Baleen season is upon us in the Azores, with these majestic animals passing through the Azores from March to June on the migratory routes taking time to feed or rest around the islands.
We’ve had some great sightings so far this season especially of Fin whales and Blue whales although the weather at the beginning of the season hampered blue whale sightings a little. So far one of our partners on Sao Miguel in the Azores has managed to register socializing, feeding and travel behaviour of the Blues and they’ve even had some encounters where Blues have been seen with Fin whales. Food habits, distribution and social behaviour are similar among these 2 species.
Did you know? Comparing genetic evolution content on both species, it has been found that Fin whales and Blue whales are about 3.5 million years apart on the evolutionary tree. However, in Northern populations there exist hybrids between these species with the characteristics of both. According to some recent DNA evidence, it indicates that the Fin whale may be however more closely related to the Humpback whale and in at least one study, the Grey whale.
The other star of the show so far has been the Killer Whale. Orcas have been sighted since very early this year and they seem to be really enjoying their stay around the south coast of Sao Miguel.
There have been more than 30 sightings so far and there has been at least one calf in each group probably born at the beginning of this year.
Dolphins
Our resident common dolphins have been appearing regularly but this year there seem to be less bottlenose dolphins around than previous years.
See our Azores website for details of our whale watching holidays.