Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

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In 2009 we had an unexpected surprise! In July, in windy day, we had and encounter with a Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) very close to the shore (see picture). The whale was about 9 meters, and for this reason we know that it's a juvenile. Yet very little is known about the occurrence of this species on our coast.
But the surprises did not end there and we had a bizarre observation: a species similar to the Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis), the Long-beaked Common dolphin (Delphinus capensis), whose occurrence had never been reported in our waters. Presently, the scientific community still discusses whether these two or should not be considered different species. We did not take pictures, and therefore can not publish it here.
In 2009 we also recorded: Common dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Risso's dolphins and Minke whales. |
Seabirds

Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus)
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In 2009 we recorded our first Cory's shearwater in May and during that month we had also observed adult and juvenile Northen gannets, and a few specimens of the less common European storm petrel or Great Skua.
Very rewarding was the rarity we met in October: the second observation ever in Portuguese mainland waters of a sub-species of the Cory's Shearwater, the Scopoli's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea diomedea) (the first was in the previous year, also in our boat), in a joint venture with SPEA (the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds) during the European Birdwatching Weekend (BirdLife).
Great skua (Morus bassanus)
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Since 2005, we already have recorded 9 different species of this marine mammal group.

Common-dolphin (Delphinus delphis) |
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List of recorded cetacean species:
Common name |
Scientific name |
| Humpback whale |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
| Minke whale |
Balaenoptera acutorostrata |
| Killer whale |
Orcinus orca |
| Risso's dolphin |
Grampus griseus |
| Bottlenose dolphin |
Tursiops truncatus |
| (Short beaked) Common dolphin |
Delphinus delphis |
| Long-beaked Common dolphin |
Delphinus capensis |
| Striped dolphin |
Stenella coeroleoalba |
| Harbour porpoise |
Phocoena phocoena |
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