4 Nov 22 - Indonesia - Banda Sea Cruise Day 9 - Melon-headed Whales Between Leti & Wetar

The previous Blog Post covered the Birds seen on the crossing between Leti & Wetar on the Banda Sea Cruise. My avian highlight was a showy Bulwer's Petrel. But my highlight for the crossing was again taken by a pod of Cetaceans. About 15:15, we saw a distant pod of Cetaceans on the surface. I grabbed some distant photos and had a look at the zoomed up images.

Melon-headed Whale: They were distant small-looking Blackfish and I couldn't see any of the broad dorsal fins that the two Pilot Whale species show

They were clearly Blackfish. Blackfish is the name given for a group of largely black-coloured Dolphins comprising of: Orca (Killer Whale), Long-finned Pilot Whale, Short-finned Pilot Whale, False Killer Whale, Pygmy Killer Whale & Melon-headed Whale. Despite being called Whales, they are all part of the Dolphin family. Their small size and lack of any individuals with high dorsal fins ruled out Orca and I couldn't see any of the individuals showing very broad dorsal fins which males of the two Pilot Whale species show. This eliminated three of the Blackfish, but we would have to wait until they got closer, before we could identify them. I took lots of distant photos, but apart from the above photo, they have all been deleted, as the Blackfish stayed on the surface for closer photos. It's a good job we have moved on from the film cameras I started using many years ago.

Short-finned Pilot Whale: For comparison, these are some of the Short-finned Pilot Whales we saw on the crossing between Babar & Damar Islands. Note, the very broad dorsal fin of the male (2 Nov 22)

Separating False Killer Whale, Pygmy Killer Whale & Melon-headed Whale would need a bit more checking. Fortunately, they stayed on the surface and some of the fifty or so in the pod, passed very close to the Lady Denok. They were small Blackfish about the size of the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins & Pantropical Dolphins, and were a lot smaller than the Short-finned Pilot Whales, that we had seen on the crossing from Babar to Damar a couple of days earlier. This allowed us to eliminate False Killer Whales which can grow to a size of 5 - 6 metres: which are a similar size to the 5.5 to 7.2 metres of Short-finned Pilot Whales. In both cases, the males are the larger of the two sexes.

Melon-headed Whale

Separating Pygmy Killer Whale from Melon-headed Whale is trickier as both are about the same size: 2.6 metres for the former & 2.8 metres for the latter species. I've not seen Pygmy Killer Whale, so I have to rely on what I can learn from the excellent Marine Mammals of the World Ed 2 guide and photos online. Useful separation features include the head shape when it is seen from above and the flipper shape. Neither of these features can be seen in any of the photos.

Melon-headed Whale: A dorsal fin profile. The Marine Mammals of the World guide states that Pygmy Killer Whales have a dorsal fin that is tall, slightly falcated & rising at a relatively shallow angle from the back, whereas, Melon-headed Whales have a dorsal fin that is tall, slightly falcated and located near the middle of the back. Comparing photos online, this dorsal fin is fairly steep in angle & the dorsal fin shape suggests this a Melon-headed Whale

Melon-headed Whale: The Marine Mammals of the World guide states that Pygmy Killer Whales have a dark grey to black body with a fairly prominent narrow cape that dips only slightly below the dorsal fin. Whereas, Melon-headed Whales have a rounded cape that dips much lower below the dorsal fin: which would give them a more uniform colouration on the parts of the body I've managed to photograph. Both species have a paler grey broad pale stripe above the eye which extends from the lower body, however, this broad stripe can be difficult to see in either species, unless the lighting is favourable

Melon-headed Whale: Neither species have a beak except some young individuals

Melon-headed Whale

Melon-headed Whale: Looking at photos in the Marine Mammals of the World guide and online, Pygmy Killer Whales have a bulkier body & deeper head shape, compared to the more slender Melon-headed Whales. This photo clearly shows these are a slender more streamline Blackfish

Melon-headed Whale: A close up of the head from the last photo showing the head shape & white lips. Both species can show white lips, with photos and illustrations showing these can be much broader in height in Pygmy Killer Whales (especially older individuals) and narrow in Melon-headed Whales

Melon-headed Whale: Melon-headed Whales occur in all tropical & subtropical deep water oceans from 40 degrees North to 35 degrees South: in the Pacific this is roughly from Southern Japan to halfway down the Australian coast

Based on the photos, these are only my third pod of Melon-headed Whales. The other two pods were both seen between Ascension Island and Cape Verde on 24 Apr 18 while I was on the Atlantic Odyssey.

2 Nov 22 - Indonesia - Banda Sea Cruise Day 7 - Cetaceans Between Babar & Damar

We had left Babar the previous evening and the Lady Denok had motored through the night. The following morning, I was up soon after first light as we were still at sea. I grabbed the first coffee of the day & headed for the deck.

About 08:45, we saw our first Dolphins when we encountered a distant party of at least twenty Blackfish. Blackfish is the name given for a group of largely black-coloured Dolphins comprising of: Orca (Killer Whale), Long-finned Pilot Whale, Short-finned Pilot Whale, False Killer Whale, Pygmy Killer Whale & Melon-headed Whale. Despite being called Whales, they are all part of the Dolphin family.

Thanks to the very calm water, we were able to pick up them up in the distance. They stayed on the surface as we approached, but we never had really close views. Looking at the very broad dorsal fins of the adult males, they were clearly one of the two Pilot Whales and the only Pilot Whale species that inhabits the tropical Indonesian waters are Short-finned Pilot Whales. Long-finned Pilot Whales prefer colder waters and the nearest they get to Indonesia is about half way up the Australian coast.

Short-finned Pilot Whale: Both species of Pilot Whales stay on the surface for extended periods

Short-finned Pilot Whale: Two adult males and a female or immature individual

Short-finned Pilot Whale: The left hand male blowing

Short-finned Pilot Whale: The right hand two individuals showing how distinctive the male's dorsal fin is

Twenty minutes later, we had our next Dolphin sighting: a small pod of at least six Spinner Dolphins. Spinner Dolphins are renowned for their energetic spinning as they jump & one individual didn't disappoint when it jumping out of the water. Unfortunately, after this spinning session, they continued on their way, with no further acrobatics.

Spinner Dolphin: Doing what they excel at

Spinner Dolphin: They occur in all the tropical oceans of the world

Spinner Dolphin: Spin over & back in the water in a relatively normal orientation

We saw two parties of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins during the afternoon. In both cases, there were about twenty individuals in the pod. While most passed at a distance, a few did feel obliged to put on a display by jumping out of the water.

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin: The main features are they are fairly slender Dolphins, with a reasonable length beak (which is not as long as a Spinner Dolphin's beak), a distinct crease between the beak and the base of the melon, a long & narrow dorsal fin with a slightly rounded tip and a dark dorsal cape which sweeps down below the dorsal fin, but quickly rises to the top of the back just behind the dorsal fin

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin: Not all Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are spotted & this feature is of limited use. They have a similar range to the Spinner Dolphins and they occur in all the tropical oceans of the world

The Cetacean highlight was the first Cetacean of the day. Arthur picked up a Beaked Whale on the surface, that dropped down, but resurfaced a few times. Fortunately, he also managed to grab a few helpful photos, which I thought at the time confirmed the identification as a Longman's Beaked Whale. Frustratingly, while I saw it on several occasions, I never managed to photograph it. I am grateful to Arthur for copies of his photos & permission to be able to add them to the Blog. Larger versions of the original photos can be found here (I've not changed Arthur's photos as they appear on the Blog). The likely Beaked Whales are Cuvier's Beaked Whale & Longman's Beaked Whale. Here are my reasons why I think it is a Longman's Beaked Whale, based upon features & photos in the excellent Marine Mammals of the World Ed 2 by Jefferson, Webber & Pitman book, as well as, photos online.

Longman's or Immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale: Copyright of the photo remains with Arthur Geilvoet

I think an adult Cuvier's Beaked Whale can quickly be ruled out by the lack of paler colouration, lack of scarring & lack of many cookie-cutter scars. This looks to have a pretty uniform colouration, with only one cookie-cutter scar (but Longman's Beaked whale can show some cookie-cutter scars). However, I don't think the colouration & lack of scarring eliminates a fairly young immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale, which should be more uniform in colouration & less scarred.

Longman's or Immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale: Copyright of the photo remains with Arthur Geilvoet

Looking at photos of Cuvier's Beaked Whales & Longman's Beaked Whales in the book & online, Cuvier's Beaked Whale is a much bulkier species, with a fairly pronounced curved body in front on the dorsal fin, whereas, Longman's Beaked Whale doesn't have this same bulk or upper body curvature. Separating Cuvier's Beaked Whale from Longman's Beaked Whale isn't heavily stressed in the book, with the book being more focused on confusion of Cuvier's Beaked Whale with a number of other Beaked Whale species (which only applies to other parts of the Cuvier's Beaked Whale range).

Longman's or Immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale: Copyright of the photo remains with Arthur Geilvoet

The book does say Longman's Beaked Whale can cause some confusion with Cuvier's Beaked Whale, but attention to colour & head shape should allow distinction, if seen reasonably well. That doesn't really seem to help given Arthur wasn't lucky enough to get a good head shot and the colouration of fairly young immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale. Both species should have paler heads, with Cuvier's Beaked Whale looking like it has the paler of the two heads. It's possible to see the blow hole which is at the back of the melon. The melon looks bulkier & longer which looks better for Longman's Beaked Whale, whereas it drops fairly quickly in Cuvier's Beaked Whale. But I'm not sure there is enough of the head to be sure on head shape or colouration.

Longman's or Immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale: Copyright of the photo remains with Arthur Geilvoet

In summary, I think it's between a fairly young immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale & a Longman's Beaked Whale. In the absence, of a clear full head photo, then I think the identification can still be made based upon the lack of bulk in the body & shape of the body in front of the dorsal fin which doesn't look right for a Cuvier's Beaked Whale, but fits pretty well for a Longman's Beaked Whale. I would be interested in any feedback from other Cetacean peeps with reasons why they agree or disagree with this analysis. Please leave a comment & an email address on the Blog.

Longman's or Immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale: They are also known as Indo-Pacific Beaked Whale. Copyright of the photo remains with Arthur Geilvoet

Subsequent feedback from James Eaton & Dan Brown have suggested this is more likely to be an immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale. I have changed the Blog Post since I wrote it to leave this as a Longman's or Immature Cuvier's Beaked Whale. I suspect we will never get an answer on this one for certain, but I will still look for others with experience of both species for further feedback.

In addition to the Cetaceans, I also had the only Sunfish we saw on the trip, which passed close down the starboard side & which I didn't pick up till it was near the boat. As I called it out to the others, that was the point it decided to head down from the surface.

Floating Coconut: Not everything on the sea's surface turned out to be a Cetacean or resting Seabird

27 Dec 18 - Index To My Blackfish Posts

This Blog Post is an Index to all the Blog Posts covering my Blackfish sightings. The following Blog Posts cover all my Rorqual Whale, Baleen Whale, Sperm Whale, Beaked Whale, Beluga Whale & Narwhal, Blackfish, Atlantic Dolphin, Pacific Dolphin and Porpoise Posts. The taxonomy follows the Marine Mammals of the World (Second Edition) book. There are links to the Posts against each entry below. Alternatively, you can click on a particular species in the Keywords section on the right side of the Blog to show all Posts for the selected species. Finally, selecting the Cetaceans Keyword to show all Cetacean Posts. I will continue to add to the photos and links as I write new Cetacean Blogs.

Strictly, the Blackfish group are part of the wider Dolphin group, however, I've split them out for convenience. The following Cetacean species are included in the Blackfish group: Orca, Short-finned Pilot Whale, Long-finned Pilot Whale, False Killer Whale, Pygmy Killer Whale & Melon-headed Whale.

Short-finned Pilot Whale: At sea between Tristan da Cunha and St Helena (17 Apr 18)

Short-finned Pilot Whales: At sea between St Helena and Ascension Island (21 Apr 18)

Short-finned Pilot Whales: At sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde (25 Apr 18)

Short-finned Pilot Whale: A close individual at sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde (28 Apr 18)

Short-finned Pilot Whale: At sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde Island (29 Apr 18)

Short-finned Pilot Whale: At sea between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands (3 May 18)

Short-finned Pilot Whale: At sea off the Canary Islands (4 May 18)

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Bay of Biscay (9 May 18)

False Killer Whales: Two False Killer Whales between St Helena & Ascension Island (21 Apr 18)

False Killer Whale: At the Estancia Harberton museum, Argentina (27 Mar 18)

Melon-headed Whale: At sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde (26 Apr 18)

9 May 18 - West African Pelagic - Day Nine: Long-finned Pilot Whales In Biscay

During our time in the South Western corner of the Bay of Biscay on the West African Pelagic, we had had some early morning views of a Fin Whale, as well as, some nice encounters with Short-beaked Common Dolphins & feeding Seabirds. In addition to these Cetaceans, we encountered a small pod of Long-finned Pilot Whales after breakfast which we passed fairly quickly. However, it was good to see them, as it was the twenty fifth Cetacean that I had seen since boarding the Plancius six weeks earlier in Ushuaia.

Long-finned Pilot Whale: There is a male at the front & a female behind

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Male

Just after lunch, we bumped into a larger, more extended pod of Long-finned Pilot Whales. The Expedition staff & Captain agreed to turn the Plancius around & slowly approach them as they were hanging around on the surface. As we had found on a number of occasions during the Atlantic Odyssey & the West African Pelagic, the Plancius is a great ship to allow a slow & careful approach to Cetaceans on the surface without causing them to want to disappear. The combination of the quietness of the Plancius & the expertise of the Captain & crew really helped us to have another enjoyable Cetacean experience. I have seen Long-finned Pilot Whales on a number of occasions from ferries in the Bay of Biscay, but the ferry was always sailing to a timetable & didn't allow the close views we experienced from the Plancius.

Long-finned Pilot Whale: This is just five of the twenty five or so individuals in this extended pod

Long-finned Pilot Whale: This male went through a close dive for the cameras

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Male. They are hard to separate from Short-finned Pilot Whales in areas where they might overlap. In the North Atlantic, the Canaries & Madeira are around the Northern Limit for Short-finned Pilots Whales & from the Bay of Biscay & further North, then Long-finned Pilot Whales are the expected species. Any Pilot Whales seen off Portugal, Southern Spain & North Africa would need more care to identify the particular species

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Male

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Male

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Male

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Male

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Male. A final wave of the flippers & he has gone

Long-finned Pilot Whale: This spyhopping individual gives a great view of the melon, beak & relatively small eye considering the head size

Identification of the two Pilot Whale species is difficult as the fins that are long or short are the flippers which on the underside of the body. This is only really possible to see on beached individuals or very rarely on exceptional views in clear water.

Short-finned Pilot Whale: I was lucky to get this photo of the shorter flippers on this Short-finned Pilot Whale. This photo shows the right-hand flipper which is shorter in length than the overall length of the dorsal fin. Long-finned Pilot Whales have a flipper length that is similar to the overall dorsal fin length (At sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde 28 Apr 18)

4 May 18 - West African Pelagic - Day Four: Sailing Through The Canary Islands

Today we left the deep ocean beds to pass through the Canary Islands. The original route would have taken us to the West of the Canary Islands. However, as we approached the islands, the Captain managed to get permission for us to follow the deep water channel with the islands of El Hierro & La Palma on our port side & La Gomera & Tenerife on the starboard side. This would be better for Seabirds & Cetaceans.

El Hierro: This is the most South Westerly of the Canary Islands

La Restinga on the southerly tip of El Hierro

The town of Taibique is located high above sea level on El Hierro

The island of La Palma lies to the North of El Hierro

Lighthouse at the Southerly end of La Palma

Santa Cruz on the Eastern side of La Palma

The Punta Cumplida lighthouse at the Northerly end of La Palma

To be honest, I wasn't expecting the Birds to provide the excitement during the day as the next potential Ticks were Zino's Petrels & Desertas Petrels in the waters around Madeira & the Desertas Islands. But there would be more opportunities for some photos during the day.

Colin Rogers having a few minutes downtime: Clearly, I wasn't the only person expecting the Birding to be a bit quiet

South African Sue Welman having an hours downtime

Anybody who has been seawatching from the land on the Canary Islands in the spring, will be used to seeing large numbers of Cory's Shearwaters. They are constantly flying past. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that the vast majority of the Seabirds seen were Cory's Shearwaters & I saw over a thousand during the day. I also saw around twenty Bulwer's Petrels & our only flock of seventeen Pomarine Skuas. The rest of the species that I saw were ones & twos of Manx Shearwaters, Leach's Storm-petrel, Bonxie & Yellow-legged Gull.

Cory's Shearwater: Not surprisingly, all the Cory's Shearwaters I photographed today were of the Atlantic breeding Cory's subspecies borealis

Cory's Shearwater: Another photo of the first individual

Cory's Shearwater: A final photo of the first individual

Cory's Shearwater: The black extending into the centre of the hand is indicative of the borealis subspecies on this second individual

Cory's Shearwater: The second individual

Cory's Shearwater: A final upperwing photo of the second individual

Cory's Shearwater: We disturbed large numbers of Cory's Shearwaters resting on the water, including these two

Bulwer's Petrel: I saw about twenty Bulwer's Petrels as we sailed between the islands

Pomarine Skua: A record photo of fifteen of the seventeen distant Pomarine Skuas that flew past the Plancius before breakfast. I only saw one other unphotographed individual on the Plancius on 28 Apr

Bonxie: This Skua flew past as we approached the island. After looking at photos & discussion, the conclusion was it was a tatty 1st Summer Bonxie (AKA Great Skua)

Yellow-legged Gull: A couple of adult Yellow-legged Gull of the nominate michahellis subspecies checked us out

I was hopeful that we would have some Cetacean interest during the day, due to the rapidly changing depths as we sailed through the islands. As we approached the islands we left the four kilometre deep plateau and sailed along a channel that would have varied between two to three kilometers deep. However, the seabed rose rapidly either side of the deep channel as we came within a few miles of the islands. The rapid changing depths would have created a lot of upwellings in the water & provided plenty of food & nutrients for microscopic life, Fish, Seabirds & Cetaceans. The first Cetaceans occurred before breakfast.

Short-finned Pilot Whale: This was our last Short-finned Pilot Whale on the Plancius. It was one of a small pod which appeared close to the Plancius

As we were watching the Short-finned Pilot Whales, a more distant blow was spotted on the starboard side.

Bryde's Whale: Bryde's Whales occur in all the tropical & subtropical oceans. The species is named after Norwegian Johan Bryde & should be pronounced as 'Brooder's Whale', not 'Bride's Whale'

Bryde's Whale: A dorsal fin appears to the right of the blow. This is clearly a large Whale, but Bryde's Whales can grow to 15 or 16 metres

Bryde's Whale: Bryde's Whales are a large Rorqual Whale. They have a tall & falcate dorsal fin & the main confusion species is the similar-sized Sei Whales which also have a similar shaped dorsal fin. Marijke confirmed the identification of these Bryde's Whales

Bryde's Whale: It slowly sank below the waves

Bryde's Whale: This has a different dorsal fin shape & looks to be a different individual. There were four in the party, although I only saw two of them. I can just see a fair bit of body in front of the dorsal fin

Bryde's Whale