Not one, but two species of dolphin encountered on our first winter survey of 2024!
OUR WINTER SURVEY PROGRAMME ON BOARD SILURIAN HAS BEEN RUNNING SINCE 2019, trying to understand MORE ABOUT THE YEAR-ROUND PRESENCE OF MARINE vertebrates within the Hebridean seas. THESE SURVEYS ARE IMPORTANT GIVEN THAT BEFORE THE START OF THE PROGRAMME, LITTLE WINTER DATA EXISTED FOR THE REGION. BELOW, THE TEAM ONBOARD THE FIRST WINTER SURVEY OF THIS YEAR, GIVE AN UPDATE…
DAY 1
A team of local volunteers comprised of Pam, Lorraine, Jimmy, Gordie, Katie, and Louise were ready to meet the crew of the Silurian; Emma (Skipper), Sian (First Mate), Hannah (Science Officer) and Craig (Fourth Crew) for the first winter survey of 2024. Gordie was stuck in Oban and the weather was terrible, so we didn’t leave until around 2 pm. Skipper Emma decided to head down the sound of Mull to Lochaline due to poor weather conditions, delighting Pam who was on the lookout for the infamous long-tailed duck. The weather didn’t disappoint, with the rain and wind hammering down dampening our clothes but not our spirit.
There was a slight delay in data collection, with science officer Hannah unable to get the hydrophone working, but all was fixed when she realised, she had just forgotten to plug it in. Although the Long-tailed duck didn’t make an appearance, we were treated by sightings of a black-throated diver, a grey seal, and some mute swans as we approached Lochaline. Entering the bay proved the most challenging part of the day, with Emma having to turn into the wind and navigate berthing alongside the pontoons. In the commotion, the kettle went flying, as did half the crew.
Daily Haiku
Wet wet wet windy
Hydrophone not plugged in
Kettle went flying
DAY 2
We arose to the sun and calm loch, with time to explore after a hearty breakfast. A cluster of fossil Gryphaea, also known as Devil’s Toenails, was on the shoreline whilst a juvenile white-tailed eagle soared above. As we left our anchorage and headed down the Sound of Mull, we passed Duart Castle whilst eating second breakfast, with rainbows to make up for the pain of the odd hail storm.
Cutting across from Mull to head down the Sound of Luing we encountered more challenging seas, but Kittiwakes, Guillemots, and Razorbills all in one place caught our interest. Could there have been something bigger nearby, watching closely? Despite not seeing any cetaceans, many creels filled our list, followed by a game of ‘creel or seal?’… seal, creel, creel, no seal, no just a creel. Enjoying the last of the sun behind us, we entered the flat waters of Loch Craignish to berth in Ardfern with almost clear skies overhead.
Daily Haiku
White-tailed eagles
Silurian a’ rolling
Still, no, cetaceans
DAY 3
Breakfast at 7:15, and left Ardfern at 8:30. The most beautiful crisp cold morning, orange and pink clouds as the sun rose. Gordie had the first spot of the day, harbour porpoise as we left Loch Craignish. Passed between Scarba and Luing, a common seal was spotted, and more porpoise…not sure how many or exactly where, but it was good visibility. At some point, Louise spotted a female hen harrier flying overhead. We passed Seal Island and as we passed Easdale Jimmy spotted bottlenose dolphin!! Min 15, max 22 was recorded. So great to see them! We went ‘with whale’ to observe and photograph them, hoping to get good enough images for identification purposes.
Back on effort and it started to snow, the sun still managed to show its face, and the views of snow-dusted Mull as we headed up the Firth of Lorne were spectacular! I think a Common Seal was spotted…? We had stretches of mirror flat sea and full sunshine as we approached and past Lismore Lighthouse; and several more sightings of harbour porpoise. We headed up the Sound of Mull, big ships and big clouds and a cold northerly wind. More porpoise sightings and everybody got very excited when we spotted the Isle of Mull ferry…an elusive thing!! Headed into Tobermory Bay at about 4 pm to moor up for the night.
Daily Haiku
Our first cetaceans
Calmer seas, sunshine, and snow
Bottlenose dolphins
DAY 4
Up early, leaving while the rest of Tobermory was still asleep. Jimmy kicked things off, spotting a couple of porpoises before we even went on effort (10 seconds after saying “This is usually a good place for porpoise”). We passed a lot of boats as we left the sound of Mull, heading north towards Ardnamurchan Point. As we headed out, with the small isles in the distance, a porpoise appeared and not long after, Hannah and Louise heard dolphin whistles on the hydrophone. Fortunately, the whistles were getting louder and they appeared on our port side much to everyone’s delight. The group of approximately 20 common dolphins, split into a few subgroups with some of them choosing to ride Silurian’s bow for about 10 minutes.
After the dolphins eventually left us, we carried on towards the north end of Muck and down the sound of Eigg with the Cuilins in the background. I’m not sure whether we enjoyed the dolphins as much as we did Sian’s second breakfast. For the rest of the day, we faced the fresh north-easterly wind with difficult conditions for spotting, but the team battled on towards Mallaig and was welcomed into the harbour by the resident seal.
Daily Haiku
Porpoise on leaving
Common dolphins were leaping
Jimmy was sleeping
DAY 5
Our final day of survey was off to another early start as we needed to be past Ardnamurchan by midday to avoid the worst of the wind and tide. As soon as we left the protection of Mallaig we were hit with the cold wind ensuring we were wide awake for our last few hours onboard Silurian.
Heading towards Ardnamurchan we continued to pass the snowy hills of the mainland and we were soon in prime cetacean territory - Bo Fascasdale! One of the perks of strong wind meant we were able to switch off the engine and be under sail, keeping to survey protocols! Everyone on board enjoyed the peace of Silurian as she battled through the wind with ease as all three sails were made. Eyes continuing to scan the water, the sea state continued to increase making spotting even more difficult. With lots of white water and increasing swell, we eventually had our first spot - a pod of common dolphins diving between the waves only briefing and stopping by the boat to say hello before disappearing ahead.
The swell and sea state increased further as the wind funneled down the Sound of Mull and eventually, despite volunteers clingy onto the mast wanting to survey, visual effort stopped. We all hunkered below deck as we admired Skipper Emma and First Mate Sian battle the elements and return Silurian to the safety of Tobermory harbour - with the help of being hand-fed many chocolate biscuits!
Tucked away in the bay, we spotted a pod of harbour porpoise foraging just in front of Calve Island as we began to maneuver alongside the pontoons. After giving Silurian some TLC we headed to the local pub for a well-earned pint and to share our favourite moments of an incredible but challenging survey.
Daily Haiku
Sailing from Mallaig
Swell funneling down the Sound
And safely to Tob
Across the survey period, the group surveyed 160 miles of Hebridean waters encountering five species of marine mammal across 27 sightings, an incredible effort for a winter survey!
WE’D ALSO LIKE TO THANK NATURE SCOT FOR FUNDING THE WINTER PROGRAMME OF SURVEY WORK, BUILDING A MORE COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE HEBRIDEAN MARINE ENVIRONMENT.