The Season So Far...
The early season can always prove difficult for both sightings and passenger numbers, but our first trip on the 22nd of March, a four-hour Wildlife Adventure, proved highly successful, the skipper sighting the first Porpoise of the season. Porpoise are our most regularly sighted cetacean and resident year round in the waters surrounding Mull. This early achievement was closely followed in April with the first Minke whale of the season.
May proved a highly successful month for sightings, visitors and weather, with an incredible 95% success rate for sightings of Minke Whales on our trips. On the 18th we encountered our first Basking shark of the season on our shorter Wildlife Adventure trip. Our passengers met this relatively small example of a basking shark with delight as it came alongside the boat filtering the plankton from the surrounding waters. The 30th of May proved to be another spectacular day for our Whale Watch explorer. After heading west from Tobermory towards the Isle of Coll, and following a brief association with a Minke whale, we were delighted to encounter a pod of Orca. The day proved particularly exciting for the passengers on one of our package holidays, after a week of ‘orca requests’ they were greeted to four of these magnificent individuals. We are lucky enough to see them around once or twice a year and this time they brought stunning views, circling in the same area, close to the boat, for around an hour and a half.
The glorious weather continued into June and the sightings followed suit, with late May and early June in particular proving a highly successful period for Common dolphins. These dolphins are most often sighted in groups of up to 50, but occasionally larger groups maybe sighted in our waters. They are a particularly playful variety of dolphin and on several occasions stayed with the boat for long times, simply enjoying the undivided attention.
July was perhaps the most momentous month of the season with the completion and grand opening of our new visitor centre. The centre not only provides a booking facility for our own excursions but also provides information on the marine life in the waters surrounding the island. July witnessed a further achievement: as we found the first Sunfish of the season. Sunfish are generally sighted from the midsummer onwards; a sign that the time was steadily progressing, sightings throughout the month continued to be impressive and were marked by a succession of associating Minke Whales on our longer trips. July was rounded off with a spectacular sighting of Bottlenose dolphins, we see these particular individuals at irregular intervals; while often difficult to spot, once found we are quite often greeted to very close encounters. August has so far proved equally impressive, with regular whale, shark and dolphin sightings; let’s hope the reminder of the season delivers similar sightings.
Tom
SLS Head Guide
May proved a highly successful month for sightings, visitors and weather, with an incredible 95% success rate for sightings of Minke Whales on our trips. On the 18th we encountered our first Basking shark of the season on our shorter Wildlife Adventure trip. Our passengers met this relatively small example of a basking shark with delight as it came alongside the boat filtering the plankton from the surrounding waters. The 30th of May proved to be another spectacular day for our Whale Watch explorer. After heading west from Tobermory towards the Isle of Coll, and following a brief association with a Minke whale, we were delighted to encounter a pod of Orca. The day proved particularly exciting for the passengers on one of our package holidays, after a week of ‘orca requests’ they were greeted to four of these magnificent individuals. We are lucky enough to see them around once or twice a year and this time they brought stunning views, circling in the same area, close to the boat, for around an hour and a half.
The glorious weather continued into June and the sightings followed suit, with late May and early June in particular proving a highly successful period for Common dolphins. These dolphins are most often sighted in groups of up to 50, but occasionally larger groups maybe sighted in our waters. They are a particularly playful variety of dolphin and on several occasions stayed with the boat for long times, simply enjoying the undivided attention.
July was perhaps the most momentous month of the season with the completion and grand opening of our new visitor centre. The centre not only provides a booking facility for our own excursions but also provides information on the marine life in the waters surrounding the island. July witnessed a further achievement: as we found the first Sunfish of the season. Sunfish are generally sighted from the midsummer onwards; a sign that the time was steadily progressing, sightings throughout the month continued to be impressive and were marked by a succession of associating Minke Whales on our longer trips. July was rounded off with a spectacular sighting of Bottlenose dolphins, we see these particular individuals at irregular intervals; while often difficult to spot, once found we are quite often greeted to very close encounters. August has so far proved equally impressive, with regular whale, shark and dolphin sightings; let’s hope the reminder of the season delivers similar sightings.
Tom
SLS Head Guide
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