WDCS Fieldwork Blog

And in conclusion a word from team leader Pine.

The Equipment is stored, the sea is still rough

Indeed, what a fabulous last survey day! I still can’t stop smiling thinking about it! The Countryfile film team was awesome to have on board. Director Bob Hockenhull, presenter Adam Henson, cameraman Colin Maclore and sound technician Peter Elliott were all very inquisitive, friendly and funny. It was a real pleasure!

With help from Dr. Kevin Robinson from the Cetacean Research and Rescue Unit (CRRU, a small charity working on bottlenose dolphin and minke whale identification and ecology in the outer parts of the southern Moray Firth), we were able to identify a minimum of 21 dolphins, including 3 calves looking through the photographs and short videos that Alice and I had taken during our exhilarating encounter.

With great help from Jim, Davy and Bea, the equipment was cleaned, dried, catalogued and stored underneath the stairs in the volunteer house in Spey Bay where it will hopefully be dry and mouse-free until we need it for next year’s survey.

I want to thank everyone who helped to make this survey work: Davey and Iris from the Gemini Explorer for their patience, advice, friendliness and help; Alice for sorting out volunteer schedules; Bea, Jenny, Cath and David who were absolutely remarkable on the boat doing their observer job and running around in their breaks to make sure that radios and dictaphones were working or that people had enough warm clothes; Davy, Katie, Jim, Chris and Ian thrown into the deep end of mastering survey techniques in a very short time and being absolutely superb; Kevin Morgan for letting us stay in his superb cottage, Kevin Robinson for advice and use of his office facilities and the Wildlife Centre staff for all their support and friendliness!

I will now take on the task of cleaning the data to then write a smashing BBC report with all our finding!

So long!
Pine

PS: My quote of the day: Save the earth! It’s the only planet with chocolate!!!

Countryfile and part of the survey team after the final outing of the year!

And just to add to the last posting - what a fabulous way to end the final WDCS outer Moray Firth survey of 2008!!!

It was a still morning when we arrived at Buckie harbour. As we headed offshore, the wind picked up a little and it became a bitterly cold, grey morning. What else would you expect in the middle of November?? It was all worthwhile, and we were all enjoying our last opportunity of the year to get out into the outer Firth and enjoy the very bracing sea air! We were fortunate enough to encounter a number of harbour porpoises, bobbing grey seals and seabirds, including juvenile gannets, guillemots, cormorants, long-tailed and eider ducks in our offshore transect block. We managed to complete two transects before we headed back to the coast to shelter from the wind, swell and increasing sea state. It was then that I saw a rolling movement in front of some rocks just off the coast of Cullen Bay. And then another, and another! Davy reduced our speed and two small groups of bottlenose dolphins came over to investigate us – I’m sure they recognise the sound of the Gemini explorer. They were interested in us but were also busy playing together.

One group was engaging in lots of ‘tumbling’ over each other and another dolphin was tail slapping in the direction of the second group. A young, light grey coloured dolphin stayed close to mum but came over close to the side of the boat. For 15 or 20 minutes we gleefully enjoyed the company of the 12-15 bottlenose dolphins, as there were dolphins blowing and jumping on the port side of the boat. A big male occasionally came past the bow of the Gemini, belly up, and others belly down showing us up close the rake marks that some of the dolphins have on their bodies. We heard them whistling from time to time as we looked down on them from the bow.

Happy, we left them to play alone and continued on our way home, filling our bellies with Pine’s warming and delicious veggie chilli as we went. We had the Countryfile film crew on board with us and the dolphins gave them a real treat. But it wasn’t just the film crew that were smiling from ear to ear when we stepped off the boat in the middle of the afternoon, we were all very cold and tired, but happy!!

Thank you to everyone who made the surveys possible this year, including the crew of the Gemini and all the WDCS staff and volunteers who did such a professional and brilliant job!

The mice living in the old 'bicycle shed' at the Wildlife centre in Spey Bay are no doubt looking forward to having some of the survey equipment stored back in their home. (For those that missed the beginning of the survey, we started by evicting ten mice from one kit bag.) And yesterday, despite deteriorating weather, the team managed to complete half a day's survey and then made a nice track inshore which took them (and the film crew they had with them) close to some bottlenose dolphins that came over to say hello.

The film crew was from the BBC TV programme Countryfile, who had come to cover the survey and the presence of the dolphins (who are never camera shy) will hopefully make some compelling TV and help support our call for their better protection.

The WDCS Science Director is now back safely in his warm and dry office (for a little while anyway) and would like to thank the BBC Wildlife Fund for funding these four surveys; Pine for stepping up to lead this latest one (which was hard work); the summer volunteers from the Spey Bay centre (David, Jenny, Cath and Bea for staying on to help conduct the survey); the new winter volunteers for also taking part; the crew of the Wildlife Centre for joining in (especially Alice for inspired logistical and training support) and otherwise hosting us; Jim for coming to join us (I'm glad you got to see your dolphins in the end); Simon for continued technical support; one Kevin for his support and encouragement and another Kevin's for providing a roof over our heads. (Sorry if I forgot anyone and I would be happy to amend this as necessary. )

What this should show is that this is a huge team effort and only works when many people pull together.

You can find the story of the August survey here (it was less cold but more wet).

And finally, here are those dolphins that showed up for the final survey day and so they could make their point for the TV cameras.

Flying bottlenoses.

There was enough of a hole in the windy weather for the expedition to set off this morning.

More about this in due course and meanwhile here is a map giving an idea of the area that has been surveyed:

The Moray Firth - showing the outer survey zone. The lines are only indicative.

Friday - windy

Saturday - Stormy

Sunday - Still stormy (and also very cold)

Monday looks more promising... maybe.

Stormy sea at Gardenstown