Beaked Whale Bonanza in Europe

This year I did two trips targeting whales and dolphins in Europe: One to Genoa, Italy, and one to Madeira, after joining the 2025 edition of “mammalwachers meet on Pico, Azores”. Alex Meyer has written a wonderful trip report to that part:

I start with Genua: Together with Demain Hiß, we rented a car from Milano, and we spent the first night driving, looking for Porcupine, while we found numerous Wild Boar, Roe Deers and introduced Eastern Cottontails (44.8061514614, 8.6400913155). In the morning, we visited Acqui Terme. This Italian town had a special treat for us in the city park! It took a bit of searching, but eventually we had good views of two Finlayson’s Squirrel. Yes, introduced, but still a pretty squirrel. Next, we were on the Genua afternoon trip with Whale Watching Liguria. Check their recent sightings here: https://www.whalewatchliguria.it/en/news-15/sightings-recap.html. After a Mobula ray, we did not see much for quite some time, until the boat erupted into emotions: Striped dolphins! And they put up a good show, riding the bow and waves of the ship. Suddenly, a change: The crew sighted Beaked Whales! We were told to be quiet as they can be difficult to approach and 60 Italians (and a few tourists) went into stealth mode. Talk about crowd management! The Cuvier’s Beaked Whales thanked us and also put on a good show, but more Beaked Whale style: Close to the boat, resting underwater and occasionally surfacing. Great experience! We finished the trip with searching salamanders, birds and further unsuccessful searches of Porcupines.

The whale watching in the Azores was outstanding – it would be even without the rarities we had. When looking at one species, often you could spot the next species on the horizon. Madeira was a bit a hard fall but managed to redeem itself. I arrived in Funchal to learn while queuing to check in that the trip to Desertas Island (home of the Monk Seals and some interesting seabirds) was cancelled. I understand the weather can be difficult to predict, but cancelling on the day makes it hard to plan suitable alternatives. A bit stranded, I decided to do morning and afternoon dolphin and whale watching with the same company, Bonito de Madeira, to fill my day. I did have my hopes up, because the day before Blainville’s Beaked Whale were sighted in the area. However, I was not sure I was on the right boat when they served white wine to start the cruise… We did see some bottlenose dolphins, but the animals were not in the center of the experience, more like a prop. We were also not the only boat – there was six bats lined up to spend their 10 minutes per ship with the dolphins (only two boats are allowed near the dolphins at the same time per Madeiran law), which get “observed” all day long. This is a general Funchal problem, the overtourism has reached the whale watching. Luckily, I managed to cancel my second trip and went with Magic Dolphins and their speed boat. This company clearly had its priorities right (whale watching = looking for whales in the ocean) and did an excellent job. Tough, wavy weather made it difficult though, at least we saw Spotted Dolphins. The next day, I had some bookings with Madeira Wind Birds, a company that is doing all in their power to allow eco-tourisms on Madeira. Their starting point is further east, in wavy areas. This is good for the famed Pterodromas Petrels, and indeed, we got good looks at Fea’s Petrel, but it was so choppy, that we could not find the Pilot Whales the land-based spotter had found. In the afternoon, I was back in Funchal, again with Magic Dolphins. We found some Spotted Dolphins and then – Blainsville Beaked Whales! I was very happy, and then even happier, when they started to swim closer to us, underwater, but well visible! Well, not for long, because my beloved Bonito de Madeira pushed between the two boats present (illegally as per local law only two boats per Cetacea group are allowed, and against good practice how marine mammals should be approached). Of course, the Beaked whales changed direction and disappeared…

On the final day of my stay, I went with H2O forther west in Calheta, and, besides Bottlenose Dolphins, we saw Blainsville Beaked whales again! This location seems to get a few more species and the animals get less boats and are therefore more relaxed. Minus points for telling me after the tour that they had seen Monk seal yesterday at the fish farm close to the harbour! Here is what intel I gathered about Monk seals and Madeira during my stay: First of all, the information was often contradictory and, while everybody seems to know something, I did not manage to get clear recommendations. It seems they do get seen at the Desertas day trips, but rarely, as the colony is on the other side of the islands. More sightings are on the Madeira itself, particularly around the fish farms or resting on beaches. However, this is unpredictable. Finally, a note on Madeira pipistrelle: It was not a priority (I had seen it in Canaries and actually expected to easily see it), but I still wanted to find it. I can only tell you how not to find it though: I did not have any at the Zino’s petrel watching with Madeira Wind Birds, up in the mountains, neither in central Funchal. I had a few times a flyover above the Laurel tree line in Central Madeira on my last evening. Your best bet seems agricultural areas and outskirts of villages and towns a bit lower on Madeira.