Marine mammals (1 Viewer)

JTweedie · Aug 7, 2009

I'm currently reading Philip Hoare's book "Leviathan, or The Whale", a book inspired by Moby Dick and the author's own experiences of encounters with whales.

It got me thinking about what marine mammals I've seen (all in the west coast of Scotland):

Harbour Porpoise
Common Seal
Atlantic Grey Seal
Minke Whale
Common Dolphin

I'm now quite keen to see other species - I know I could go up to the Moray Firth to see Bottlenose Dolphins, and occasionally other species of whales appear on the west coast. I would like to go to Iceland to try and see the Blue Whale, plus I think it would be amazing to see Beluga and Narwhals, but I don't know how likely that would ever be.

Is there anyone here who particularly likes seeing marine mammals - if so, what have you seen?

Farnboro John · Aug 7, 2009

I find them fascinating, partly because they are so difficult to see - so any sighting is always a bit special - but also because their various forms include some of the biggest, most dramatic, most engaging and charismatic animals on Earth.

Around Britain I have seen the following:

Humpback Whale (Clyde and Forth)
Minke Whale (Cornwall and Argyll)
Sperm Whale (Moray)
Northern Bottlenose Whale (London)
Orca (Scilly, Forth and Point of Ardnamurchan)
Long-finned Pilot Whale (Cornwall)
Risso's Dolphin (Scilly and Anglesey)
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin (Scilly)
White-beaked Dolphin (Point of Ardnamurchan)
Bottlenose Dolphin (Scilly, Cornwall, Dorset, Llandudno, Moray)
Common Dolphin (Scilly, Cornwall, Point of Ardnamurchan)
Harbour Porpoise (all round the coast of Britain)

If you are counting seals as well, then Grey and Common Seals all over the place plus:

Harp Seal (Shetland)
Bearded Seal (Hartlepool)

In the rest of the world I've had some more, as well as more sightings of cosmopolitan things like Bottlenoses, Humpbacks and Orcas:

Biscay

Fin Whale
Sei Whale
Striped Dolphin

Namibia

Heaviside's Dolphin
African (Cape) Fur Seal

Falkland Islands and South Georgia

Commerson's Dolphin
Peale's Dolphin
Dusky Dolphin
Hourglass Dolphin

Southern Elephant Seal
Leopard Seal
Southern Sealion (a big male chased me through the tussac which was alarming!)
Antarctic Fur Seal

California

Northern Elephant Seal
Steller's Sealion
California Sealion
Harbor Seal (= Common Seal)

Sea Otter

I think that's the lot, but it was off the top of my head. If I remember any more I'll add them. Ones I particularly want to see that I haven't yet, include Blue Whale, Narwhal, Southern Right Whale, Boto, Walrus and any Manatee.

John

JTweedie · Aug 7, 2009

Impressive list, what was it like seeing the Leopard Seal in the flesh? They're quite ferocious hunters!

It's also a very good list around UK waters, just goes to show what a rich habitat our waters provide.

I just found a website that includes a trip to Patagonia to the site where they filmed the Orcas attacking the seals on the beach for the BBC.

Mysticete · Aug 7, 2009

I work on Marine mammal professionally, and always try to make an effort to see them when I can. Most of my sightings have been on the Pacific Coast of North America, although I have one species from South Africa (dipped on Heavisides

)

Harbor Seal (the pacific form, which could be a potential split from the Atlantic form)
Northern elephant Seal
Steller's Sea Lion
California Sea Lion
Guadalupe Fur Seal
Cape Fur Seal

Sea Otter

Humpback Whale
Fin Whale
Dall's Porpoise
Killer Whale (transient)
Pacific White-sided Dolphin
Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin
Long-beaked Common Dolphin
Short-beaked Common Dolphin
Northern Right-whale Dolphin

This fall I am hoping to add Beluga and Minke Whale in Quebec

Edward · Aug 7, 2009

JTweedie said:
I'm currently reading Philip Hoare's book "Leviathan, or The Whale", a book inspired by Moby Dick and the author's own experiences of encounters with whales.

It got me thinking about what marine mammals I've seen (all in the west coast of Scotland):

Harbour Porpoise
Common Seal
Atlantic Grey Seal
Minke Whale
Common Dolphin

I'm now quite keen to see other species - I know I could go up to the Moray Firth to see Bottlenose Dolphins, and occasionally other species of whales appear on the west coast. I would like to go to Iceland to try and see the Blue Whale, plus I think it would be amazing to see Beluga and Narwhals, but I don't know how likely that would ever be.

Is there anyone here who particularly likes seeing marine mammals - if so, what have you seen?

Blue Whales have been pretty regular from Húsavík in northern Iceland in June/July recent years. They had 10 Blue Whales on a single trip I think in 2007 or 2008. Gyr Falcon in the morning and Blue Whale in the afternoon is a pretty good combination.
They've stopped doing the longer trips from the west of Iceland (where I saw two a few years ago).

Beluga, Narwhal, Walrus and Polar Bear are all vagrants in Iceland (I've seen Polar Bear here - briefly!)
A twitch to see Beluga in 2007 was foiled by the imminent birth of my daughters (they didn't arrive until two weeks later so I could have gone!). The closest I have got to Narwhal was in Greenland last month. The boatman we had arranged to pick us up didn't show up because as he was on his way, he heard on the radio that a pod of Narwhals had been spotted in the opposite direction and he forgot all about us immediately. That explained the harpoon on his boat on the way out.

E

Mike Richardson · Aug 7, 2009

Not seen many cetaceans/marine mammals in the UK

-Bottlenose Dolphin (Scotland)
-Harbour Porpoise (many, mostly Yorkshire)
-Grey Seal
-Harbour Seal

USA

-Grey Whale (California)
-Bottlenose Dolphin (Florida)
-California Sealion
-Northern Elephant Seal (California)
-Harbour Seal (California)
-Sea Otter (California)
-Manatee (Florida)

Also seen Short-finned Pilot Whale (Tenerife) and Common Dolphin (NT, Australia).

I must admit cetaceans have never been my favourite mammals, although over the last couple of years my interest in them has grown ten-fold.

Orca has to be my dream cetacean. Minke Whale may be my next.

JTweedie · Aug 7, 2009

Edward said:
Gyr Falcon in the morning and Blue Whale in the afternoon is a pretty good combination.

Beluga, Narwhal, Walrus and Polar Bear are all vagrants in Iceland (I've seen Polar Bear here - briefly!)
E

Wow, I had no idea that Polar Bears could found in Iceland, that must be some sight!

I agree Gyr Falcon and Blue Whale in one day is a great outing!

I actually quite fancy one of those fire and ice type tours to see the glaciers, volcanoes, mid-Atlantic ridge, waterfalls and out to sea to see the whales. One thing I don't fancy is going to the Blue Lagoon, but every tour seems to include it - I'm not really in the best shape for going into a pool like that!

StuartReeves · Aug 7, 2009

Edward said:
Gyr Falcon in the morning and Blue Whale in the afternoon is a pretty good combination.

One of these days...

Blue Whale is very high on my "most-wanted" list having missed it on whale-watching trips in both Iceland and Western Australia. Apart from that I have a passable cetacean list. Around the UK I've seen:

Harbour Porpoise (various places)
White-beaked Dolphin (Aberdeen & Shetland)
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin (Shetland)
Bottlenose Dolphin (Moray Firth)
Risso's Dolphin (Shetland)
Orca (Shetland)
Minke Whale (Aberdeen)

These were all pretty much self-found too.

Biscay adds:
Common Dolphin
Striped Dolphin
Long-finned Pilot Whale
Cuvier's Beaked Whale
Fin Whale

Then there's:
Dusky Dolphin (NZ)
Sperm Whale (NZ)
Humpback Whale (Aus & Canada)
Northern Right Whale (Bay of Fundy, Canada)

There's a good scatter of seals & sealions too.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 7, 2009

UK:
Harbour Seal
Grey Seal
Otter
Bottlenose Dolphin
Harbour Porpoise
Minke Whale
I've probably seen other dolphins (e.g. Risso's and White-beaked) but haven't been quite sure enough.

Elsewhere:
Humpback Whale (Australia)
Southern Right Whale (South Africa)
Common Dolphin (France and NZ)
Dusky Dolphin (NZ)
Hector's Dolphin (NZ)
I've also seen Bottlenose Dolphin and Harbour Seal abroad. It's not that great a list though - I should defnitely try to work on it!

Farnboro John · Aug 10, 2009

JTweedie said:
Impressive list, what was it like seeing the Leopard Seal in the flesh? They're quite ferocious hunters!

The Leopard Seal was at sea between the Falklands and South Georgia, it just stuck its head up as we were going along and I was lucky enough to be looking the right way.

It is a reptilian - dinosaurial - looking thing, with pretty much no features on a smoothly rounded head with big beady black eyes and that slash of a mouth - a fearsome thing even if you aren't a penguin!

John

davidearlgray · Aug 10, 2009

Here is my marine mammals list:

Around Britain I have seen the following:

Humpback Whale (Firth of Forth)
Minke Whale (Cornwall)
Northern Bottlenose Whale (London)
Long-finned Pilot Whale (Cornwall)
Risso's Dolphin (Bardsey Island)
Reported Atlantic White-sided Dolphin (Scilly but now think there were Common Dolphins!!)

Bottlenose Dolphin (Scilly, Cornwall, Wales and Scotland)
Common Dolphin (Scilly, Cornwall, Wales)
Harbour Porpoise (all round the coast of Britain)

In the rest of the Europe:
Biscay

Blue Whale
Fin Whale
Sei Whale
Minke Whale
Sperm Whale
Cuvier's Beaked Whale
Northern Bottlenose Whale
Sowerby's Beaked Whale
Long finned Pilot Whale
Striped Dolphin
Common Dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Harbour Porpoise
Probable Dwarf Sperm Whale

Gran Canaria:
Bryde's Whale
Cuvier's Beaked Whale
Blainville's Beaked Whale
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
Striped Dolphin
Common Dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Short-finned Pilot Whale

I have also seen Grey and Common Seal around the UK and Otter in Shetland.

Cheers,
Dave.
http://davidearlgray.blogspot.com/

Isurus · Aug 10, 2009

Farnboro John said:
It is a reptilian - dinosaurial - looking thing, with pretty much no features on a smoothly rounded head with big beady black eyes and that slash of a mouth - a fearsome thing even if you aren't a penguin!

John

I've only seen one in a zoo (taronga) but it totally creeped me out. weird looking thing - quite intelligent look to the face but at the same time the mouth looks reptilllian as John said. I regularly dive with big predatory sharks but I really didn't want to be particularly close to this thing. Onto my list

UK
Harbour seal
Grey seal
Common dolphin
bottlenose dolphin

Elsewhere
Sea otter
Cape fur seal
Guadelupe Island fur seal (possibly, maybe, not entirely sure, shouldn't really be on the list)
aussie sea lion
california sea lion
manatee
northern elephant seal
humpback whale
fin whale
minke whale
shortfin pilot whale

the glaring omission right now is dugong which I keep dipping.

Isurus · Aug 10, 2009

oops missed Rissos, tucuxi and boto off the list. d'oh!

pandachris · Aug 10, 2009

JT, I won't try to reproduce my list - it's not as long as some but it has a few odds and ends and a new species as of Friday, Risso's Dolphin, but I will make a recommendation - BDSF is a non-profit organisation operating out of Provence. They run a variety of trips during the late-spring and summer months on a sailing boat into the Med especially to look for whales and dolphins. There prices are pretty good when you take into account the impossibility of spending any other money when you're out with them.

http://www.bdsf.net/english.htm

Not luxury - it's a bit like camping but on the sea rather than in a field, but they get some incredible close ups.

Here are some of the pics we got of Fin whales back in 2004 on a three-night excursion with them ...

http://avengerpenguins.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=12875&g2_page=16

Click on the thumbnails for the full image.

forthbirder · Aug 11, 2009

I saw eight bottlenose dolphins off the coast at Kinghorn in Fife, Scotland at the end of June. Have seen innumerable seals in that harbour before but never dolphins. Apparently large numbers of dolphins have moved into the Forth this summer, as reported in todays edition of the Edinburgh evening news.
Also good sightings of a pod of common porpoise off Mull last year, as well as plenty of otters of the west coast over the years.
Saw dolphins in Goa a couple of years ago but cant remember the species.
Would love to see orcas as well as the larger whales, and you never know, every so often a presumably lost indivdual makes its way into the Forth so fingers crossed.
Mark.

pandachris · Aug 11, 2009

My only Orca (so far) was from the Arran ferry heading back towards Ardrossan in August 1981. I reckon you stand a chance.

forthbirder · Aug 12, 2009

pandachris said:
My only Orca (so far) was from the Arran ferry heading back towards Ardrossan in August 1981. I reckon you stand a chance.

The most enjoyable sightings are the ones you least expect, so it must have been some rush to sight an orca off Arran.

pandachris · Aug 12, 2009

It was fantastic. There was a party of children/young teens on the deck, it being a lovely day and one young lad piped up "Sir, I've just seen a whale!". He received a mild rebuke and some sarcastic comments from his travelling companions but he insisted "No. There!!!", so we looked anyway and he was right. We saw the 3rd (and final) breach and I can still picture it clearly over 25 years later.

Alan henry · Aug 12, 2009

forthbirder · Aug 13, 2009

Hi Alan. You have captured some amazing scenes in the pics on your websites. Particularly liked the shots of weddells seal and southern sea lions. You are a lucky man to live in such a place. It must be great to see albatross every day as well. Thats one group of birds I have always wanted to see in flight.
Cheers, Mark.

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