Trip Report

Madeira Whale Watching [Part One] (9 to 22 April, 2024)

Did you know, Madeira is one of the best places in Europe to see whales and dolphins?

It is possible to see 26 cetacean species in the waters of the archipelego of Madeira. Some species are commonly sighted, other species are sighted regularly, then there are species sighted occasionally, and finally rare sightings.

Madeira Species from Museu da Baleia booket:

No.	Sighting frequency	English name	Species	Family
1	Common	Bottlenose Dolphin	Tursiops Truncatus	Delphinidae
2	Common	Atlantic Spotted Dolphin	Stenella Frontalis	Delphinidae
3	Common	Short-beaked Common Dolphin	Delphinus Delphis	Delphinidae
4	Common	Short-finned Pilot Whale	Globicephala Macrorhychus	Delphinidae
5	Regular	Sperm Whale	Physeter Macrocephalus	Physeteridae
6	Regular	Bryde's Whale	Balaenoptera Edeni	Balaenopteridae
7	Regular	Striped Dolphin	Stenella Coeruleoalba	Delphinidae
8	Regular	Fin Whale	Balaenoptera Physalus	Balaenopteridae
9	Regular	Blainville's Beaked Whale	Mesoplodon Densirostris	Ziphiidae
10	Occasional	Cuvier's Beaked Whale	Ziphius Cavirostris	Ziphiidae
11	Occasional	Risso's Dolphin	Grampus Griseus	Delphinidae
12	Occasional	Rough-toothed Dolphin	Steno Bredanensis	Delphinidae
13	Occasional	False Killer Whale	Pseudorca Crassidens	Delphinidae
14	Occasional	Sei Whale	Balaenoptera Borealis	Balaenopteridae
15	Occasional	Killer Whale	Orcinus Orca	Delphinidae
16	Occasional	Pygmy Sperm Whale	Kogia Breviceps	Kogiidae
17	Occasional	Dwarf Sperm Whale	Kogia Sima	Kogiidae
18	Rare	Sowerby's Beaked Whale	Mesoplodon Bidens	Ziphiidae
19	Rare	Gervais' Beaked Whale	Mesoplodon Europaeus	Ziphiidae
20	Rare	Blue Whale	Balaenoptera Musculus	Balaenopteridae
21	Rare	Humpback Whale	Megaptera Novaeangliae	Balaenopteridae
22	Rare	Minke Whale	Balaenoptera Acutorostrata	Balaenopteridae
23	Rare	Northern Bottlenose Whale	Hyperoodon Ampullatus	Ziphiidae
24	Rare	Fraser's Dolphin	Lagenodelphis Hosei	Delphinidae
25	Rare	Melon-headed Whale	Pepanocephala Electra	Delphinidae
26	Rare	Pygmy Killer Whale	Feresa Attenuata	Delphinidae

Colour Key: I have seen in Madeira, I have not seen in Madeira.

I have been fortunate to see three rare species in Madeira: Blue Whale, Humpback Whale and Fraser's Dolphins. Blue Whales are usually seen only 1 to 3 times per year, while Fraser's Dolphins are so rare the Museu da Baleia website suggests they haven't been photographed. Their website is out of date as I saw and took photographs of Fraser's Dolphins in November 2023.

During this trip, from 9 to 22 April, 2024, I have seen two species not seen previously: Blue Whale and Striped Dolphins. This brings the number of cetacean species I have seen in Madeira waters to 12.

If you want to see whales and dolphins in Madeira, how to you go about it?

1) Book a package holiday to Funchal, Madeira. I recommend using Jet2 which no longer promotes aquariums with captive dolphins. #EmptyTheTanks

2) Book dolphin and whale watching trips with Magic Dolphin, Madeira's premier dolphin and whale watching company. Magic Dolphin is an environmentally-friendly company with a fantastic crew and on-board marine biologists.

To see dolphins and whales with Magic Dolphin you have a choice of three boats.

1) Magic Dolphin Eco catamaran

2) Magic Dolphin Sea Safaris

3) Magic Dolphin Celebrity catamaran

Please don't expect to see all 26 cetacean species in a single trip. Each trip is different and you never know what you will see. If you book a number of trips, you may be fortunate to see different cetacean species on each trip. You may also wish to sample all three boats - Eco, Sea Safaris and Celebrity. You should also bear in mind that different species are seen at different times of year. There are resident species and species which pass through Madeira waters while migrating between feeding and breeding grounds.

During the past two weeks, I have seen cetaceans on >90% of trips. If you book a trip with Magic Dolphin, and don't see any dolphins or whales, you get your next trip for only 10 Euros.

When booking with Magic Dolphin, please mention that you heard about Magic Dolphin via Andy Lawson at Mountains of Scotland.

A selection of photographs follow, all taken during the past two weeks with Magic Dolphin.

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Blue Whale (Balaenoptera Musculus)
Family: Balaenopteridae
Length: 23 - 33m
Weight: 90,000 to 135,000kg
Lifespan: 80-90 years
Conservation Status: Endangered
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 1

Blue Whale:

Blue Whale:

Blue Whale fluke:

Blue Whale blowhole:

Blue Whale swimming on its side:

Blue Whale raising pectoral fin:

Blue Whale waving pectoral fin:

Blue Whale raising large pectoral fin:

Thanks to the photos I took of this Blue Whale, a match was confirmed between the Azores and Madeira. This Blue Whale is Bm463 from the Azores catalogue, last seen in the Azores on 24th May 2015. Thanks to Richard Sears for collaborating and matching this whale to his catalogue. This was the first ever match between a Blue Whale seen in the Azores and in Madeira.

Fin Whale (Balaenoptera Physalus)
Family: Balaenopteridae
Length: 19 - 27m
Weight: 36,000 to 75,000kg
Lifespan: 75-100 years
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 2

Fin Whale blow:

Fin Whale passing Funchal (Praia Formosa):

Fin Whale heading west of Funchal:

Fin Whale blowhole:

Fin Whale:

Humpback Whale (Balaenoptera Novaeangliae)
Family: Balaenopteridae
Length: 13 - 17m
Weight: 25,000 to 30,000kg
Lifespan: 80-90 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 1

Humpback Whale blow:

Humpback Whale lifting tail:

Humpback Whale fluke:

Humpback Whale about to dive:

Humpback Whale tail:

Humpback Whale fluke:

Humpback Whale blow:

Two Humpback Whales:

Two Humpback Whales diving:

Humpback Whale blow:

Sperm Whale (Physeter Macrocephalus)
Family: Physeteridae
Length: 11 - 20m
Weight: 35,000 to 60,000kg
Lifespan: 60-70 years
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 4

Sperm Whale blowhole:

Sperm Whale blow:

Sperm Whales:

Sperm Whale back and dorsal fin:

Sperm Whale blowhole:

Sperm Whale dorsal fin:

Mother and baby Sperm Whales going for a deep dive:

Sperm Whale tail:

Blainville's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon Densirostris)
Family: Ziphiidae
Length: 4 - 5.5m
Weight: 800 to 1,000kg
Lifespan: unknown
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 1

Blainville's Beaked Whales:

Blainville's Beaked Whale:

False Killer Whale (Pseudorca Crassidens)
Family: Delphinidae
Length: 3.5 - 6.1m
Weight: 900 to 1,650kg
Lifespan: 55-60 years
Conservation Status: Near Threatened
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 1

False Killer Whale:

False Killer Whale bowriding catamaran:

False Killer Whale:

Striped Dolphin (Stenella Coeruleoalba)
Family: Delphinidae
Length: 1.8 - 2.5m
Weight: 150 to 160kg
Lifespan: 55-60 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 1

First sight of Striped Dolphins:

Striped Dolphin:

Striped Dolphins:

Striped Dolphin:

Striped Dolphins:

Striped Dolphins heading away from catamaran:

Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus Delphis)
Family: Delphinidae
Length: 1.7 - 2.5m
Weight: 100 to 140kg
Lifespan: probably 30 - 40 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: 4

Common Dolphin bowriding catamaran:

Common Dolphin bowriding catamaran:

Common Dolphin:

Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala Macrorhynchus)
Family: Delphinidae
Length: 3.5 - 7.0m
Weight: 1,000 to 3,000kg
Lifespan: 45 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: almost daily

Short-finned Pilot Whales:

Short-finned Pilot Whale:

Short-finned Pilot Whales:

Short-finned Pilot Whale with seaweed in mouth:

Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus)
Family: Delphinidae
Length: 1.8 - 3.9m
Weight: 300 to 650kg
Lifespan: 20 to 50 years
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Number of sightings during past two weeks: almost daily

Common Bottlenose Dolphins: