Dolphins, Shark, Whales and the Cairns of Coll

Saturdays Whalewatch Explorer was filled with suprises as Sula Beag headed out into the sunshine. A pod of 50 Common Dolphins, 2 Minke Whales and a large Basking Shark presented themselves beautifully for all to see. On board passenger and researcher Emily kindly wrote about the sightings.
SLS Guide Abs

Saturday 24th May 2008

Wow! What an absolutely fantastic day! You wouldn’t help but think it was going to be a good one as we stepped aboard Sula Beag in the glorious morning sunshine with the water sparkling in anticipation all around us. It didn’t take long before we spotted our first porpoise in the Sound of Mull. Then we saw another, and another, and another – the water felt like it was teaming with porpoise!

As we all applied more sun-cream, we headed out towards Coll, with mountain tops coming out of the haze all around us. In the afternoon, large splashes in the distance were spotted. We approached full of excitement we were suddenly surrounded by approx 50 common dolphins, including 2 calves! It was incredible – the leapt and dived all around us with such energy and incredible grace. They seemed to be with us for hours playing around the bow of the boat by the Cairns of Coll.

We then set off to head back in the direction of Mull, still all exhilarated by the dolphins, when someone spotted a Minke Whale!! In the far distance we could see the animal slice through the water – it was perfect – the mountains in the background, the sun, the whale – it was like time stood still. And then just to add to the electric atmosphere, we saw another Minke, this time a juvenile.

Could things get any better?

We then saw a basking shark as well! It was probably also a juvenile and it came right up to the boat with its huge white mouth gapping open as if it has mistaken us for a large piece of plankton. It looked so impressive up close (and I was pleased I hadn’t watched Jaws lately)!!
The results of the plankton trawl proved plankton was in abundance! No wonder we found a basking shark there!

So, that’s our day and wow! What a day it was! We’re all going to smiling for a long time after that experience!

Weekend Explorer Great Success

First Package Great Success

The first package holiday of the year ran from 16th to 19th May. On Saturday we
went north and landed at Port Mor, Isle of Muck for crab rolls, tea and
cake, stopping to watch an adult minke on the way. In the afternoon the sun
was out and the sea was glassy and as we turned to head back into the Sound
of Mull a foraging juvenille whale was spotted. Two whales on the first day!

On Sunday we were headed for Coll. Within two hours of the trip one of the
guests spotted a minke one mile away, winning the coveted mars bar. The
whale was travelling South and we travelled with it for thirty minutes.
Another whale was seen further North, and as we reached Coll we witnessed a
feeding frenzy of birds and another two whales. After a lazy lunch with the
seals we headed back to Tobermory, having doubled saturdays sightings!

Our Weekend Packages run from Friday to Monday throughout the summer.

For more information on any of our packages email info@sealifesurveys.com
Or phone 01688302916

Dolphin Family Group

Today's Whale Watch Explorer and Wildlife Adventure experienced the warm
welcome of a family of Bottlenose Dolphins. The 15 strong pod consisted of 4
adults, 8 juveniles and 3 very young calfs. Bottlenose Dolphins live in very
close family groups and this particular pod was very close, with all 15
individuals surfacing together and playing, jumping and chasing games round
the boat. They stayed with us for over 2 hours before continuing their
journey.

The SLS team were also able to get some ID photos of the dolphins, which
will hopefully be used to identify most of the dolphins enabling us to learn
more about the 30 strong hebridean population. For more information follow this link - 

www.whaledolphintrust.co.uk

Lewis Drysdale

Skipper

First Basking Shark on 19th May

The first basking shark of the season was seen on Mondays Wildlife
Adventure. The shark was sub-adult/juvenille around 3 metres in length. The
Sharks congregate in large numbers round the Hebrides in the summer, so we
are looking forward to seeing a lot more of them over the following months.

SLS welcome Kasey back

Today's Whalewatch Explorer was able to watch and photograph one of our
favourite summer visitors, "Kasey" is an adult minke whale that Sea Life
Surveys have been watching and photographing since 1997, today he came back
again! 

The last time he was observed was just half a mile from Tobermory bay
in August 2007.

He was seen feeding co-operatively with 4 other adult and juvenille Minkes
near Coll, in amongst hundreds of Manx Shearwaters and thousands of sand eel
shoals. Its a great sign to see him already, as we know that he loves this
area. 

Also seen today were our two White Tail Eagles (green and blue tag),
harbour porpoise, seals and lots of seabirds.

Carrot Cake back on the Table!

Today's Whalewatch Explorer ventured north to Muck and sampled the
delicious fayre of " The Isle of Muck Tearoom". Anyone who has landed on
Muck before knows they make the heartiest soups and the best carrot cake
this side of Oban!

The whales were in hiding, but 2 common dolphins surprised us with a visit
as we headed back towards Tobermory Bay. Seeing a pair commons so far
inshore is unusual, but a there has been a pair resident in Loch Carron
(near Skye) all winter, maybe these are the same animals wanting a change of
scenery? All we knew was it was a very welcome sighting after a days
searching. 

Also seen today were Porpoise, Seals, Puffins, Great Skua, Shearwaters,

and many more.