Cetaceans - Aberdeen and beyond (1 Viewer)

[TWM]

Five Bottle nosed Dolphins south past Rattray Head at 10.30 this morning.

 

[TWM]

---and we caught up with them and their friends at the entrance to Aberdeen Harbour where they put on a great display this evening.
I was on the Peterhead to Aberdeen trip this afternoon and it was a bit disappointing, we saw no dolphins etc till we got to the harbour.
A flock of 7 Velvet Scoters past the boat were the highlight

 

[TWM]

2 Risso's Dolphins south past Peterhead on Friday--per MBC

 

[Ian Hay]

Armchair watchers can see our Dolphins tonight on Springwatch, hope they look good.

Ian

 

[JTweedie]

Who do you normally go out with to see the marine wildlife around Aberdeen? I see this website: http://www.clydecruises.com/aberdeen-harbour-cruises/marine-wildlife-adventures/ - looks like these trips leave at 16.30. Recommended? Anyone know how long the trips are for and how far out they go?

Any other operators you can recommend?

 

[Ian Hay]

Firstly they can be veiwed very well from land with RSPB on hand from 11am until 5pm Thurs to Sun.

I have a deal with Clyde Clippers that I and a few others act as a guide whilst collecting photos for ID work, the trip last an hour and a half and at present must be booked in advance.

Hope this helps.

Ian

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Firstly they can be veiwed very well from land with RSPB on hand from 11am until 5pm Thurs to Sun.

I have a deal with Clyde Clippers that I and a few others act as a guide whilst collecting photos for ID work, the trip last an hour and a half and at present must be booked in advance.

Hope this helps.

Ian

Have you been seeing much on these trips, other than the usual BN Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises?

 

[JTweedie]

Firstly they can be veiwed very well from land with RSPB on hand from 11am until 5pm Thurs to Sun.

I have a deal with Clyde Clippers that I and a few others act as a guide whilst collecting photos for ID work, the trip last an hour and a half and at present must be booked in advance.

Hope this helps.

Ian

Thanks Ian. I just thought by going out on the boat there's a greater chance of seeing other species too. I'd much rather be on a boat than watching cetaceans from land.

 

[Ian Hay]

Thanks Ian. I just thought by going out on the boat there's a greater chance of seeing other species too. I'd much rather be on a boat than watching cetaceans from land.

At present we still have not done a trip as they have not had any advance bookings, for the time being the trip will focus mainly on BND at the harbour however during the sumer we will head furthur looking for WBD, Risso etc

Ian

 

[TWM]

CRRU reporting 8+ Orcas off Covesea, by Lossiemouth, heading north at noon yesterday (Thursday 6th June).

 

[Ian Hay]

Watched 6ish BND from the car as a drove into work this morning, crazy thing is I did not even stop. Where else in the would can you watch dolphins in a big city on your commute?

They are there just about all the time a present with some major hunting activity from time to time, big tail splashes, leaps etc.

Never sure if I should start updating this tread with negatives ie today I did not see any dolphins-shock. That way it would be less boring that, 'yet more dolphins in Aberdeen Harbour'.

Now were are those stunning White beaked Dolphins that should be around soon.

Ian

ps if I sound bored I am not, every day you see a dolphin is a good day no matter how often you see them.

 

[Farnboro John]

Never sure if I should start updating this tread with negatives ie today I did not see any dolphins-shock. That way it would be less boring that, 'yet more dolphins in Aberdeen Harbour'.

Now were are those stunning White beaked Dolphins that should be around soon.

Ian

ps if I sound bored I am not, every day you see a dolphin is a good day no matter how often you see them.

Don't worry, we can do with all the updates you put on! When you are thinking of coming from Hampshire you need a lot of reassurance.

W-bD....yum. Do please let us know when they turn up. A summary of likely stay length, distance, boat access and anything else useful you care to tell us while we wait would be much appreciated.

BTW this is one of the first threads I check every day.

Cheers

John

 

[Ian Hay]

John

Thanks for the comment

Just had lunch watching circa 30 BND having their own lunch in the harbour. I have seen them every visit or drive by for the last 10days.

Now WBD, they are my favorite, absolutely stunning and increadable bow riders.

When I first came to Aberdeen it was simple, between 21st June and Late Aug pick a calm day and any headland between Aberdeen and Caterline and watch WBD, they used to be here in big numbers, one evening I had 10 at Gidleness drove to cove, another 4 drove to Stonehaven 15 in the bay etc all the way to St Cyrus.

Now they are not so easy however this could be a good year given the colder sea temps. Basically pick a calm day and try a few headlands. A couple of years ago I had 40+ going south past Girdleness and they can still be seen quite regularly.

As for boat you could try Castle Charters from Stonehaven, Clyde Cruises from Aberdeen or Northlink Ferries to Shetland. We used to have the use of a boat from stonehaven but the old guy retired and prices went up. However compared to the cruises to see them from the south coast they are still very cheap.

If you try from the ferry they can be quite tricky as normally you just see a splash as they head for the bow. A few years back I was doing a survey back from Shetland when we kept seeing these odd splashes, after some pleading with the Captain we got to the bow to find 5 doing victory rolls below us.

If you ever want to have a look in our area get in touch and we may try to Charter a boat to go searching for them. Also you never know what you may see.

All the best

Ian

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Six Killer Whales off Battery Park, Peterhead this morning (not off of Torry Battery, Aberdeen as stated on Birdguides - nearly gave me a heart attack did that report!). Presumably some of the group that were around a few weeks ago.

 

[TWM]

Still present at 12.00 but distant.

 

[Ian Hay]

A freind had Risso and HP last night from Peterhead

Ian

 

[TWM]

6 Killer Whales again off Battery Park, Peterhead but distant and intermittent.

 

[Farnboro John]

A freind had Risso and HP last night from Peterhead

Ian

I prefer ketchup with my rissole.

John

 

[Mark Lew1s]

Apparently, Orcas off Cruden Bay yesterday (from a friend of a friend of a friend....)

Ans also, a Basking shark reported from just west of Collie head (near troup head) at the weekend

 

[MarkHows]

Idiots

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-23126436

Mark