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 12th and the 16th unfortunately
we had no sightings on the 16th. Things had gone better on the 12th
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.
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
Sunday, 11 August 2013
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 9th
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:
More info on Marine Tours :
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 30th 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 3rd
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
Monday, 29 July 2013
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
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
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
Monday, 22 July 2013
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
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
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 6th 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 7th 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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)