Beluga sighted off Caithness (1 Viewer)

[kas]

http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/news.php

What a shocker. I am trying to find out more on the sighting. My seawatching friend spends hours a week in winter and summer watching from Lybster, and I am sad to say it was not him who made the sighting.

What an awesome sight it would be to see one of these. I still can not believe it, and so close to home.

 

[davidearlgray]

Beluga?

I hope an old Risso's Dolphin has been ruled out for this sighting, as Beluga is a Mega cetacean sighting in this country.As I think the last sighting was in the early 90's in Shetland?
Earl Gray. :brains:

 

[kas]

Well I am presuming this was ruled out before such a sighting was made public. I have seen a good few Rissos that are badly scarred and having not seen a Beluga myself I do not know how similar they can look. The colour in the books certainly looks very different.

 

[kas]

I have just discovered a Cuviers Beaked Whale was found stranded in Orkney the day after this sighting.

I wonder if it is possible that the Beluga sighting could have been of the Cuviers Beaked Whale found dead on Orkney the following day. This is just a possible theory, I do not know how white this stranded animal was, hopefully I will see a photo.
I know this whale is twice the size of a beluga, but it can sometimes be hard to judge size if the whale was any distance away.

Having looked at the books, Belugas have virtually no dorsal, and a Rissos dorsal is very prominent. So I would like to think it would have been ruled out. My friend who knows far more than I about cetaceans said the same as you David, but did not know of the Orkney stranding at the time.

I have also since learnt on the BDMLR forum that a Beluga was spotted in Thurso bay (right outside my front door) 10 years back. There was also a white sided dolphin found in Orkney this week, believed to have been alive when stranding.

 

[jpoyner]

Interesting set of sightings, see there was a Sowerby's Beaked in Loch Ewe at same time. Odd goings on.

J

 

[Brian Egan]

Remarkable if proved to be true and Sowerby's is almost as crazy

Kas - would really appreciate any more info you happen to find out about this sighting

 

[Farnboro John]

Remarkable if proved to be true and Sowerby's is almost as crazy

Kas - would really appreciate any more info you happen to find out about this sighting

The beaked whale was washed up so presumably could have come from way off already dead?

The Sperm Whale photo from Skye is a knockout though.

John

 

[James Blake]

On the subject of arctic cetaceans:

I believe there are also one or two old Narwhal records from British waters - don't know how reliable.

But I've never heard of any evidence that the third High Arctic cetacean, Bowhead Whale, has ever wandered anything like this far south.

James

 

[kas]

Hi all

I received an email from Hannah at the Seawatch Foundation today.

The beluga sightings was reported to Dr Peter Evans ( http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/about.php?uid=7) who interrogated the observer in great detail and he is confident that the sightings was really of a beluga. He describes the animal as all white, bulbous head, no dorsal fin, approximately 5m in length. Seen south coast of Caithness between Latheron and Lybster. Just east of Robbery.

He is an experienced surveyor for BTO and was doing a survey of inter-tidal birds at that time.

Its sounds unbelievable but it really seems to be true! Anything can happen these days it seems.
So it looks to be a very confident sighting as far as the seawatch foundation go, and I am very envious of the observer.

I spoke to the former Co-ordinator of the Caithness BDMLR today and in early 1997 a Beluga was spotted in Thurso Bay. With fears that the whale was going to strand a team were sent out in a boat to try and encourage the animal back out to deeper waters. This attempt was sucessful and as far as I am aware the whale was not to be seen again. This is a defenite sighting and I am trying to find photos of the whale.

With regards to the Cuviers Beaked Whale found dead on Orkney the following day, this animal had been dead for a short time, but longer than a day. It was 6.3m not the 7.9 that was initially reported. Samples have been taken and sent to Edinburgh.

Many Thanks
Kas

 

[Brian Egan]

Hi all

I received an email from Hannah at the Seawatch Foundation today.

The beluga sightings was reported to Dr Peter Evans ( http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/about.php?uid=7) who interrogated the observer in great detail and he is confident that the sightings was really of a beluga. He describes the animal as all white, bulbous head, no dorsal fin, approximately 5m in length. Seen south coast of Caithness between Latheron and Lybster. Just east of Robbery.

He is an experienced surveyor for BTO and was doing a survey of inter-tidal birds at that time.

Its sounds unbelievable but it really seems to be true! Anything can happen these days it seems.
So it looks to be a very confident sighting as far as the seawatch foundation go, and I am very envious of the observer.

I spoke to the former Co-ordinator of the Caithness BDMLR today and in early 1997 a Beluga was spotted in Thurso Bay. With fears that the whale was going to strand a team were sent out in a boat to try and encourage the animal back out to deeper waters. This attempt was sucessful and as far as I am aware the whale was not to be seen again. This is a defenite sighting and I am trying to find photos of the whale.

With regards to the Cuviers Beaked Whale found dead on Orkney the following day, this animal had been dead for a short time, but longer than a day. It was 6.3m not the 7.9 that was initially reported. Samples have been taken and sent to Edinburgh.

Many Thanks
Kas

Thanks for the update Kas