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Blue whale at surface

Creating a safe haven for whales and dolphins in the Southern Ocean

Emma Eastcott Emma is WDC's head of safe seas. She helps ensure whales and dolphins...
Humpback whale © Christopher Swann

Migration Patterns of Humpback Whales

Kidzone - quick links Fun Facts Curious kids Blogs Fantastic fundraisers Gallery Splish and Splash...
We're at COP28 to Save the Whale, Save the World.

We’re at COP28 to save the whale, save the world

Ed Goodall Ed is WDC's head of intergovernmental engagement. He meets with world leaders to...
Gray whales from drone.

We’re taking steps to uncover the mysteries of whales

Vicki James Vicki is WDC's protected areas coordinator, she helps to create safe ocean spaces...

A gentle start to the dolphin season…

Looking back on the start of my previous dolphin seasons it looks like we are not too far short of “normal” as far as dolphin numbers that have been seen goes. It has been a bit patchy though, with four or five of the very local dolphins being seen sometimes during rising tides and sometimes only one or two – but further out towards Cromarty and beyond, things are livening up nicely with our friend Sarah at Ecoventures in Cromarty seeing not only adoption dolphins Moonlight and Mischief but also a few days ago young “Spirtle” who stranded herself on a beach a few years ago and was badly sunburned.
 
April into May is when we expect to encounter more and more dolphins that we know well as the migratory salmon run picks up a bit of pace and the dolphins arrange themselves around the area at specific places like Chanonry Point, the Kessock Channel and Spey Bay to get the maximum chance of catching fish. Getting the photographs of the dolphins dorsal fins (like Kesslet below) and checking them off one by one against Aberdeen University’s Photo Identification catalogue has been compared to train spotting by some people – but as far as I’m concerned it is part and parcel of my working year and a fundamental part of the studies done with this population of wild, free dolphins…the way they all should be. 
 

About Charlie Phillips

Field officer - Adopt a Dolphin