Whales, porpoises and seabirds galore…
The team on the seventeenth research expedition of the season encountered foraging minke whales, porpoises and seabirds on their seven day trip from Mallaig. Read all about their experiences here…
DAY 1
We met the the crew a the pontoons to drop our bags, before heading to the nicest harbour toilets in the Hebrides to make a plan for the evening. It was too windy for us to join the boat, so we headed to a restaurant for the first part of our training and to enjoy a meal together.
First Mate, Lenny, picked us up from the pontoons and we unpacked in our berths and learned how to live around each other comfortably for the coming week. A good nights sleep before more training tomorrow.
DAY 2
We ate breakfast together bright and early while taking in the pink sunrise. We finished off the species ID training and learned how to implement the data collection protocols, shouting ‘SIGHTING!’ when we saw an animal, recoring creels and even listening to the acoustic data from the hydrohpone.
We set sail after lunch and saw large groups of feeding birds, looking out for fins beneath them. We spotted four fleeting whales foraging beneath the birds, with a few porpoises and seals. As the waves and swell increased we headed for our anchorage at Singing Sands, Kentra Bay, enjoyed a walk ashore on the white sands investigating otter prints. We finished the day with training in seabird ID and boat types before an early bedtime, ready for the next full day of surveying.
DAY 3
We headed out from our secluded mooring into a full day of effort with some dramatic seaswells and rays of sunshine on our trip between Skye and the mainland with gannets galore, a dolphin and some seals.
We were all kept busy on our effort tasks - the waters were full of creels to record but the sun kept shining, particularly at the momentous moment where we sailed triumphantly under the Skye bridge. Another interesting day of new environments to enjoy.
We dropped anchor in Plockton and headed for a shor visit to sample the local pub.
DAY 4
The day started with a fantastic view of the sunrise, before heading further north east into Loch Carron. We had a couple of sightings of common seals and harbour porpoises.
After exploring Loch Carron we turned around and went back under the Skye Bridge, past the Eilean Donan Castle and into Loch Duich where we anchored Silurian to stay the night.
After a shore visit and dinner, we played pass the pigs and banangrams in two languages.
DAY 5
Anchor up and our first drops of rain as we headed back down Loch Duich and past the castle. A majestic white-tailed eagle sat in a tree gave us excellent views as we sailed past.
We headed back through Kyle Rhea and south to the Sound of Sleat. The engine began overheating and we drifted while Skipper Emma and Engineer Lenny investigated the problem. There were beautiful views of porpoises around us as we floated in silence. We nipped back in to Mallaig to investigate further.
DAY 6
Unfortunately no surveying for us today as the engine required more work. We had a late breakfast of Emma’s delicious french toast before heading to the Knoydart ferry for a day trip across there.
Jenny collected data on HWDT’s data collection app, Whale Track, as we took the ferry ride and we eagerly counted sightings, boats and creels. Apparently they didn’t need the creel sightings!
We had a wonderful walk around Knoydart, a swim in the river and lunch by the fire. We headed back to Mallaig in the afternoon with bow-riding common dolphins in three groups and a white-tailed eage overhead. What a fitting end to a brilliant trip.
Across the week, the group surveyed nautical 216 km of Hebridean seas, recording five species of marine mammals, and generating 13 hours of acoustic recordings!
A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR TEAM OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS WHO JOINED THIS EXPEDITION: JESS, MARILYN, SHARRON, PETE, HELENA AND HANNAH.