Free-ranging bottlenose dolphin show

A small group of bottlenose dolphins put on a remarkable show today, after having fed in the proximity of Galaxidi's fish farms. They socialized intensively for about an hour, for the joy of people who were watching them from shore. Then they left and moved on to their next favourite feeding spot.

Movements of bottlenose dolphins in and out of the Gulf of Corinth have been described in the article that can be downloaded HERE.

The one Risso's dolphin in the Gulf of Corinth

Today we encountered again the one and possibly only Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus left in the Gulf of Corinth. As usual, this female was seen swimming in a large group of striped (predominantly) and common dolphins.

The smaller dolphins seem to like the Risso's a lot – some individuals even engaging in frequent physical contact.

We normally encounter this animal once or twice a year. Sighting positions can be seen in the map available HERE, for this and other species found in the Gulf.

Striped dolphins and jellyfish

Favorite dolphin play with jellyfish include rubbing their body – rostrum to flukes – or hitting Mediterranean jellies with their rostrum to make them 'explode' as if they were targets (and these circular invertebrates actually do look a bit like targets, with their orange spot in the middle).

Caretta caretta feeding on Cotylorhiza tuberculata

Today we sighted a young loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta intently feeding on a Mediterranean jelly Cotylorhiza tuberculata.

A few images captured during the banquet can be seen HERE.

Tractor wheel at sea

During today's navigation we spotted a semi-submersed tractor wheel. It was enormous, and barely visible from the surface.

Because we thought it could be a threat for speedboats, we tried dragging it to the nearest shore with our inflatable, but it was so heavy that it just wouldn't move. We therefore decided to put a pole and a flag on top of the wheel, to mark its position.

Our friend Nicola is shown here while riding the tractor wheel and setting up the flag – a task that took about an hour. When we eventually left, the white flag was highly visible, hopefully preventing collisions with boats.

Fin whale mortality in the Adriatic

In this scientific article, Nino Pierantonio and I contributed an updated list of fin whale mortality events in the Adriatic Sea, together with an account on the killing of a fin whale in 1960.

The paper can be downloaded HERE.

Galaxidi rockers

Last week a remarkable couple came to visit us in Galaxidi: two members of the rock band Shide.

While Renata and Stefano may not look like rockers in this photo, see what they can do when armed with microphone and electric guitar:

Shide - Anguish (from YouTube)