We boarded the MS Braemar on the 8th Dec in Tenerife where I was to be one of the guest lecturers. By the following dawn, we had arrived in La Gomera and spent a relaxing morning in San Sebastian exploring the local park which hosted a very tame Hoopoe and a number Berthelot’s Pipits and numerous Monarch Butterflies. That afternoon we set off across the warm waters of the sub-tropical Atlantic. After an hour or so we encountered a small pod of Striped Dolphin and a short time later a family group of Short-finned Pilot Whales. Then shortly before dusk that first evening we also had a small pod of Blainville’s beaked Whale.
click on the images below to see them at full size.
Hoopoe and Betholot's Pipit - San Sebastian, La Gomera
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After leaving the Amazon we powered north towards the delightful island of Tobago. During our second day at sea we enjoyed a multitude of seabirds most of which appeared to be attracted to the high concentrations of flying fish. We also had a few dolphin pods put in a an appearance including a group of at least 20 Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphins bow-riding. They appeared so suddenly I didn’t even bother to lift my camera.
Flying Fish sp. off Guyana © Jeff Clarke
Later on in the day we would see great concentrations of birds, mostly Audubon’s Shearwaters and Sooty Terns, some definitely had cetaceans below them but the views were to brief and distant for recognition. Frustratingly we also had a pod of large dolphin-like cetaceans no...
