Amazing Cetacean & Seabird Holiday - Gairloch, North West Scotland (3 Viewers)

[tyson7]

We went out with Hebridean Whale Cruises a couple of weeks back, wasn't their most successful trip out with just the one Minke but it was a fantastic experience with Manxies, Storm Pertrels, Bonxies, Puffins and the like. Definitely be going again.
I hear that one day last week they had 18 Minke Whales and 300 Common Dolphins, must have been quite a trip!

Phil

Yeh thats abit unlucky at this time of year although still some good sightings for you. I think that the 18minkes & 300 dolphins will have been seen over 3 trips in the one day.

I suppose its the fact that nothing is guaranteed that makes it so exciting. They get Orcas every year but haven't seen any so far this year so i guess someone will get lucky at some point soon on a trip.

 

[tyson7]

Leatherback Turtle today in Loch Gairloch. Apparently it was 2metres long.

It was also seen last Tuesday so has been hanging around.

Also today 3 Orcas were seen North-East of Gairloch. Would be a good week to go up there.

 

[tyson7]

http://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/News/Marine-visitor-is-a-first-for-Gairloch-2414.htm

 

[Jhanlon]

I too have noticed that Shetland is missing a trick with its lack of pelagics - would be by far your best bet of white-sided dolphin in the UK which I haven't yet caught up with. Did you land on the Shiants? Have been wanting to visit these for the black rats but a charter boat is v expensive.

I was lucky enough to see a minke whale off Wales on Friday with blue shark, sunfish & lots of common dolphins (pic attached). Also due to go this Thurs but the imminent storm will put paid to that!

James

 

[tyson7]

I too have noticed that Shetland is missing a trick with its lack of pelagics - would be by far your best bet of white-sided dolphin in the UK which I haven't yet caught up with. Did you land on the Shiants? Have been wanting to visit these for the black rats but a charter boat is v expensive.

I was lucky enough to see a minke whale off Wales on Friday with blue shark, sunfish & lots of common dolphins (pic attached). Also due to go this Thurs but the imminent storm will put paid to that!

James

No we didn't land on the Shiants although spent a good amount of time there. I didn't see any rats.

You were very lucky to see the blue shark.

 

[TWM]

I've been following their posts on Facebook---they have a great 'hit' rate with Common Dolphins and Minke Whales.
Some pretty good birds too.

 

[tyson7]

Theres still large pods of Common Dolphins, Lunge Feeding Minkes & Rissos Dolphins(today) been seen on the Hebridean Whale Cruise trips.

Will be the last few trips of the season over the next 3 or 4 weeks. They haven't seen Orcas yet this year so i'm hoping to get up there one more time in the unlikely hope of seeing them.

Cetacean sightings in the UK for me this year have been:

23 Minke Whales, Sowerbys Beaked Whale, atleast 4 Humpbacks, Common, White Beaked & Bottlenosed Dolphins, Porpoise(including 1 that was bow ridind), At least one Sei or Fin Whale but on 3 occasions i've seen large whales that have dissappeared too quickly to identify them or they have just blown & not surfaced.

Would be nice to add Orcas to that list.

 

[RichC]

What a great thread
There are some great trips all around the West coast.
Ullapool and Skye spring to mind.
One down Elgol, not far from me I follow on FB to see what has been spotted http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bella-Jane-Boat-Trips/330471607552?ref=stream
Same people http://www.aquaxplore.co.uk/

I must try and do a few trips myself next year instead of letting the tourists have all the fun;-p
Rgds
RichC

 

[tyson7]

http://www.visitwester-ross.com/news/28-oct-2012-wester-ross-business-in-worlds-top-6.asp

 

[Farnboro John]

http://www.visitwester-ross.com/news/28-oct-2012-wester-ross-business-in-worlds-top-6.asp

Good show. And quite right, too!

John

 

[JTweedie]

Good to see Sealife Surveys there too, I had my best ever trips with them several years ago when I was staying on Mull. Calm seas with HUNDREDS of porpoises and very very close encounters with minke whales and then the exhilarating sight of pods of common dolphins riding the bow waves - it's still my best ever experience of cetaceans.

There's nothing better than the cetaceans coming up to the surface and then hearing the psssk of them breathing.

 

[jpoyner]

I agree, they're missing a trick by not putting on whale watching trips, although there is a massive area to cover and the whales could turn up anywhere. I think they'd need to do some research to work out where the most likely places are. But when I was there I went out on the boat around Noss and I could see thousands of gannets feeding further out to sea, and I just wished we could have gone out further too.

I did see two whales while there. The first was a minke whale which came up beside the ferry near Yell, and the second one was a, unfortunately dead, sperm whale just below the cliffs at Hermaness.

Good point re. Shetland trips and think you are right regarding the area needed to cover...Shetland effectively sits out on it's own in a very big Ocean and sightings can be all over the place......whereas The Minch is in effect a large channel with some very rich feeding grounds. So cetaceans are more are far easier to find by boat if you know the waters.

There's a point out at sea, between Arisaig and Eigg which I nominated as my ultimate place in Britain (if not the world!) to be....the back drop of Eigg, Skye, Rum and the mainland at that point is breathtaking on a calm day....and you can sit there surrounded by seabirds, Minkes, Basking Sharks at the same time....the second point I nominated......well oddly enough was a view from a window of a bar....in a small fishing village somewhere in Scotland, with the waves crashing over the quay.....and a dram on the table.....perfection!

 

[tyson7]

Someone reported today there were 6 Humpbacks off Rona(a short distance from Gairloch). HWC went out to have a look & they turned out to be Sperm Whales. Must be amazing to see that many big/rare whales off North-West Scotland.

 

[Farnboro John]

Someone reported today there were 6 Humpbacks off Rona(a short distance from Gairloch). HWC went out to have a look & they turned out to be Sperm Whales. Must be amazing to see that many big/rare whales off North-West Scotland.

There are some relatively deep canyons in that area, and Sperm Whales do transit through from time to time. I can imagine the whoops on deck as they realised what they'd got!

John

 

[tyson7]

There are some relatively deep canyons in that area, and Sperm Whales do transit through from time to time. I can imagine the whoops on deck as they realised what they'd got!

John

I think Nick got a phone call from a local fisherman that there were 6 Humpbacks so he got on his boat & shot out. Obviously the Humpbacks turned out to be Sperm Whales. The group included 1 big male. He also saw at least 50 Porpoises so not a bad trip.

Have you ever known of Sperm Whales hanging around for a few days in UK waters? I haven't.

Chris

 

[tyson7]

Someone reported today there were 6 Humpbacks off Rona(a short distance from Gairloch). HWC went out to have a look & they turned out to be Sperm Whales. Must be amazing to see that many big/rare whales off North-West Scotland.

I've been off Gairloch before when we had a phone call from a fisherman reporting what sounded like a Fin Whale but it turned out to be a Minke. Also once we got a phone call about a Minke in the Sound Of Rassay which we didn't go to because we had already seen a few then the next day we found out it was actually a Sperm Whale.

I was slightly gutted on both occasions.

 

[Jhanlon]

A group hung around in Orkney waters a few years back but I think they were covering a big area. And in 1997 there was one for (I think) a couple of days in the Firth of Forth. I was travelling from N Wales to London and had to make a snap decision - head north for the whale or south for the little crake in Kent. I chose the latter partly due to all the driving I would avoid! I would certainly go for a live one now if it was lingering on the British mainland.

James

I think Nick got a phone call from a local fisherman that there were 6 Humpbacks so he got on his boat & shot out. Obviously the Humpbacks turned out to be Sperm Whales. The group included 1 big male. He also saw at least 50 Porpoises so not a bad trip.

Have you ever known of Sperm Whales hanging around for a few days in UK waters? I haven't.

Chris

 

[tyson7]

A group hung around in Orkney waters a few years back but I think they were covering a big area. And in 1997 there was one for (I think) a couple of days in the Firth of Forth. I was travelling from N Wales to London and had to make a snap decision - head north for the whale or south for the little crake in Kent. I chose the latter partly due to all the driving I would avoid! I would certainly go for a live one now if it was lingering on the British mainland.

James

Thanks. That's interesting to know.

Chris

 

[JTweedie]

Here's a very very short video taken on a mobile phone of what I thought was a sperm whale carcass (none of the people I was with disagreed) off Shetland last summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu2Y2DqSes0

 

[TWM]

HWC reporting Sperm Whales off Red Point.