Anyone who has done whale and dolphin watching trips or is curious about the subject, must have heard the term “lookout” or “watchman”.
Anyone who has done whale and dolphin watching trips or is curious about the subject, must have heard the term “lookout” or “watchman”. At the time of whaling lookouts were introduced on land to locate the animals that later those who were at sea with fast canoes powered by oars could get close to the whales to hunt them. The lookouts gave indications of where the animals were through rockets that were launched into the air. Many years have passed and nowadays the old lookout posts are also used for the observation of cetaceans and the lookouts communicate via radio so that the boats can meet these animals, just to enjoy a few minutes with these incredible creatures in their natural habitat.
Therefore, on our trips to the sea, we rarely go “without destination”. We always have some guidelines and coordinates that take us to a certain area to see the animals.
Our lookouts have a crucial job for the success of our trips. From early in the morning, they go to their work stations, which are very high points on the coast and are strategic on the island, equipped with very powerful binoculars that they can see many kilometers away. The distance they can reach is affected by visibility, such as fog and rain, and the state of the sea, such as big waves, which on perfect days they can see up to 50 kilometers away with their binoculars.
When they go into action looking for animals, they are very focused, looking for bodies on the surface of the water, that happens whenever the animals come to the surface to breathe, and at this point, what they see resembles a spray of water with vertical orientation that exits through the spiracle of cetaceans, their respiratory orifice. The height of this spray depends on the size of the species, as the larger the species, the greater the spray, making it easier to observe.
When we are on the boats patiently waiting for an animal to come to the surface to breathe so we can see it, we ask our customers to look for this spray and we say that it resembles our shower at home turned upside-down. For the lookouts, when it comes to whales, very large animals, it is easier to see the animal's breathing, as the spray they see on the surface is enormous. In the case of dolphins, as they always are in a group, it is easier to see their movements in the water, especially when they are swimming very fast and bodies can be seen on the surface as something shining.
As you can see, the job of a lookout is something that requires a lot of skill. However, and not taking away the merit of their work, sometimes they have some very good help for spotting animals, and us from the boat too! Our seabirds are often a great help to our sightings and to lookouts!
They are often associated with cetaceans and enjoy hovering over them. The main reason for this to happen is, food! Seabirds such as gulls, shearwaters, terns and others like to stay very close to cetaceans, especially groups of dolphins, because when dolphins are looking for food, which are usually small fish like sardines and mackerel, they form a large ball of fish they bring to the surface.
Therefore, we can already imagine why seabirds are so close to dolphins. They take advantage of the fish being so close to the surface to feed on it, as their job is made easier. It is as if both species work together if we want to see on the positive side that they are not stealing food from the dolphins.
Whenever our lookouts or our boats spot a big group of seabirds, it is almost imperative to pass through the area to confirm if we have any animals under them. We usually find groups of dolphins feeding, which is great because we may be seeing different species or different behaviors. Sometimes it happens that we are waiting for a whale to come to the surface to breathe and there are always some bird(s) flying over the whale's area, which is excellent for us, as these animals swim great distances under water sometimes the whales are playing with us!
Good thing we have great help for our trips!
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