Posts tagged get involved

Deep divers inshore drive

Inshore movement of deep diving whales in Scottish coastal waters documented by community sightings volunteers.

Whale Track: NTS Culzean Castle Community Event

This July, join HWDT and The National Trust for Scotland at Culzean Castle and Country Park to find out what whales and dolphins can be spotted in your area and how you can get involved in helping us deepen our understanding about these animals by conducting a ‘watch from land’ using whale Track.

Silurian, Events & OutreachSadie Gorvett4 July 2024Silurian, sightings, open boat, research vessel, research, talk, citizenscience, science talk, Hebrides, Scotland, get involved, education, floating classroom, schoolsComment

Whale Track: Clyde Community Watch Events

This May, HWDT are visiting the Clyde to run a series of Whale Track watch events. Join us to find out what whales and dolphins can be spotted in the Clyde and get involved in helping us deepen our understanding about these animals by conducting a ‘watch from land’ using Whale Track.

Silurian, Events & OutreachSadie Gorvett29 April 2024Silurian, sightings, open boat, research vessel, research, talk, citizenscience, science talk, Hebrides, Scotland, get involved, education, floating classroom, schoolsComment

HWDT’s Floating Classroom to visit Mull schools for the first time in 10 years

This April, thanks to support from The Waterfall Fund and Baillie Gifford, we will be setting sail around Mull to welcome schools aboard our research vessel, Silurian. HWDT’s education team are also inviting local communities to join them aboard during our drop-in open boat events.

Silurian, Events & OutreachSadie Gorvett10 April 2024Silurian, sightings, open boat, research vessel, research, talk, citizenscience, science talk, Hebrides, Scotland, get involved, education, floating classroom, schoolsComment

Celebrating industry contributions to marine science

We welcomed a number of wildlife tour providers and boat operators to our first ever Whale Track Boat Operator Event, sharing good practice and celebrating the contributions these companies make to marine science.

Listening for Conservation

Many of us have little comprehension of how noisy the aquatic world is, you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s a peaceful environment…it’s anything but! Our seas and oceans are a cacophony of sound and getting increasingly noisier, as human activity intensifies the soundscape.

SilurianMorven Summers8 February 2024get involved, how can I help whales, how can I get involved in whale research, acoustic survey, underwater noise, noise pollution, marine noise, expe, expeditio, research expedition, research trip, research vessel

A milestone for citizen science as over 10,000 sightings of whales, dolphins and porpoises are reported to marine conservation charity

2023 was a record-breaking year for marine conservation charity the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) and their Whale Track community of citizen scientists. For the first time in the Trusts 30-year history, over 10,000 sightings of whales, dolphins, porpoises and basking sharks were reported by members of the public in one year.

A Picture Tells a Thousand Words

Photography has never been so accessible; the development of camera technology in our phones and the affordability of professional kit means more people than ever can take amazing photos. But did you know…for decades photos have been a fundamental resource in driving forward our understanding of whales and dolphins.

What was seen during this years National Whale and Dolphin Watch?

We take a look at what you were reporting during this years National Whale and Dolphin Watch.

Image: John Coe & Aquarius ©Peggy Messeiller-Henery

SightingsSadie Gorvett14 September 2023citizen science, get involved, sightings, whale track, National Whale and Dolphin Watch

Guess who's back...Knobble the minke whale!

Knobble - the famous minke whale - returns to the Hebrides, highlighting how important the region is for these animals, who migrate each year to feed in the rich waters off Scotland’s west coast

All Aboard! Local communities invited to come aboard and explore our research vessel, Silurian

HWDT’s education team are inviting local communities to join them aboard our research vessel, Silurian.

Silurian, Events & OutreachSadie Gorvett19 April 2023Silurian, sightings, open boat, research vessel, research, talk, citizenscience, science talk, Hebrides, Scotland, get involvedComment

Bumper year for John Coe and Aquarius

It’s been an exciting year for sightings across the west coast of Scotland. It’s been a particularly busy year for sightings of the West Coast Community members, John Coe and Aquarius. Between February and October 2022, the famous pair have been Photo ID’d across a total of 33 days, with their location ranging from the Hebrides, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Photo credit: EmmaJane-HebridesCruises

100th Humpback Recorded in Scottish Waters

Although rare, humpback whales are now being sighted with increasing regularity in Scottish waters - with the 100th whale documented this year. They are known to migrate through Scottish waters between their feeding and breeding grounds. Find out how citizen scientists are deepening the understanding of these awesome creatures

Eleven species recorded on Whale Track during National Whale and Dolphin Watch 2022

Explore the amazing sightings reported during this years National Whale and Dolphin Watch event.

SightingsSadie Gorvett26 August 2022citizen science, get involved, sightings, whale track, National Whale and Dolphin Watch

Wild weather and cetaceans marked the fourth expedition of 2022

We’re well underway with our monitoring Hebridean seas this year, with Silurian, our research vessel, completing her fourth expedition of the 2023 summer field season. Some challenging conditions didn't dampen the spirits of the fantastic citizen scientists who joined us on board…the encounters with whales, dolphins and porpoises helped too!

Silurian gets some TLC

Silurian, our research vessel is a hard working boat and throughout the year is gifted some TLC. Here one of the team, Brian, updates on recent efforts to keep her shipshape.

SilurianCaroline Willis19 May 2022research vessel, whale research in Scotland, dolphin research, working boat, vessel, monitoring, monitoring vessel, citizenscience, cit, get involved, volunteers, volunteering

Second Research Expedition Records 7 Species!

Our second research expedition of the summer field season was exceptional - recording a total of seven marine mammal species, including killer whales, John Coe and Aquarius of the West Coast Community! Hannah, our Science Officer on board who leads the data collection programme shares her experience

What might you spot this Spring?

Spring is a vital time to monitor whales, dolphins, and porpoises, collectively known as cetaceans, in the waters of western Scotland. Our seas begin to warm and whales migrate into our productive waters to feed. We explore some of the species you may encounter this spring.

SightingsSadie Gorvett18 April 2022citizen science, get involved, sightings, whale track

What impact is climate change having on the whales in our waters?

COP26 started this week in Glasgow, where world leaders are meeting to discuss how best to tackle climate issues. Our Science Officer Becky explores what climate change means for our oceans, and what impacts in could be having to the whales, dolphins, and porpoises in our waters….

In the News, Climate ChangeRebecca Dudley3 November 2021citizenscience, citizen science, silurian, Silurian, Siluiran, monitoring, monitoring expedition, common dolphin, killer whale, UKs killer whale population, UK orca populations, orca, busta the killer whale, razor the killer whale, hebrides, outer hebrides, western isles, marineconservation, marine conservation, marine tourism, marine wildlife, sustainability, sustainable marine tourism, sustainable tourism, ecotourism, eco tourism, biological recording, data collection, scottish orca, scottish whales, scottish dolphins, volunteering, volunteer, volunteer now, volunteer holidays, get involved, volunteernow, volunteers, gain experience, bottlenose dolphins, underwaternoise, whale, dolphin, cop26, cop, Glasgow UN Climate Conference, UN, UN Climate, Climate change, global warming, how climate change is effecting whales, how climate change is effecting dolphins, effects of climate change, marine biodiversity, biodiversity loss, COP26, climate emergency

Silurian battles through storms on our latest acoustic expedition

Silurian battled through strong winds and heavy showers on our latest acoustic expedition. In total, we surveyed over 330 nautical miles, collecting over 60 hours of acoustic recordings.

News & Social Feeds