Fans of Atlantic Grey Seals will be pleased to know the much photographed Sammy the Seal returned to Gairloch Harbour earlier this month. Sammy has been visiting Gairloch Harbour now for at least fourteen years!
Sammy the Seal Returns!
Archive for July, 2009
Sammy’s Back!
Monday, July 27th, 2009Grab your binoculars and head to the coast for National Whale & Dolphin Watch 2009
Thursday, July 16th, 2009It’s time to get ready for National Whale & Dolphin Watch, a nine-day event organised by Sea Watch Foundation taking place all around the British coastline in July.
This year Scotland’s North-west coast Sea Watch Foundation co-ordination centre Gairloch Marine Wildlife Centre and Cruises will be carrying out vessel and land based surveys between 18 – 26 July which members of the public can join, for further information call 01445 712636.
Every year hundreds of sightings are made of species such as fin whales, minke whales and bottlenose dolphins. These are used by Sea Watch’s scientists to provide a snapshot in time of the numbers and locations of marine mammals (cetaceans). Changes and trends can be monitored, helping to show if current conservation measures are working or if the animals are being affected by factors such as pollution or over-fishing.
To find out more about the watches and about Sea Watch visit www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk The Sea Watch Foundation is a marine conservation and research charity working exclusively in British waters. It has organised the National Whale & Dolphin Watch every year since 2002.
Mixed Weather But Dolphins Didn’t Mind
Monday, July 6th, 2009The day started fine with sunshine and flat calm seas. Porpoises were sighted around Longa Island, some with calves. As the tide was dropping rapidly towards midday the sky blackened and the thunder rumbled as we watched a storm brewing over the Torridon mountain range. The odd flash of lightening showed brilliantly from out at sea. The rain came and went and the sea changed from rough to mirror calm in the space of ten minutes, this revealed a pod of very active bottlenose dolphins within the loch.
They were actively feeding along the sand bank, some showing off their trophy fish, on this occasion mackerel. At least one calf shadowed by its mother was present in the pod of approximately 15 individuals.
Basking Sharks and Ocean Sunfish are Back!
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009We start the day with fine, warm and sunny conditions, however as predicted the rain clouds gathered and by mid afternoon it started to pour! However this sudden downpour didn’t deter our passengers who were treated to our first sighting, this season, of both a basking shark and an ocean sunfish. We had received a report of a basking shark just off the pier in the harbour area on Tuesday night at about 10.30pm so we weren’t too surprised to spot our first this season during one of our cruises today. We watched the 4 metre fish feeding close to Big Sand Beach for a few minutes before we lost it in the heavy rain.
First Basking Shark of the Season
As we continued on our course we thought we had sighted a second basking shark but taking a closer look through our binoculars we realised it was in fact another first for the season the ocean sunfish. We first recorded this elusive fish in Gairloch way back in 2004 and we have continued to see them every year since. An unusual looking fish approximately 1 metre in diameter was seen laying at the surface before diving down into deeper water.
First ocean sunfish of the season