3 Feb 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 17 - Some Caribbean Dolphins Off Bequia

As we left Bequia, we had time for some final surveying before it was dark. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to see that much as we would only have an hour or so at sea after clearing the immediate coastline before it was dusk.

I thought Bequia would be a good backdrop for a new photo for my ORCA profile: It certainly looked better than the one I took at home with the living room wall as a background

St Vincent in the distance: It was a pity we didn't visit there as there is an endemic Parrot and an endemic New World Warbler on the island

Initially, we saw parties of Brown Boobies and Red-footed Boobies flying past the ship. Then I picked up a couple of distant Dolphins jumping high out of the water. I initially though they might be Spinner Dolphins, but they didn't leap again to allow confirmation and they were a long way off. A few minutes later, a party of at least a dozen Dolphins pasting the ship & we could clearly see they were Fraser's Dolphins. They spent most of their time swimming past lust under the surface, but occasionally one surfaced.

Fraser's Dolphin: Fraser's Dolphins are a medium-sized Dolphin growing up to 2.7 metres with a stocky body and a distinctive short and stubby beak. The upperparts are light brownish-grey, with creamy coloured lower sides with a broad darker line from the eye to the anus and a pinkish belly. They have a slightly falcate dorsal fin

Fraser's Dolphin: They occur in the Atlantic from as far North as South Carolina to North Africa and South to Southern Brazil to Angola. They occur throughout the Indian Ocean as far South as South Africa and Madagascar across to central Western Australia. They continue through South East Asian waters and across the Pacific as far South as Sydney, Australia to North Peru and as far North as Southern Japan to Baja California

Having seen Fraser's Dolphins leaping high out of the water in the Banda Sea, then it's possible that was what the distant jumping Dolphins had been. However, with only a couple of very distant breaches to go on, they had to be recorded as unidentified Dolphins.

Fraser's Dolphin: Jumping between Pantar & Kalaotoa in the Banda Sea, Indonesia (10 Nov 22)

Just over ten minutes later, another party of ten Dolphins passing down the side of the ship. Fortunately, I managed to get some photos of them, as we were struggling to identify them as they raced alongside towards the stern. At the time, I thought they were Pantropical Spotted Dolphins, but Terry raised concerns when he saw the photos. Both species Pantropical Spotted Dolphins have a noticeable beak, which is separated from the melon by a distinctive crease. Additionally, both species have a dark cape which extends from the upper face to low under the dorsal fin before it curves up to the top of the back just behind the dorsal fin. The spotting isn't a help as youngsters of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are unspotted and some populations also have unspotted adults. However, Clymene Dolphins have a dark-tipped beak, whereas Pantropical Dolphins have a white tip.

Clymene Dolphin: Clymene Dolphins are shorter and more robust than Spinner Dolphins with a shorter and stockier beak, which is separated from the melon by a distinctive crease. Note the dark-tipped beak

Clymene Dolphin: This photo shows the dark cape which extends from the upper face to low under the dorsal fin before it curves up to the top of the back just behind the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is erect and slightly falcate. Clymene Dolphins are restricted to the Atlantic, where their range is broadly similar to the range of Fraser's Dolphins

Sadly, the Clymene Dolphins were the last Dolphins we saw that evening and within a half hour or so, we lost the light. But it had been a good end to the day and those passengers who had joined us on deck had enjoyed the show the Dolphins put on.

Clymene Dolphin: This photo was taken at sea between Ascension & Cape Verde and shows the dark cape and dark-tipped beak. They are clearly an acrobatic species (28 Apr 18)

10 Nov 22 - Indonesia - Banda Sea Cruise Day 15 - Fraser's Dolphins

We were still at sea on the crossing from Pantar Island to Kalaotoa Island when we woke up. Just after 05:30, we saw a large pod of Dolphins in the distance. Initially, the views were poor & the light wasn't great. A few were seen jumping, but they were still distant. Our initial thought based upon the first sightings was they were probably Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins, based upon the small size. But we didn't realise at the time that they were Fraser's Dolphins. It would have been easy had we checked the photos at the time, but none of the photographers including myself did check them.

Fraser's Dolphin: Looking at these photos I can see why we initially thought they were Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins

Fraser's Dolphin: Had I looked at this distant photo, then it would have been obvious it wasn't a pod of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins

Fraser's Dolphin: A second individual. The pinky belly with the thin dark & pale stripes on the sides of the body rule out Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin & looks good for Fraser's Dolphin

Fraser's Dolphin: A clearer view of the facial stripe

Fraser's Dolphin

Fraser's Dolphin: A third individual

Suddenly, somebody spotted one of the Dolphins was right next to the starboard side of the Lady Denok. There was time to grab a few photos, as well as, to just enjoy the spectacle. Soon after, more Fraser's Dolphins were seen much further out on the starboard side, but they were too far out for any worthwhile photos. As the Fraser's Dolphins moved past the Lady Denok, we saw a distant pod of Blackfish, which were probably Short-finned Pilot Whales, but I didn't get good views of them & they quickly disappeared from view. As a result, I didn't go back to look at the Dolphin photos. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I came to sort these photos out to see these blatantly obvious Fraser's Dolphin photos, rather than the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins we had initially called them as. It was nice to get a belated Cetacean Tick.

Fraser's Dolphin: It is clearly a small tubby Dolphin with a very short beak which would eliminate Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

Fraser's Dolphin

Fraser's Dolphin: This is an uncropped photo & I couldn't fit it all in. Sometimes having a 100 - 400 mm lens & a 1.6 magnification within the camera is just too big an effective magnification

Fraser's Dolphin: The dark & light stripes on the sides of the body & the distinctive short beak are diagnostic of Fraser's Dolphin

As we got closer to Kalaotoa we saw a small pod of Dolphins that looked like Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins. They appear to be small uniform-coloured Dolphins with short & chunky beaks. I had previously posted photos of what I thought were Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins, but which were subsequently reidentified as Spinner Dolphins. But the Spinner Dolphins had proportionally longer & thinner beaks.

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

At one point, we also saw a couple of Cuvier's Beaked Whales.

Cuvier's Beaked Whale: The first individual showing the typical paler head

Cuvier's Beaked Whale: The second individual

It had been a good crossing for Cetaceans. But finally, we could see Kalaotoa & we had to get ready for the afternoon landing.