us the whole afternoon over the very nutrient-rich waters of the continental shelf and slope. Whilst passengers were still gathering on the deck following the sail-away party provided by Braemar’s excellent Entertainments Team, we had our first sighting. Alerted by a large flocking of circling and feeding birds, Russ was able to pick out a group of dolphins feeding underneath.  As we got closer, more activity was picked up until eventually we were surround by hundreds of Atlantic Spotted Dolphin of which at least 150 animals came in to bow-ride to the delight of the many passengers on deck.

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Atlantic Spotted Dolphin – the lack of spots indicating younger animals

Two more groups of at least 30 Atlantic Spotted Dolphin came into bowride over a 15 minute period before a brief lull in proceedings.  However, with sea conditions excellent, we anticipated the next sighting wouldn’t be far away. Suddenly, I picked up a blow well out towards the horizon ahead of us followed by surges of water… they were feeding. Because conditions were so calm, we were able to pick out the bodies of the two animals as well as their distinctive swept back dorsal fin as they sounded for a deeper dive whilst they were still well ahead of us thus confirming Fin Whale.  Now it was the waiting game to see how long they would dive for and where they were going to pop back up. Our attention was momentarily taken by a small pod of Short-finned Pilot Whale which quietly snuck down the starboard side before a passenger suddenly shouted… the Fin Whale had resurfaced and were still lunge feeding!  This time we were able to make out the indicative white jaw line on the right hand side as one animal surged through the water whilst a second lunged on its side feeding, the tail breaking the surface.   Lunge feeding like this is very typical for Fin Whale as well as some of the other larger rorqual whales and can be the cause of mistaken identity as the tail can look confusingly like an Orca dorsal fin!

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Blow of a Fin Whale
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Short-finned Pilot Whale
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Fin Whale
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Lunge-feeding Fin Whale with the tail out of the water

Over the next hour, we were treated to 8 more Fin whale, another active pod of at least 50 Atlantic Spotted Dolphin coming in to bowride and around 50 Striped Dolphin who tried to remain quite, but one animal in particular made some enormous leaps out of the water!

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Atlantic Spotted Dolphin adult
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Acrobatic Striped Dolphin

A bit of a lull for an hour before a distant group of 4 Risso’s Dolphin tested Russ and I’s identification skills followed by 2 Fin Whale closer to the ship and a smaller rorqual whale which at the time I called as different.  Analysis of the photographs has shown it as likely to be Bryde’s (pronounced Bru-dess) Whale although without seeing the three diagnostic longitudinal ridges on the top of the rostrum, we can’t be 100% certain.

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Probable Bryde’s Whale

Just as the sky started to turn golden, we were treated to our only beaked whale sighting of the afternoon with two Cuvier’s Beaked Whale surfacing around halfway to the horizon before quickly disappearing back into the depths – beaked whales truly are a frustrating group of whales at times!  However, this wasn’t the last sighting at all as just as we were walking back from the bow to finish, our last cast of the day (thanks Richard – that phrase will stick with me forever now!) found us a Fin Whale followed by around 40 Short-beaked Common Dolphin racing in to the ship!

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Short-beaked Common Dolphin racing in to the ship in the half-light

A wonderful afternoon capped by a beautiful sunset – 8 species in 4 hours is not a bad record at all!

 

 

 

Island Hopping in the Tropics – Part 2

After leaving Madeira in the falling light, we woke the following morning to find La Palma just in sight on the horizon and calm sea conditions.  However, despite the excellent viewing conditions, we recorded just one Sperm Whale which surfaced reasonably close off the port side and was still blowing gently as we lost sight of it behind us.   Seabirds also appeared to be few and far between with a handful of Cory’s Shearwater, two Great Shearwater and two Madeiran Storm Petrels recorded.

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Sperm Whale

On arrival in a very warm and sunny Santa Cruz de La Palma, Russ and I decided to explore the hills around the town as there was apparently a circular walk to follow which would take us along the coast and then up behind the caldera and back into town.  This didn’t quite go according to plan due to a lack of signposts, but we had a very enjoyable few hours walking up through banana plantations in to the foothills.  The sound of Canary Lizards scuttling through the undergrowth filled the air along with the repetitive calls of Canary Islands Chiffchaff, a species endemic to the islands.

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Canary Lizard
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Canary Islands Chiffchaff

Progress was slowed considerably due to clouds of African Grass Blue butterflies and various dragonflies to divert our attention.

We were delighted to pick up a pair of Red-billed Chough calling overhead, a species which within Macaronesia breeds exclusively on La Palma. Estimated numbers sit at around 2,800 birds, so the island boasts one of the highest population densities of this species in the Western Palearctic: approximately 4 individuals per square kilometre.  There seems to be some dispute amongst ornithologists whether they constitute a separate subspecies or not.

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Red-billed Chough soaring overhead

On the way back down to the town, I suddenly spotted a Canary Gecko which was sunning itself on an old wooden bridge.  It ran from sight before Russ had chance to see it, and despite waiting several minutes, failed to reappear.

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Rock Crab

All to soon, it was time to board Braemar in preparation of an evening departure.  The Captain’s announcement gave a hint of good weather the next day so we retired for the evening hoping for an excellent day at sea.

We arrived on deck the following morning at sunrise and were greeted with a mirror calm sea and a low swell – a whale watchers dream come true! We certainly didn’t have to wait long either as no sooner had we arrived than a big group of around 150 Atlantic Spotted Dolphin charged into the bow to greet us. We hadn’t even had time to set cameras up! This was followed a few minutes later by another smaller group which stayed around 500m off before another 15 Atlantic Spotted Dolphin raced in to bowride. I already had the feeling it was going to be a good day and I wasn’t disappointed!

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Distant Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

After a brief lull to catch our breath, I spotted a small, dark animal roll quietly at about 1 o’clock (we use the clock face to get passengers on to sightings), a beaked whale? It rolled again showing a squarish head, followed by a second animal and then a third. At this point, with the blood racing, I knew this was something different that I hadn’t seen before. A Kogia species – either Pygmy or Dwarf Sperm Whale! Dastardly things to identify at sea as they are so rarely seen and when they are, they rarely show much at all, so Russ and I rattled off as many photographs as we could whilst trying to ensure all the passengers saw these enigmatic little cetaceans.   Later analysis of the images showed crucial features of a short, straight back and relatively large, fairly erect dorsal fin which help distinguish these animals as Dwarf Sperm Whale.  Species number 37 for me in my quest to see all the cetacean species in the World, fantastic!

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The Elusive Dwarf Sperm Whale

No rest for those of us on deck however, as almost immediately a very sleepy pod of Risso’s Dolphin slipped down the starboard side barely showing as they snuck by.  A shout from the top deck from one of our eagle-eye and very enthusiastic passengers (thank you Richard!) had us scanning the seas until he shouted again for us to look up just as an immature Red-footed Booby drifted low over our heads! This rare and magnificent seabird delighted us all for at least 15 minutes with close flybys until it drifted off to starboard, attempted a dive and then continued back out to sea. The smallest of the Booby family, this species is infrequently seen in the eastern Atlantic with 4 individuals recorded in 2018 (including this bird).

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Immature Red-footed Booby

A large group of around 150 dolphins mid-morning kept us on our toes as they kept their distance and were silhouetted by the sun making identification difficult.  Photo-identification in the evening showed them to be the only group of Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphin seen throughout the day.  However, a ripple of excitement around the deck indicated that our next sighting wasn’t going to be quite so frustrating.  A tall, diffuse blow, followed by a long, straight back and large, erect dorsal fin surging through the water could be only one thing, Sei Whale! This group of four whales seemingly working together as they fed, were in view for at least 10 minutes as they passed close down the port side delighting passengers with their display.

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Feeding Sei Whale

We picked up two groups of beaked whales which proved challenging to identify. After watching the second group of four animals for several minutes as we closed on them, we were finally able to identify them as Cuvier’s Beaked Whale, but the first animals remained elusive.  Having missed breakfast due to not wanting to leave the deck, Russ and I decided to take a quick break hoping we wouldn’t miss anything….. we did!  Passengers were delighted to tell us about the close pod of whales in front of the ship just minutes before we got back! A photograph showed them to be small, ‘mesoplodont’-type beaked whales (likely Sowerby’s, True’s or Gervais Beaked Whale), but sadly didn’t show the needed beak/head shot to clinch the identity…. the ones that got away!

Things quietened down slightly in the afternoon, but we still recorded another single Cuvier’s Beaked Whale as well as 4 distant, but active groups of Striped Dolphin.  However, they left their best display to the end as we had a superbly active group of around 40 Striped Dolphin race into the bow in the early evening.  Striped Dolphin won’t always bow-ride, but when they do it is something you don’t want to miss, what a sight!

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Leaping Striped Dolphin

Throughout the day, we had a steady stream of Loggerhead Turtle swimming past the ship – as it was so calm, many were distant, but several passengers happily spotted their own turtles along with Flying Fish and had great fun trying to get each other on to them.  Bird-wise, we were kept busy with many Cory’s and Great Shearwater, Madeiran and Leach’s Storm Petrel and reasonable views of a Fea’s/Zino’s Petrel.

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Loggerhead Turtle

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Flying Fish

What a day!  It really was one of those days that whale watchers can only dream of and certainly one of the best days at sea I’ve had in 15 years!

Thanks for reading!
Emma