Eleven species recorded on Whale Track during National Whale and Dolphin Watch 2022
The Seawatch Foundations National Whale and Dolphin Watch ran from 23-31 July this year and our wonderful Whale Track community reported a total of 485 sightings of 3569 animals across 11 different species.
A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING WHALE TRACK COMMUNITY!
So, what was seen this year during NWDW? Check out our summary blog from last years NWDW to see how things compare.
Overall common dolphins and harbour porpoise were the most frequently sighted species, with common dolphins also being the most abundant, with a whopping 2709 individuals reported!
We loved this amazing footage captured by Graeme-brown who had a wonderful encounter with a small pod of inquisitive harbour porpoise while out fishing of the coast of Morar.
Harbour porpoise ©Graeme-brown
Although not in the top two this year, minke whales still make it to the podium, being the third most reported species, including this minke whale with a rather distinct dorsal fin, sent in by Jenny Jackson. We will be investigating whether we have encountered this minke whale before, using our minke whale Photo ID catalogue.
We also got our first reported sighting of one of our much loved minke whales, ‘Kasey’, on 23 July by Andy Tait, so she may have been among the hundred plus minke whales, other reporters saw during NWDW.
Minke whale ©Jenny Jackson
This year, with the upgraded Whale Track app and the removal of the geographical boundary, we received some reports from other areas across Scotland, including reports of bottlenose dolphins seen in the Firth of Tay and the First of Forth. Plus, an impressive report of over 60 pilot whales west of the Shetland Isles.
There were 13 reports of Risso’s dolphins, including a lovely sighting by M-Mitchel of a pod seen off Ardnamurchan Point. Footage captured on the day, show a possible youngster hiding behind an adult. While Cathy-gardner-1 saw three Risso’s dolphins between Tiree and Barra and was treated to one of them spy-hopping.
Sightings of basking sharks have slowed down since our last sightings summary with less than a handful of reports coming in during NWDW, one was seen around Barra and another sighting around Canna. A handful of white beaked dolphins were also reported, along with a probable sighting of a humpback whale.
It was a busy week for fin whales, with seven reports of nine animals, all around the Tiumpan area of Lewis. Hebridean Whale Cruises shared these wonderful images of the fin whales they encountered while out on a trip. Further south, just off Harris, there was also a possible sighting of a sei whale by Hebridean Adventures.
All these sightings are a testament to the 87 people who spotted these animals from all kinds of platforms including sailing boats, fishing boats, ferries and from land.
Just over half of the reports sent in were from Excursion Mode, with people tracking their journeys, adding to our effort based dataset. We also had several people conduct land based watches, expanding our understanding of presence and absence of cetaceans in Hebridean Seas.
Every sighting and photo submitted is important and reveals information about these incredible marine animals.
By sharing your sightings with Sea Watch Foundation and other partners, and taking part in events like this, we are all working together to build a long-term picture of UK cetacean populations and distributions.
It is thanks to your sightings that we can better protect and conserve these amazing animals.