Early Results

Common Dolpin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Well its finally done, I’ve been looking over the figures and all in all it seems like the whole 

endeavour was a success. I suppose seeing 1,302 dolphins, 116 porpoises, 79 whales and 19 basking sharks isn’t bad for one summer. 

                                                                           (c) Nick Massett - IWDG

The highlight of the whole bursary was on the 28^th of July when we came across a humpback feeding with a dozen minkes and hundreds of common dolphins. Other sightings of note were the bottlenose dolphins, we encountered the same group three times and also the rissos dolphins we encountered at the start and twice at the end of the bursary. However every day was enjoyable and presented different challenges. Marine Eco Tours have a great team that were very knowledgeable and were a pleasure to work with. It was very interesting talking to people on the tours and finding out what they did and didn’t know about the cetaceans in Irelands waters. While some knew a great deal others didn’t know much at all, but everyone was keen to learn more.

 Basking Shark (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

The study started on June 8^th and finished September the 6^th.  Starting at the most basic I made it out on 43 separate days over the summer, July was the month with the most days 19 or 44% of all days. This is hardly surprising given the fine weather we had for most of July. A break down for the other months goes June 10 days, August 11 days and September 3 days. In terms of sightings I recorded sightings on 37 of the 43 days an 86% success rate not bad considering the range of conditions we were out in. There was a total of 18 days where sea state was recorded as 4 or more for some part of the day which is hardly ideal. 72% of all sighting occurred in sea state 2 or less with 96% of sightings occurring in sea state 3 or less. 

                                                                Minke Whale (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG 

Saturday the 20 of July was the day that produced the most sightings with 11. The most common month for sightings was July with 93 sightings or 54% of the total sightings, this is hardly surprising given that we were out on more days. However there was a clear difference between June and August despite getting out on more days in August there were far less sightings than in June. June had 50 or 29% of sightings while August had 23 or 13% of sightings, September produced 6 sightings not bad for only 3 days.

                                                          Rissos Dolpin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

The most commonly sighted species was unsurprisingly the harbour porpoise with 42% of all sightings, this was followed by minke whales 29% and common dolphins 18%. However when it comes to the numbers sighted for each species the common dolphins win by a landslide with 81% of the total animals seen. This is mainly due to a few days where there hundreds of them in the bay. Even the harbour porpoises the most frequently seen animal could only manage 8% of the individual animals seen. Aside from all this I managed to capture id shots of bottlenose dolphins, rissos dolphins a minke whale and basking sharks. 

I’ve included the table below as a breakdown of sightings over the project. I’m currently working up the report and should be able to put up some distribution maps next week as well as any addition information that I’ve probably left out.

                                              Bottlenosed Dolpin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Again I’d like to thank the Irish whale and Dolphin Group for the opportunity, Simon, Joanne and Nick for all their support and Mick, Britta and Billy from Marine Eco Tours who made it a productive and enjoyable summer.

Speceis	Sightings	No of individuals	Group range	June	July	August	September
Bottlenose dolphins	3	40	20-8	-	-	3	-
Common Dolphin	31	1230	300-5	1	18	11	1
Humpback Whale	1	1	1-1		1	-	-
Harbour porpoise	73	116	5-1	21	41	9	2
Minke whale	50	78	12-1	22	27	0	1
Rissos Dolphin	3	32	12-8	1	-	-	2
Basking Shark	11	19	5-1	5	6	-	-
Total	172	1516	-	50	93	23	6

Week 13 September 2nd-6th ‘’Final week’’

This was the last week of the bursary the 13 weeks seem to have flown by. The weather in the beginning of the week didn’t look great and this was reflected when we finally made it out on Tuesday the 3^rd, rough seas and an overcast day made spotting very difficult. The evening trip was cut short and unfortunately we didn’t see any cetaceans.

Rissos Dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Things were looking up on Thursday the 5^th with the weather much improved. Our first sighting was  a group of 12 rissos dolphins, while commonly seen around the islands in the past this was our second sighting of this species during the study. The first time we encountered them was on the first day of the bursary, on that occasion they were only surfacing briefly and didn’t hang around too long. However on this occasion they were surfacing multiple times and appeared to be foraging. This gave all of us fantastic views, there group appeared to be a mix of mostly adults with a few juveniles. After spending some time with them we moved on. Later in the day we had two sightings of individual harbour porpoises which only made a few surfaces before moving on. We also encountered the rissos on the evening tour and again they seemed unfazed by the boat. On our return to Ventry we came across a minke whale that surfaced multiply times in close proximity to the boat. This is the first time in a while that we have seen a minke and its good to see that cetacean activity in the area appears to be on the increase.

 Rissos Dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

                                                                       Rissos Dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Friday the 6^th was another fine day, despite our best efforts we couldn’t find the rissos again. However we did come across a group of 30 common dolphins. At first there seemed to be only a few dolphins but as we continued it was clear that it was a much larger group with more and more dolphins appearing around the boat. They were bow riding and playing in the wake of the boat. The group contained a few juveniles and a very small calf. This group also contained a member with a floppy dorsal fin, we have seen this individual before a couple of times. It can be seen in the video below.

Common Dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

I’m currently looking over the results of the study and will post some final figures in terms of  days,sightings and numbers over the next few days. I’d like to thank the IWDG for providing this fantastic opportunity and Mick Sheeren ‘’Marine Eco Tours’’ for providing the platform for this work. And also to Billy, Britta and Nick for all the help they provided during this project.

For more on Irish Whales and Dolphins: http://www.iwdg.ie/index.php

For more on Marine Eco Tours : http://www.marinetours.ie/

                                                                             Rissos Dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Week 12 August 26th - September 1st

Unfortunately we only got out on two occasions this week, Thursday the 29^th and Saturday the 31^st.

Thursday was the first sign that the bay was once again full of activity. In excellent conditions we first had a sighting of a single harbour porpoise which only surfaced twice before disappearing. Then on the evening tour we had our first common dolphin encounter for the day a small group of 8 dolphins that were foraging and didn’t pay much interest to the boat. This was followed by a group of 10 that were also foraging but approached the boat and played in its wake for a while. 

 Common dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Finally a group of 20 common dolphins that we spotted from distance approached the boat at speed and were the most playful of all the groups after a short time we left this group and returned to Ventry harbour. When we taught that we had seen everything for the day a group of 5 harbour porpoises passed us in a tight group, it’s the largest group of harbour porpoises we’ve recorded here this summer. It’s great to see things picking up after a few lean weeks in the bay.

 Common dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Despite poor conditions on the 31^st we had a group of 12 common dolphins that took a quick respite from foraging and approached the boat to bow ride for a short time before returning to their foraging. There were also reports of a minke in the area. Next week will probably be my last as part of the bursary programme so let’s hope it produces a few exciting sightings. 

Week 11 August 19th-25th

More bad weather this week prevented us from getting our as much as we would have liked. In total we were only out three days this week. However it wasn’t all bad considering we had sightings on each day we were out.  The first day we were out was Monday the 19^th conditions weren’t ideal for spotting but we still managed 3 harbour porpoise sightings. The first was a group of 2 adults that we encountered early on the tour. The next was of a single harbour porpoise that appeared less than 50 meters from the boat. And finally another 2 animals that surfaced multiple times again in close proximity to the boat. We didn’t get out again till the 22^nd conditions on the day started to deteriorate a lot as the day went on with swell and wind increasing. We only managed a single sighting of one harbour porpoise which popped up very close to the shore after a few surfaces it was gone beneath the waves again. After a disappointing day on the 22^nd things really improved on the 23^rd very early on in the trip we encountered group of 20 bottlenose dolphins. 

Bottlenose dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

 The group contained a juvenile and a calf with neonatal lines still evident down its side. They were heading east along the peninsula and after spending some time with them capturing photo id images we left them off to their own adventures. The photo id images have been processed and will be used to see if there a match between this group and the costal population or maybe even the Shannon dolphins.

Bottlenose dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

 Coming back from the morning tour we encountered half the group heading out west. Again on the evening tour we encountered members of the original group, they appeared to navigating the bay and exploring around all the islands. 

Bottlenose dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Week 10 August 12th - 18th

Unfortunately due to more unsuitable weather we were only able to complete two trips this week. The last few weeks have been in stark contrast to earlier in the summer when we were out nearly every day. The two days we made it out were the 12^th and the 16^th unfortunately we had no sightings on the 16^th. Things had gone better on the 12^th with six different sightings comprised of two harbour porpoise sightings and four common dolphin sightings. The two harbour porpoise sightings occurred early in the day the fist was of two animals close to the shore with another individual observed later on again quite close to the coast. The first group of common dolphins we encountered were quite close to the second harbour porpoise, the group contained 10 animals that were travelling at a slow swim and didn’t seem to show much interest in the boat as they didn’t approach it at all. The second group was slightly larger at 12 individuals these were more interested in us and approached the boat and were bowriding for a few minutes before we had to leave them behind. The next group of common dolphins we encountered we only saw surface twice before they disappeared again. Finally the last group had eight to ten dolphins and displayed little to no interest in the boat swimming past us at a fast swim. It’s interesting to see the different behaviour displayed by these groups as it keeps us on our toes and means each encounter is unique and different. 

Week 9 August 5th-11th

Unfortunately some prior commitments meant I missed a couple of days this week that combined with some very changeable weather meant we only got out twice this week.  On Friday the 9^th we had two very different encounters with two separate groups of common dolphins. The first group we spotted were very close to us and were swimming along slowly were completely indifferent to the boat merely swimming around it and not interacting with it at all. The second group we spotted from a few hundred meters off they were coming clear out of the water and making directly for the boat. This group stayed around the boat for a while and were bow riding alongside us it was a complete contradiction to the group we had seen earlier. The variability you encounter in each group is one of the things that makes working with animals quite interesting and ensures you ant rest on your expectations of what the animals should do.

 Common dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

We were back out the following day and came across some harbour porpoises and common dolphins. Our first sighting was of some harbour porpoises that were swimming slowly across the bow of the ship they surfaced multiple times giving all on board a great opportunity to see this often elusive species. Later in the day we came across a group of 20 common dolphins these were in a similar location to the first group we saw the day before and again didn’t show much interest in the boat. Aside from a few who approached and bow rode briefly they were gone soon after they appeared.

Common dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Hopefully the weather improves for the rest of the month as Nick Masset is still reporting plenty of Humpback blows in the area. Nick has reported seeing 4 separate animals on one occasion. Nick conducts many of his watches from Slea head and from Clogher head and while he uses a high power scope the blows can often be seen through a reasonable pair of binoculars. As always if you see any cetaceans around the coat of Ireland please report to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group Sightings network it’s a two minute process and helps us to track animal movement around Ireland and gives us more insight in area use and animal behavior: 

 http://www.iwdg.ie/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2117

More info on Marine Tours :

http://marinetours.ie/

Week 8 July 29th - August 4th

Unfortunately our fantastic trip last Sunday was not to be repeated this week as the weather changed for the worst. As a result we only made it out on three days this week.  Tuesday the 30^th was the first day we made it out since our humpback encounter unfortunately some high swell on the north side of the islands meant we couldn’t go back to the site where we had seen the humpback, instead we remained in the shelter of the bay. Although it seemed last week that every cetacean in the south west was west of the island it seems there were still some in the bay. We saw a minke whale early in the day and this was followed by two harbour porpoise sightings. The fist harbour porpoise sighting was of three animals and this was followed later in the day by two animals.

Minke whale (c) Paddy O' Dwyer - IWDG

Although we were out on the morning of the 3^rd conditions were very poor and we had no sightings the afternoon trip was cancelled due to the bad conditions.

Things had improved the follow day and we back out in the bay. We came across a single group of about 30 common dolphins who appeared to be acting quite strangely. They were skimming along the surface at quite a pace and didn’t seem to be too concerned by the boat, some approached to bow ride briefly with most content to just swim along parallel to the boat. The group was a good mix of adults, juveniles and a few calves this type of group appears to be very common in the bay with groups encountered west of the islands seeming to be composed of mostly adults. 

                                                                     Common Dolphin (c) Paddy O' Dwyer - IWDG

Week 7 July 22nd - 28th

Tuesday was the first day I got out this week. While conditions were a little rough this didn’t prevent us from having plenty of sightings. Early on in the trip we spotted some splashes off in the distance as we approached them it was clear that this was a breaching minke whale. This is not a very common behaviour from this particular species but it does occur typically in rougher sea conditions. Of course once we got close enough to get some images of this breaching whale it ceased breaching. A quick scan of the area revealed that there were two minke whales in this area one was quite large and the other was a juvenile. This is a similar area to where we have encountered an adult and juvenile pair in the past. As the day went on we encountered another minke whale. Shortly after seeing the minke we encountered what was initially a small pod of common dolphins however as we continued to survey the area it was apparent that there was over a hundred common dolphins in the area many of the groups we encountered contained lots of juveniles. The dolphins didn’t pay too much attention to the boat with some approaching to bow ride for a short time before continuing on their journey. Below is a video of a breaching minke that was taken in the past on bord the Blasket Princess : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv12HH61dsA

On Thursday we had multiple sightings of common dolphins and harbour porpoises. First we encountered a group of ten common dolphins they were foraging in an area near a fishing charter there was also a small group of three harbour porpoises in this area. Neither species seemed too concerned by the presence of either boat and continued with their foraging. Shortly after we saw two adult harbour porpoises and a minke whale. There must have been a significant amount of food in this small area to attract this many cetaceans and a fishing charter. Later in the day we encountered a group of about 25 common dolphins this group was mainly comprised of juveniles and calves with only a few adults present. The younger animals seem more inclined to interact with the boat than the older ones; the majority of the older animals seemed content to wait a short distance from the boat while a few adults and the younger members of the group were bow riding.   Another group of 20 common dolphins were encountered later in the tour but these animals appeared to be foraging and did not approach the boat. Towards the end of the tour we had two more harbour porpoises and another small group of common dolphins.

On Friday we encountered more common dolphins, what initially appeared to be a small group dolphins grew in size from eight to fifty. The dolphins were quite spread out and were travelling at a fast swim; they didn’t pay much attention to the boat and simply continued on their way. We also had three sightings of harbour porpoises on this tour they were of two individuals followed by a group of two.

What a difference a day makes after all our encounters with common dolphins over the last few days we began to take it for granted that they were there at all. However on Saturday with conditions poorer then they had been all week we saw no dolphins. Our only sighting on this day was a single harbour porpoise which we encountered in the evening it surfaced multiple times before swimming off.

(c) Paddy O'Dwyer

Sunday started out with the news that Nick Massett had seen some humpback blows west of Clogher head and had set out in his rib to try and find the whale. Our own trip started with a single minke whale way off in the distance followed by a sighting of a single harbour porpoise. Then Mick decided that we should venture further out to see if we too could encounter this humpback whale. While steaming out to the site where Nick had reported we began to pass several groups of dolphins this continued for miles and easily hundreds of common dolphins including adults, juveniles and calves were present in the area it was amazing. Then we spotted some whale blows in the distance and headed straight for it. The half an hour that followed was fantastic as 100’s of dolphin, at least a dozen minke whales and one humpback surfaced continually in the water around the boat. It was clear that these animals were feeding as they were staying in the same area and all seemed concentrated in this spot. The video below really doesn’t do the whole thing justice. On the return to Ventry we encountered a group of ten common dolphins to cap off what was a fantastic day.

(c) Paddy O'Dwyer

A special mention goes out to Nick Massett who puts in countless hours of both and boat based watches. Nick is a major contributor to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Groups sightings database and ensures that no cetaceans pass through West Kerry waters without being recorded. The sightings database is a fantastic tool that allows people to access past sighting records and see when and where whales and dolphins are appearing around Ireland. The weather for this week doesn’t look great but I’m sure we’ll be out at every opportunity to see these amazing creatures in their natural environment.

Humpback Whale and Blasket Princess (c) Nick Massett - IWDG

More about whales and dolphins : http://iwdg.ie/

More about Marine Eco Tours : http://marinetours.ie/

Nick Massett and Humpback Whale (c) Marine Eco Tours 

Week 6 June 15th - 21st

With sunny skies and light winds forecast for this week I was confident that we would log plenty of sightings. Things started well on Monday as we came across a group of three harbour porpoises early in the day. The group consisted of two adults and a juvenile. This was followed by 12 common dolphins, they were foraging and paid little notice to our presence. The group contained a few juveniles and one small calf. A sighting of a single minke whale later on the trip rounded out the sightings for the day.

Minke whale (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Tuesday saw an end to the common dolphin sightings with no sign of them in the bay. However two sightings of individual harbour porpoises followed later in the day by a sighting of two adult minke whales meant that there was still plenty of cetacean activity around the islands. Wednesday highlighted why the area is an SAC for harbour porpoises. In conditions that were less than ideal for surveying this elusive species we had six separate sightings. The first was a group of three that consisted of two adults and a juvenile all travelling very close to each other. This was followed by a sighting of a single harbour porpoise. We then had two groups of two animals that were encountered a good distance apart; both these groups consisted of adults. The day was rounded off with a sighting of a single adult and then a group of three adult harbour porpoises again travelling very close together.  While it was great to see so many harbour porpoises around the area it was unusual to encounter only one species on one of our trips. 

                                                                  Common dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

However this were back to normal on Thursday, the day started with a sighting of a minke whale followed shortly by a group of three harbour porpoises. The group of harbour porpoises contained two adults and a juvenile like most of the times we encounter this species they were travelling in a very tight group. Later in the day we came across a group of ten common dolphins, they approached the boat and spent a few minutes bow riding this provided us with great views of the calves and juveniles in this group. Once they grew tired of bow riding they appeared to swim off into the distance. Friday started promisingly with a sighting of two minke whales early in the tour. One of these minke whales was a very large animal certainly one of the biggest minkes I’ve seen, it was accompanied by a juvenile animal and the two appeared to be feeding and remaining in a similar area popping up infrequently and moving in what seemed to be a large circle. We came across this pair again later in the day they were still in the same area hours after our first sighting of them. The day also produced lots of harbour porpoise sightings the first a group of three that we almost missed as they were swimming quite close to the cliffs. We then came across an individual harbour porpoise and later in the day we saw two different groups of two animals.  All the harbour porpoise groups today consisted of adults as opposed to some of the groups over the last few days which also featured some juveniles. 

Minke whale (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Saturday proved to be a bumper day for sightings with 11 sightings recorded for just one day. The consisted of one group of 20 common dolphins this group was a great mix of adults, juveniles and calves everyone on board got a great chance to see how small the calves when compared with the fully grown adults. The day also produced seven harbour porpoise sightings two of these were of individuals three were of adult pairs and two were groups of three animals. As if that wasn’t enough there were three minke whale sightings the first a group of three animals one very large adult another adult and a juvenile. Later in the day we came across a group of two with another single animal spotted further away from this pair.

                                                                  Common dolphin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Week 5 July 8th – 14th

The nice weather we have had lately has seen an increase in the number of sightings. Even though light winds were forecast for most days the local area sea breeze means that there’s almost always some level of ‘chop’.  The week started promisingly on Monday with 8 separate sightings. The highlight of these was the return of the common dolphins. Common dolphins are often seen in this area but had been absent for most of this summer. The first encounter was with about 25 animals on the morning trip. However this number had grown to well over a hundred in the evening. Everywhere we looked around the boat there were dolphins. Some groups approached the boat and were bow riding while others seemed content to remain foraging and ignore the boat.  In addition to the dolphins we also had three sightings of individual minke whales and one group of three that appeared to be feeding in close proximity to each other.  Two sightings of individual harbour porpoises rounded off the day nicely.

Common dolphins (c) Paddy O'Dwyer- IWDG

The dolphins were still present the following day. At first it seemed like there weren’t as many in the bay with only two encounters with small groups of to 10 animals. However shortly after this the dolphins appeared to be everywhere around the bay, they were seen jumping from the water near and far and in every direction. The fine weather makes spotting much easier and this was reflected in the sightings with five separate harbour porpoise sightings during the day and three individual minke whale sightings. Most of the minke sightings were from further away that we usually see them highlight the difference that environmental factors have on whale watching. We also encountered basking sharks twice, each sighting was of an individual animal. It’s great to still be encountering basking sharks this late in the season. Going on past records its unlikely we’ll be seeing them for long more with only a few sightings reported in this area late in the summer in past years.

Basking Shark (c) Paddy O'Dwyer- IWDG

Winds stiffened later in the week resulting in plenty of chop combined with white crests everywhere making it very difficult to clearly identify any cetaceans on the water. A single minke whale was seen on Saturday, it was only spotted as it surfaced right next to the boat! 

Office view (c) Paddy O'Dwyer

Week 4 July 1st – 7th

Unfortunately very bad weather conditions this week meant we didn’t get out much. On the few trips that did occur early in the week there were no sightings. However this was not unexpected as fog, high swell and high winds all combined to make sighting any cetaceans almost impossible. However as the weather improved toward the end of the week so did the sightings. On Saturday the 6^th we had a good encounter with two basking sharks which remained on the surface feeding around the boat for some time. 

Basking Shark (c) Paddy O'Dwyer

Sunday the 7^th much improved conditions saw a big increase in sightings. We had three separate sightings of individual harbour porpoises through the day. We also came across a group of three basking sharks feeding on the surface very early on the morning trip. We saw a single animal while moored up beside An Blascaod Mor it swam beneath the boat and disappeared from view. When we returned to this area in the evening this group had increases in size to five animals. They swam around the boat for ages paying it little to no attention. We also had three separate sightings of minke whales. The first was a pair consisting of an adult and juvenile while they appeared to be in a different spot to the pair we had been encountering lately they were certainly similar in size. The final two minke whale sightings were of two separate individuals. We also came across our fist sunfish of the year on the Sunday trip

Basking Shark (c) Paddy O'Dwyer

.

Week 3 June 24th- 31s

Bad weather on Monday the 24^th meant we only got out on a morning trip. It was challenging to spot anything in the poor conditions but some diving gannets revealed the location of a single minke whale. Shortly after that we got a brief glimpse of a basking shark at the surface of the water but he quickly departed.

Minke Whale (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

The boat was contracted to get some recordings of minke whales and harbour porpoise vocalisations on Tuesday the 25^th and Wednesday the 26^th. This would provide an excellent opportunity to capture some photos of the animals as we would be stopping near them with the engines turned off.  Conditions were excellent over the two days and this was reflected in the high number of sightings over the two days. On Tuesday we had three separate harbour porpoise sightings and four different encounters with minke whales the last of these was a pair of animals consisting of one adult and one juvenile. On Wednesday an increase in effort to find harbour porpoises resulted in five separate harbour porpoise sightings.  Two of these were groups of two animals, one was a group of three and two of the sightings were of individuals. We also had 4 different minke whale sightings, two individuals and two groups of two including an adult and juvenile similar in sizes to those seen yesterday. One surfaced only a few meters from the rear of the boat providing us with a fantastic close view of the animal. We also encountered a single basking shark on this trip.

Minke Whale (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Thursday the 27^th despite the poor visibility for most of the day due to fog we still had plenty of sightings. A group of two minkes started the day off, these were in the same position where we have seen the adult and juvenile pair over the previous two days. We had two more sightings of individual minkes and three sightings of basking sharks one of these was a group of two the others were individuals. Two sightings of individual harbour porpoises rounded off the day.

 Basking Shark (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

In addition to this we had the usual grey seals, puffins, manx shearwaters, kittwakes, gannets and razorbills.

Week 2 June 17th-23th

Unfortunately due to unsuitable conditions we only made it out on three days this week.

Minke Whale (c) PaddyO'Dwyer - IWDG

On Monday 17^th, we observed a rather small sized minke whale on the morning trip. We encountered a similar sized minke in a similar area on the evening trip, while this is likely to be the same animal the lack of any definable individual characteristics means that I cannot be certain. Shortly after seeing the minke we came across a harbour porpoise that only surfaced twice close to the boat before disappearing. Later on that trip we came across a group of 5 common dolphins, there was a harbour porpoise in the same area as this group. They seemed to take little to no notice of the boat and swam right past us. On the way back to Ventry we came across another minke whale. It’s likely this individual was different to the one we saw earlier due to the fact that it was much larger.

Gannet (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Brief weather windows on Wednesday 19^th and Friday 21^st allowed us to perform a single trip on each day. Wednesday’s trip was in the evening and despite the bad weather we saw two minke whales very close to each other in an area with plenty of seabirds. Seabirds, especially gannets can be very useful in locating whales and dolphins. Sea birds often form groups while feeding on fish that have been forced towards the surface by the cetaceans feeding on them below the water. On Friday we only ventured out on a morning trip and with the help of some feeding gannets we encountered a single minke early in the trip. Shortly after leaving this minke behind us we encountered a group of two minkes that appeared to be feeding together, these two appeared to be similar in size to the group of two that we had yesterday.

Gannets Feeding (c) Paddy O'Dwyer

In addition to all these sightings we had plenty of other wildlife to keep us entertained. As per usual the grey seals had a good look at us while we were looking at them. There was also plenty of bird life also with all the usual suspects including puffins, cormorants, gannets, gulls and many more. The Monday trip also provided me with my first sighting of the red deer on Inishvickillaun. They can be hard to spot on the island despite being there in large number and relatively large size. While deer are not quite the mammals I’m here to observe it’s pretty special to see them on an island on the very edge of Europe. 

Deer on Inisvickillaun (c) Paddy O'Dwyer - IWDG

Week 1 June 8th-16th

View from the office (c) Paddy O'Dwyer- IWDG

The bursary is off to a great start with cetacean sightings on every trip so far. Even more impressive when you consider we were mostly doing two trips a day.

Saturday the 8^th, was the day of the first tour and after meeting Mick, Britta and Billy I was keen to get started and to see what was around the bay. It was a nice calm day with plenty of sunshine in other words perfect conditions for sighting any whales or dolphins in the area. We didn’t have to wait long before spotting our first, a harbour porpoise. This was followed 20 minutes later by another porpoise sighting. However, these are the smallest cetacean in Irish waters and their brief surfacing makes them difficult to spot unless you are being very observant. On this trip we also encountered a group of rissos dolphins which were swimming around the boat in groups of two and three with 8 animals in total in the area. This was a fantastic opportunity to observe a species many don’t get to see in Irish waters. Two more harbour porpoises on our way back to Ventry brought the total number of their sightings for the day to 4. All in all a very eventful day with some fantastic sightings.

Sunday the 9^th, buoyed by the success of yesterday, and with further calm and sunny conditions I was confident of recording more sightings today. As it turns out my confidence wasn’t misplaced and shortly into our morning trip we had a sighting of a small minke whale. These are the smallest of the baleen whales and are regularly sighted in these waters. They can be quite unpredictable and pop up in a completely different location each time they surface. The evening trip resulted in another sighting of a small minke whale this one appearing at the surface multiple times providing fantastic opportunities for everyone to get a great view of this impressive mammal that can reach 10m in length. Its quite possible that it was the same individual as it was similar in size to the one we had seen in the morning and was also occupying a similar area.

Minke whale (c) Paddy O'Dwyer- IWDG

Tuesday the 11^th Having not gone out on Monday I was keen to get back out on the water. With the weather conditions getting worse this looked like it may be the last trip of the week. While out on the morning trip a small minke surfaced barely a few meters from the stern of the boat. It continued to surface close to the boat resulting in one of the best minke whale encounters that  i’ve witnessed. 

On the evening trip we had two separate encounters with harbour porpoises and another sighting of a minke. This one was slightly further away from the boat but surfaced several times ensuring everyone on board got a good view of it. There were a few light rain showers on the evening trip yet it still produced some fantastic sightings, proving that in Ireland you just have to embrace the weather. The following footage of an inquisitive minke was captured by Billy on a tour that occurred before this bursary began.

                                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVoIepoI_gs

(c) Billy Connors-Blasket Island Marine Tours 

Wednesday the 12^th, since there were no bookings and conditions were deteriorating I decided to go surfing on my ‘day off’. This, in hindsight, was a bad idea. When I got back to the car I had a missed call from Mick, I called him back only to find out that a last minute booking and a suitable short weather window resulted in his decision to go on a short morning trip. On this trip they had encountered a pair of killer whales. While killer whales are not a common species in this area they are seen on occasion, especially during the summer months. Images of these killer whales have been sent to the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust to see if they can be matched to the Scottish West Community of killer whales. In the past the killer whales spotted in this area have been identified as being from the Scottish West Community. When they are spotted they never seem to hang around long in the area and almost appear to be doing a summer tour of the Irish coast. The Irish Whale and Dolphin group run a sightings network and sightings can easily be reported online here: http://www.iwdg.ie/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2117                                      Reported sightings allow the IWDG to track the movements of cetaceans as they travel along the Irish coastline resulting in valuable information on how and when they use different areas.

In addition to all the cetaceans we have seen, everyday has produced great views of the grey seal population in the Blaskets and also spectacular opportunities to see puffins, turns, gannets, razorbills and other birds. On one of our trips this week we even saw a longtailed skua which are not very common inshore at this time of year.

Puffin (c) Paddy O'Dwyer- IWDG

For more information on any of the cetaceans we have seen so far have a look at the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group website: http://www.iwdg.ie/index.php

What it's all about!

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) in collaboration with Blasket Islands Eco Marine Tours are funding a summer bursary based in West Kerry in order to collect information on cetaceans around the Blasket Islands. The Blasket Islands are home to a variety of cetaceans and are an extremely important area for them, and this is recognised internationally as  the area designated a Special area of Conservation (SAC) for Harbour porpoises and Grey seals under the EU Habitats Directive. The area is also important for various bird species. The intention of this blog will be to keep people updated on the cetaceans we encounter during the study period as well as any interesting bird or other animal sightings I will do my best update this blog as frequently as possible in order to keep people as up to date as possible.

For those of you who have never been on an Eco tour around the Blaskets you have no idea what you are missing out on. It’s amazing to see the coastline of West Kerry including the breathtaking cliffs below the Slea Head Drive from a whole new perspective. Add to this the unparalleled beauty of the Blasket Islands themselves including the lighthouse on Tearaght and the towering Cathedral Rocks of Inis na Bro. In addition to the beautiful scenery the area boasts a variety of wildlife.

Thousands of seabirds including gannets, storm petrels, Manx shearwaters, and plenty of Puffins (to name but a few) are frequently seen in the area. Basking sharks are also frequently encountered in and the Great Blasket Island and its smaller neighbour Beginish are home to a colony of about 700 grey seals.

                                                          Seals and gull (c) Paddy O'Dwyer, IWDG

However it’s the cetaceans in the area that I’m most interested in. Common dolphins, Bottlenose dolphins, Minke whales, Risso’s dolphins and harbour porpoises are regularly seen in and around the islands and Killer whales are occasionally recorded in the area. In the later summer months and during the autumn the Humpback and Fin whales arrive in the area providing fantastic opportunities to observe these amazing creatures just off the coast.

Common Dolphin (c) Joanne O'Brien, IWDG

Blasket Islands Eco Marine Tours have kindly offered to allow us to observe from their vessel the 43ft MV Blasket Princess. The boat is skippered by Mick Sheeran and crewed by Billy and tour guide Britta. It is a pleasure to share a boat a boat with these people who aside from having an encyclopaedic knowledge of everything from the wildlife to the history of the area are also very passionate about what they do. They ensure that everyone on board enjoys the trip and leaves the boat a whole lot wiser.

Despite crossing the Atlantic and surveying the shelf edge off Irelands West coast some of my best experiences of observing whales and dolphins have occurred onboard the M.V. Blasket Princess including watching a Humpback whale bubble net feeding and seeing the world’s second largest mammal the Fin whale. I recommend there tours to locals and tourists alike, it never fails to amaze me how many people are unaware of the amazing wildlife that is located just off the coast. I look forward to meeting you over the summer.

For more information about these tours check out: http://marinetours.ie/

For more information about Whales and Dolphins around Ireland check out: http://www.iwdg.ie/index.php

Become a member of the IWDG: http://www.iwdg.ie/index.php?option=com_mijoshop&route=product/product&path=34&product_id=1&Itemid=117

Apart from supporting conservation work like this, IWDG membership has other benefits
which include:

1. IWDG News: our e-zine and regular newsletters and a host of other
    publications

2. Monthly group email updates and local reports on strandings and sightings
    of interest in your area

3. Discounts on all IWDG events, weekends and training workshops.

4. Reduced rates on IWDG publications: sighting reviews, posters etc

5. Opportunities to take part in IWDG research cruises and fieldwork

6. An opportunity to join like-minded people interested in marine
    conservation.

7. Advice on whale-watching and related topics

Tools of the Trade (c) Paddy O'Dwyer, IWDG