I covered the Seabirds seen on our first day at sea between the Falklands and South Georgia in the last Blog Post. There had been nothing unexpected on the Seabird front. But just to show that you always have to be on your toes, out of nowhere a pod of four Hourglass Dolphins appeared. Within three minutes, they were gone again. But like other Hourglass Dolphin sightings I've seen in the Southern Oceans, they were superb Dolphins to see.
Hourglass Dolphin: Suddenly, there were Dolphins breaching close to the Plancius
Hourglass Dolphin: With their small size and such a distinctive appearance, then the identification was straight-forward
Hourglass Dolphin: They were repeatedly jumping
Hourglass Dolphin: Showing the distinctive hourglass markings
Hourglass Dolphin: The only other black & white Dolphins in range are Dusky Dolphins and Peale's Dolphins, which are larger and have grey and white markings. There is also the much larger Southern Rightwhale Dolphin, but that has a simple black upperparts and white underparts and no dorsal fin. The other potential species is the inshore Commerson's Dolphin, but they have a white body with a broad black head and black from the dorsal fin to the tail
Hourglass Dolphin: They are gorgeous and my favourite Dolphin
Hourglass Dolphin: They were clearly the wildlife highlight of the day
Hourglass Dolphin: This was the final breach I photographed. I watched them again with the bins, but soon we were leaving them behind
