There is a saying in Portuguese: "Em Abril, águas mil" which means 'in April thousands of water' and it seems 2025 is determined to proof that saying! So although most countries in Europe are already enjoying some spring weather, in Madeira winter is still stretching until the 1st half of April...

Week 17: From the 21st to the 27th of April 2025
Striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba
Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis
Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis
Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus
Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Common Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus

March should be the beginning of spring but this year winter imposed itself and lasted longer... It was not easy to whalewatch this month due to the strong winds and rough ocean during many days of this month.

Week 13: From the 24th to the 30th of March 2025
Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis
Striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba
Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni

Another winter month which usually does not bring many cetacean species to the ocean around Madeira archipelago but...we never know!

Week 9: From the 24th February to the 2nd of March 2025
Striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba
Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis
Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis
Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
False killer whale Pseudorca crassidens
Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus

We sure hope for a Happy New Year though global situation is not looking so promising... Anyway, lets focus at the ocean creatures and which ones will be visiting us this month!

Week 5: From the 27th January 2024 to the 2nd of February 2025
Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis

Week 4: From the 20th to the 26th of January 2025
Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis
Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus

Week 51: From the 23rd to the 29th of December 2024
Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus
Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis
Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus

November is no longer the best season for whalewatching in Madeira though with sea water warming up we have been getting more cetacean species passing by in the winter...

Week 47: From the 25th of November to the 1st of December 2024
Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus

October is another migration month for most wildlife. Despite the storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic, let's see which whales and dolphins come around Madeira this time...

Week 43: From the 28th of October to the 3rd of November 2024
Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis
Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Blainville's beaked whale Mesoplodon densirostris
Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus

This website is developed by Wind Birds' company as a contribute to the knowledge and conservation of whales and dolphins species around the Madeira archipelago and to promote whale watching in a sustainable way.

26 species of cetaceans are confirmed records for Madeira archipelago waters and three species remain as dubious records as there are not enough evidence to allow a definite identification of the species.

One can not write about whale watching without mentioning whaling, as that was how it all started... So we begin by framing historically the whaling industry in Madeira archipelago and the use of its products.
In Madeira, whale watching as a recreational activity started mainly after the end of whaling, when chances to observe whales or dolphins increased for the boats operating coastal or big game fishing trips. By then whale watching was randomly done when by luck a group of cetaceans crossed the course of those trips and the passengers had the chance to observe them. As a dedicated commercial and tourist activity, with companies promoting and running sea trips devoted to the observation of whales and dolphins only started in 2004. From then on whale watching had an average growth of one new boat operating per year.