Over the past week, we’ve had some wonderful experiences, on land as well as sea. Our final week began with a return to harbour in Horta. The weather had conveniently decided to throw a tantrum on the same day that we needed to go back to land anyway, to pick up new crew (Sigursteinn, from IFAW, Iceland) and parts for our hydrophones. So we made a run for port, buffeted by fresh winds and lumpy seas. Although on the plus side, the squally weather made for great rainbows, and the fresh snow on Pico looked stunning in the sunshine.

By the afternoon, the skies had cleared enough to allow Sonia, Artist in Residence from the Cape Farewell project, to get on with some beach art. Sonia has been working on a project drawing life-sized pictures of endangered whale species on beaches. We all loved her work, and were delighted when she agreed to draw a massive sperm whale on the beach at Porto Pim, the bay where sperm whales used to be brought  to shore in the Azores whaling days. The factory there is now a whaling museum, and the sperm whale she drew on the beach in front of it was beautiful and moving.

Once back out to sea, we headed for Princesse Alice Bank, an area of sea mounts 50 miles southwest of Faial, where we hoped to encounter baleen whales to photo-identify them, and record their low frequency vocalisations. On passage through the night, there was frenzied vocal activity on our hydrophones, with the headphones filled with delphinid whistles and clicks. Our hopes were high as the morning came still and calm, but the day was mostly quiet on the sightings front apart from our ever-present and constantly entertaining companions the common dolphins. We also had an amazing sperm whale encounter, the animal logging and blowing close to our boat, then fluking up and posing elegantly for ID shots before diving, clicking into our hydrophones as it went.

But the whale action was only going to get better. Since we have been in the Azores, we have seen and recorded some ten species of whales and dolphins. But the blue whale, the largest of them all, and a key focus of our Atlantic research program this summer, has eluded us. But not forever. Yesterday Catherina, one of our Portuguese interns who is studying at the University in the Azores, and who also works for one of the local whale watch companies, heard that blues whales were being seen south of Pico. We diligently searched the area, assisted by the hilltop vigia, who search for whales for the whale watching operations. We looked and looked…but nothing. The sea was far from flat, but really – the largest animal in the world – how hard could it be?! But then BLOW! And BLOW! again, and we had found our animal. Or at least we found its blows, but although we tracked it closely, we  struggled to see the animal iteself. Until suddenly it surfaced, bursting from the water just a few metres from the beam of our boat, the water streaming off its muscular sides, and a huge blow . We watched as, between surfacings, it could clearly be seen underwater, the most perfect, immense bright turquoise shadow just below the water. But then we realised there was more than one animal  nearby . Three we thought, one of which also surfaced right by us, this time accompanied by half a dozen common dolphins, bowriding the whale rather than our vessel for a change. Well, why would you waste your energy on a boat, when you could play with a 30 metre whale? Not sure what the whale thought of it though…

By the end of the day we were exhausted and delighted, with some excellent photo-identification images and we hope some good recordings of their vocalisations. The day made for a spectacular finale to our Azores survey. We shall be sorry to move on, but are excited about what lies ahead  as we cross the Atlantic…

Susie

A perfect sunrise.

I heard dolphins yesterday on the hydrophone for the first time, which was incredible and watching the visual acoustics on screen at the same time also blew my mind. There is definitely an art project there somewhere, brewing. We had a drawing challenge mid-week where everyone picked a word out of a hat and drew something by the end of the next day. Everyone created a master piece. It was great.

I have learnt so much already and feel really inspired for when I get back to my studio. Although I will miss living on “Song of the Whale” at sea among the cetaceans.

Sonia

Sonia is our first artist in residence aboard Song of the Whale as part of an on-going collaboration with the Cape Farewell project, whose 2011 expedition to the West coast of Scotland was based onboard Song of the Whale .  She has just finished an MA in Art and the Environment  at  University College Falmouth in Cornwall and draws life size pictures of endangered whale species on beaches, allowing them to wash away with the tide.  www.soniashomalzadeh.com

Looking across Horta towards Pico.

We set off this morning from the anchorage, the morning being sunny yet surprisingly chilly on deck.  Although our objective on this trip is to see and record baleen whales, I personally really want to see a sperm whale (my role within MCR being very much office based).

We  are joined  by a number of playful common dolphins and some of the team  are kept busy photographing them from the bow of SOTW.  This  is not an easy task, as capturing a fast moving dolphin jumping  out of the water is rather tricky and with choppy seas at the bow, there were a few damp team members afterwards.  It was some time later when more excitement erupted, when by chance I spotted a fin close to the boat.  It was very exciting as this was our first large whale of the trip and my first ever.  To add to my delight it was a sperm whale.  It was soon apparent that there were in fact two sperm whales close together and we followed behind until they both fluked.  Watching two whales that could weigh between 25 – 45 tonnes, rise up and dive in front of us was the most amazing sight, one that I will never forget.  Once they had disappeared under the water we listened to their clicks and creaks on the hydrophones.  The clicks are used to locate prey and the creak (sounding like a door creaking) is when they are homing in on their prey, the giant squid.  After our 30 minutes experience with the sperm whales, we continued on with spirits at an all time high.

It  isn’t long before a blow  is spotted from the observation ‘A-frame’, and as we get closer, Olly identifies the whale as a fin whale.   The fin whale is the world’s second largest animal species with adults measuring from 17 – 24 metres long.  The whale got quite close, around 15 metres from the boat, and although we could mostly only see its back, at times it’s throat grooves were clearly visible.  Baleen whales vocalise at low  frequencies and in order to better detect these we deployed some strategically placed acoustic recording buoys, similar to those we used for the ship noise project last year, with special low frequency range hydrophones.  These will record any vocalisations along with position information for later analysis.  We can’t believe our luck, to see and listen to some of the largest whales on earth in one day  is an incredible privilege.

For me this has been a brilliant experience, seeing the whales has been life changing and living life on the sea with such fantastic friendly dedicated team of individuals is something I won’t ever forget.
Marina

Despite the higher winds, we’ve continued to have some fantastic sightings; frequent bow-riding dolphins, an encounter with a mixed group of common and striped dolphins, a sperm whale breaching in the distance, and a possible sighting of five false killer whales.

After six days at sea, we got our first glimpse of land – the Azorean islands of São Miguel and Santa Maria.  We sailed on for another day and night until we reached our destination; the island of Faial, 100nm further west.  In the early hours of Easter Sunday we arrived in the port of Horta in the south-east of Faial and were welcomed by a harbour full of yachts of every size, the quayside covered in colourful murals painted by crews arriving here from all over the world.

We have spent the last three days preparing SOTW for the  forthcoming research project, stocking up on fuel, water and food, and exploring the island, from the old whaling station to the lookouts used by the vigias to find whales at sea.  We also tested the ‘nauti buoys’, a  free floating hydrophone buoy which we’ll be using over the next few weeks to record baleen whale vocalisations.  We said a sad farewell to Magnus and Miriam , who are heading home  and are ready to welcome the next crew and students who will be joining us shortly.

by Alexa.

SOTW  made a brief stop in Vigo (NW Spain) to drop off Richard and pick up new team members, Alexa and Kerry.  We left Vigo bound for the Azores on a beautiful calm morning, lit by the pink hues of the rising sun.

It wasn’t long before the team sighted bottlenose dolphins leaping and frolicking around 200 meters from the boat. Soon after, two pilot whales were seen logging at the surface. For many on board this was the first time they had seen pilot whales, but the encounter was just about to get better. Five more pilot whales (including a mother and her calf) then swam towards the boat and began to bow ride SOTW. The water was so calm and clear that they could easily be seen swimming around and darting underneath the boat with jets of bubbles streaming behind them. An incredible start to the journey.

Since then the wind speed has picked up which has been perfect for sailing however the sighting conditions have deteriorated. Despite this the team have sighted striped dolphins, common dolphins (including a calf still showing its foetal folds), fin whales and they have heard sperm whales clicking through the hydrophone.

Five days into their journey the team our getting into the swing of life on the ocean. Sleeping patterns have been adjusted to allow for keeping watch all times of the day and night, sea legs have been gained and ropes are being learnt.

SOTW crew are all eager to see what the rest of the trip will bring!

Kerry.

Song of the Whale left her berth in the centre of Ipswich , Suffolk, at mid-day today on the first leg of a series of research projects which will see the team visiting the Azores, east coast of the USA and then on to Iceland over the next 6 months. The common thread throughout this circuit of the North Atlantic will be the implementation of and development of acoustic detection techniques for locating large baleen whales such as fin and blue whales. During the first half of our project, from Europe to the US via the Azores, we are hoping to be able to find, photo id and record fin and blue whales, animals which we may potentially sight again off Iceland later in the summer. A particular focus of our research passage from the US to Iceland will be the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale, a population which is relatively well studied in some coastal areas off N. America (where the species are known to be at serious risk from entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with vessels). However some individuals disappear for extended periods, and it is possible that they may inhabit more remote and offshore parts of the N Atlantic, off Canada and possibly Greenland, in waters which are little surveyed . Back in Channel, the forecast for the first week while we make our way southwest towards NW Spain, to pick up more of the team, is excellent with unseasonal easterly winds allowing us to quickly settle into a routine while testing the towed hydrophone arrays as well as building new equipment. There are six of us onboard at the moment — new to the team are Magnus Day, usually to be found onboard the expedition yacht Pelagic, working in Antarctic waters, and Miriam Romagosa on leave from her job as a PAM operator based in Ramsgate. Also onboard are old hands Olly, Mat and Edd and myself.

Richard

Risso's dolphin surfing alongside SOTW North of Ile d'Ouessant

Song of the Whale’s research team is seeking experienced and enthusiastic individual(s) to join the team as temporary field work assistant(s) during a number of consecutive projects in and around the Azores including a transit to the USA (April – May) and North Atlantic and Iceland (July and August). Working in close collaboration with other research groups, the projects will take place from the end of March to the end of September (with a break during June) and will primarily be focused on conducting passive acoustic / visual research on baleen whales, although other cetaceans will be documented/recorded too. The projects will be conducted from International Fund for Animal Welfare’s dedicated research vessel, RV Song of the Whale. Experience in boat-based field work on cetaceans, particularly acoustic research is essential as is familiarity with the use of computers. The team onboard will be made up of MCR staff, visiting scientists and volunteers/student interns.

Reasonable travel expenses and board and lodging onboard the boat will be provided and a small weekly allowance may also be available. The season may be split between two research assistants if appropriate.

Please email a letter of interest and CV, outlining your previous experience, availability and why you think you should be considered for the post to info@mcr-team.co.uk by the 27th February 2012.

SOTW heads up the River Orwell towards Ipswich.

The survey has been a great success; with the best weather we could have hoped for at this time of year, allowing us to cover the entire proposed set of track lines.  There have also been plenty of sightings including 13 harbour porpoise sightings, several grey seals, a sighting of 3 minke whales and a whole day accompanied by white-beaked dolphins.  Acoustic detections of porpoises from the hydrophone have, however, far exceeded sightings.  Although, the weather has been unexpectedly good for the time of year, the very calm sea states required for optimal porpoise observations were rare, and it is under these conditions that the acoustic survey methodology comes into its own, with a preliminary analysis suggesting, at least 250 detections – approximately 20 times as many acoustic as visual detections.

Throughout the survey kittiwakes were the most prevalent bird sighted, with groups of up to 200 observed.

Now the task of analysing the acoustic dataset in detail will begin, the presence and distribution of harbour porpoises examined and reports and papers written up.  The survey team all go their separate ways tomorrow, back to Scotland, Wales, Germany and the Netherlands, and the R/V Song of the Whale will be readied for forthcoming projects beginning in 2012.