Summary: My only visit to the Azores was to Pico Island for one week in July 2025, with 14 species seen. This included 12 species of cetaceans seen during 30 hours of whale-watching (a five-day group tour with two trips per day each about three hours long). The highlights were a Dwarf Sperm Whale (the sixth? record for the Azores) and a pod of six Pygmy Sperm Whale (one of the largest pods recorded), as described here.

Paul Carter: paulcarter@pacapix.com.
First Posted: 2025 Sep 22

CONTENTS
a) Reports
b) Mammal list
c) Reptile list
d) Logistics
g) References

Notes and Abbreviations:
PH – Photographed. NP – Not photographed.
Content on this page is not fixed. Additional species reports and site reports might be added.

A.   REPORTS

• Pico Island mammal records (2025): My detailed site report with fauna lists, images and local logistics was posted here on 22 Sep 2025.
• Benak et al (submitted for publication) is a paper by our group describing the Kogia sightings [link HERE when published].

B.   MAMMAL LIST

The following species were seen on or offshore of Pico Island:

1. European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). NP.
2. Azores Noctule (Nyctalus azoreum). PH.
3. Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus). PH.
4. Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia simus). PH.
5. Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps). PH.
6. Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus). PH.
7. False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens). PH.
8. Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis). PH.
9. Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba). PH.
10. Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis). PH.
11. Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus). PH.
12. Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). PH.
13. Sowerby’s Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens). PH.
14. Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus). PH.

C.   REPTILE LIST

Only two species were recorded on our July 2025 trip:
1. Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta). PH.
2. Madeira Lizard (Teira dugesii). PH.

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D.   LOGISTICS

1) Flights to the Azores
In July 2025 we flew from Lisbon direct to Pico Island on SATA Azores. Flights were affected by regional strikes; I would avoid booking tight connections. A Futurismo post gives information on other airline options.

2) Whale-watching Operators in the Azores

This section covers an online review of various whale-watching options besides the company that we used (Espaço Talassa on Pico Island). Most of these options listed below were looked at after my Azores trip (in anticipation of a future trip); so their inclusion here is by no means a recommendation, just a starting point for further research, and there are some links to information that would have been of interest before our recent visit.
Not many whale-watching operations seem to provide detailed past records. Some operators offer “half-day” tours but they are only 2.5 hours long. Some “full day” tours seem to refer to a package of morning and afternoon standard tours (2.5 to 3 hours long each) with a shore-based lunch break (as opposed to a single trip lasting 8 hours as done at various sites in California). Most of the boats used by the various operators are RIBs without toilets and for most tourists these are not practical beyond 3-4 hour trips.
The Ocean Azores Foundation list some whale-watching operators on each island here. Their pdf guide (dated 2024) for recommended companies on Pico Island lists only Espaco Talassa. This document also shows, for Sao Miguel, a useful frequency chart for cetaceans but it covers only the more commonly seen species.

2a). Pico Island
Companies on Pico include the following:
– Espaço Talassa operate out of Lajes do Pico harbour on Pico Island. Depending on demand they have multiple boats on morning and afternoon trips that generally last about three hours. Our morning and afternoon tours generally started at 9 AM and 2 PM. They sometimes have evening boats as well. The smaller RIBs are 8.5 meters long and manned by a skipper and a guide with capacity for 12 passengers; there is also a larger boat. The company has its own land-based observers on shore and the crew is in constant radio contact with them. The spotters use the Queimado watch-tower (vigia) which is one of the original towers used in the whale-hunting era (whale hunting in the Azores ended in 1987). Recent and past sightings are shown at their Sightings and Statistics web pages. Their list of 28 cetaceans known in the Azores is shown here. Rates (2025): They have low, medium and high season rates. The high season rates (2025) are 75 Euro each (individual) but 65 Euro each for groups of at least 4. Chartering the smaller RIB (max 12 pax) cost 620 Euro (51 euro each if 12 pax). They are highly recommended – based on our 10 trips and other reviews.
– Futurismo Azores Adventures operate out of Lajes do Pico.
– Aqua Açores appear to operate out of Lajes do Pico.
– Bela Vista Travel have an office next door to Espaço Talassa; they have accommodation options.
– CW Azores is based out of Madalena; their sightings are reported here.
– Pico Island Adventures operate out of Madalena.
Transport on Pico Island: Cars can be rented at Pico airport. Pico Rentacar rent cars and scooters out of Madalena.

2b). Sao Miguel Island
Sao Miguel is 200 km ESE of Pico Island. Operators include:
– Terra Azul have whale-watching as well as land-based activities. I did not find a page showing daily records but they report seasonal variation here and do produce annual reports (in pdf) e.g. that for 2024.
– Picos de Aventura have larger catamarans besides the RIB boats; they do not show daily reports. They also have land-based activities.
– Terra do Pico. No daily reports.

2c). Terceira Island
Terceira is about 80 km NE of Pico Island. Operators include:
– Ocean Emotion located in the Angra do Heroismo Marina. They have a useful cetacean poster here.
– Water4fun have whale-watching and car-rental.

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E.   References

• Benak D, Carter P, Ebr J, Ebrova I, Van Gaever K, Kao B, Meyer A, Rudyi V, Ben Simon J, Tamar K, Vardi R, Moser V (2025/6). Sighting of a large group of pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) and a new record of dwarf sperm whale (K. sima) in the Azores. Manuscript submitted for publication.
• Bullock A (2024). Your Sustainable Whale Watching Guide to the Azores – 2024. By the Ocean Azores Foundation. https://solarbranco.com/-FOA-docs/Whale-watching.pdf
• Hall J (2024). Pico Island, the Azores, August 2024.A trip report posted 16 Sep 2024 on mammalwatching.com. Link.
• Livet, J (2024 Sep). Some notes on the Azores Noctule (Nyctalus azoreum). A report posted on mammalwatching.com.
• Ollers S (2020). Azores (Pico and Sao Miguel) – September 2020. A trip report posted on mammalwatching.com.
• Still R, Harrop H, Dias L, Stenton T (2019). Europe’s Sea Mammals Including the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. A Field Guide to the Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises and Seals. WILD Guides. Published by Princeton University Press. ISBN: 9780691182162

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