The week of July 21 was rock’n’roll!
The Tramontana was in full force, and the Azur headed south to see the marine mammals.
Indeed, the Aude and Pyrénées Orientales departments have two dominant winds: the marine and the tramontane (inland wind). But the crew of Leucate Evasion Marine went for a walk!
Baptiste, the captain, and Thomas, the naturalist guide, did everything in their power to offer holidaymakers an unforgettable experience.
Tuesday, July 22
With departures now at 8 a.m. to maximize our chances of observation, it was a morning rich in animals!
- Black-headed and Mediterranean gulls. Since the start of the season, they’d been a rarity at sea, so it’s great to see them in such numbers. Now that Thomas has explained how to distinguish between gulls and laughing gulls, it’s more difficult to tell the two species apart. The black-headed gull has a very black head, with a bright red beak, while the laughing gull has a chocolate-colored head and a carmine-red beak. The black-headed gull is also slightly smaller, with all-white wings.
- Wattled terns on their way out of port
- Hundreds of Yellow-legged Gulls behind a fishing boat
- And 2 swifts! These birds, often confused with swallows (which have white bellies and not the same flight behaviour), are rarely seen at sea, but nothing’s impossible for them! These “crazy” birds sleep while they fly, feed while they fly, mate while they fly – they only land to lay their eggs! With the tramontana wind, many insects can be swept up and carried back to sea, so the marathon runners can fly over the Mediterranean Sea to feed!
Holidaymakers were lucky enough to spot a dozen bottlenose dolphins that day!
Busy feeding, we were able to observe very young individuals, probably from this year, jumping up and down. The adults weren’t very big, probably all females, since in Odontocetes (toothed cetaceans), males are bigger! Girl power 🐬
And it looks like… a fin whale! 🐳
The second largest animal on the planet, common in the Gulf of Lion Marine Park, although threatened with extinction, usually frequents deeper waters. Baptiste has seen one twice in 15 years on the continental shelf (at a depth of around 60 meters)! But the crew is certain, and a few holidaymakers were able to catch a glimpse, that it was a whale’s breath we saw! Unfortunately, the blow was seen several hundred meters away (but only 3 times) and the rather shy animal went off into the depths and was not seen again. It’s all part of the game!
Thursday, July 24th
The tramontane has not weakened, and the Azur takes on forty well-dressed holidaymakers.
Barely out of the harbour, several beautiful observations were made:
- A bluefin tuna hunting. A priori alone, not very big (about 1m long), we saw him jump out of the water 5-6 times, and see him with his whole body, magnificent! 🐟
- With him, the holidaymakers were able to observe the three most common species of seabird in the company of the tuna: a few common terns, 2 black-headed gulls and a yellow-legged gull. What a chance to see them together and play the difference game!
- As we resumed our navigation, we saw swifts again, but in much greater numbers! Several dozen birds flew over the boat!
Taking advantage of the clues left by Mediterranean inhabitants to try and spot dolphins – groups of birds, but also fishing boats – we see a trawler at work 🎣
Behind him, hundreds of Yellow-legged Gulls and dozens of Black-headed Gulls, and then, there they were, 4 Bottlenose Dolphins! We were able to take advantage of this small group (usually between 2 and 10 individuals), which offered us a few jumps! It was magical!
Want to be part of the adventure? 📅
Dolphin-watching excursions are on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8am, all summer long, and you can book now on the Leucate Evasion Marine website. Don’t delay in booking, as places are limited and in great demand! 🎟️
👉 Visit www.leucate-evasion-marine.fr to view dates and book your unique experience.
3.. 2.. 1.. navigate! 🌊
#LeucateMarineEvasion #DolphinWatching #SortieEnMer #Méditerranée #Naturaliste #Biodiversité #FauneMarine #ProtectionDesOcéans #ExpérienceInoubliable
