Outer Hebrides

Sometimes I think we are mad, studying dolphins in the windy blowy gusty west coast of Scotland. But we’ve not completely lost our marbles! Yes, we spend countless hours sitting on headlands waiting for the sea mist to burn off, for the rain to stop, for the white caps to subside as the wind drops OR for a bit more wind to get rid of the midgies (!), but we also have a Plan B…

.. And as we’ve had a few windy days, we’re going to tell you about it!

With the assistance of a few helpful fishermen and the Stornoway Scottish Natural Heritage office, we have deployed a number of acoustic devices off the coast from the most northerly tip of Lewis at the Butt down to Kebbock Head just south of Stornoway (the capital of the Western Isles). These ingenious light-weight devices are called PODs (originally designed as POrpoise Detectors, but now very capable of detecting dolphins too). PODs are better than field researchers in that they are not weather dependent and they can collect data for 24 hours a day (unlike us!) Luckily they can’t take photo-identifications, and our batteries don’t run out, so we still have a role!

PODs are fully automated, static, passive acoustic monitoring systems that detect porpoises and dolphins by recognising the echo-location clicks the animals make to detect their dinner, find their way around and interact with each other (www.chelonia.co.uk). The PODs can tell us which areas porpoises and dolphins favour.





Harbour porpoises vocalise at very high frequencies and their foraging clicks are easy to understand on our PODs. Whilst dolphins are also typically vocal animals, the different species are very difficult to distinguish – and so far since we arrived here on the Isle of Lewis we have seen common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and Risso’s. There have also been sightings of orcas in the Minch, but not in our patch - yet!



Minke whales are a different kettle of fish – so to speak! Their vocalisations remain little understood. It’s most likely that they are communicating when they are mating elsewhere over the winter, but we don’t know if or how much they communicate when foraging in Scottish waters over the summer months. So we remain dependent on our eyes (and sometimes ears - pphff!) to find Scotland’s most coastal visitors.

Before we leave, we will retrieve our PODs and hope that, after a summer spent bobbing beneath the waves recording the vocalisations of the dolphins, they will help us to unravel which are the favoured habitats of the dolphins and porpoises – which can ultimately lead to better protection.

It’s been a mixed week as far as the weather has been concerned. We’ve been putting our wet weather gear on and packing our sun cream (and ginger nuts), only to be stopped in our tracks by increasing wind or rain or both. But there have been less windy moments, and we’re getting better at judging when to barricade ourselves into the field bothy so as to avoid the midgies!

Our focus is on demonstrating that the Western Isles of Scotland is important habitat that Risso’s dolphins return to year on year. More background information can be found in last years blog. However we also collect data for all other marine species we encounter and where others are working on conservation projects, we will forward this on. A friend up in Ness in the far north of the island sent us photos of a pod of bottlenose dolphins seen there last Friday. This is a species that we encountered off Gairloch off the north-west mainland of Scotland in previous years but not yet here off Lewis…

From our land-based site at Tiumpan Head yesterday we enjoyed our second sighting of Risso’s dolphins since we arrived. We first noticed them because of the breaching animals in front of the lighthouse. We saw fins that were big and typically distinctive and we could see blunt white heads below the surface of the water as they came up to breathe, and so we had no doubt about their identification. But who were those little fellows mixed in with the group? Were they common dolphins – we thought they surely must be as they looked so small when side by side with the Risso’s and their fins were wee in comparison. But closer attention with the binoculars and some expertly taken photographs (!) confirmed that two cheeky bottlenose dolphins (with very white sides) had joined together with the five Risso’s - and they were having a very fun time jumping and splashing about in the shallow water just off the rocks below us!

Nicola made a quick call and soon after, Lewis our skipper brought his boat, RV ‘Fish n’ Trips’ to our slipway and we set off in search of the dolphins that we’d been watching just an hour before.





It was uncharacteristically glassy calm in the Minch, something we were becoming accustomed to on our jaunts out to sea! We came across a few harbour porpoises, which are always a joy to see and the west coast of Scotland is home to the highest densities of this species in the whole of Europe! A close encounter with a foraging minke whale at the entrance of Broad Bay, just past our land-based watching post, was very welcome too. Eventually we pootled along the coast on our way back to base and sighted our first boat-based basking shark since we arrived.





We hung back to give him some space and he followed his plankton dinner in our direction and circled around the boat, giving us incredible views of his enormous size (about 6 metres – longer than our research boat!), his shiny black dorsal and tail fins and his gigantic open mouth. We have heard that the basking sharks have not been seen in good numbers this year, so we were especially pleased to come across this gentle giant.





We then caught a few mackerel for our tea as the Calmac ferry passed ahead of us into Stornoway harbour and we arrived back at the slip way to fading light, tired and happy.

Today we were hoping for a full day out on the boat, but the winds tricked us again, blowing up earlier in the day than we’d anticipated. Plan B was to drive up to Tiumpan Head and this was not in vain. We watched masses of gannets feeding with two distant minke whales and then, a tail fluke came out of the water … a pod of 10 bottlenose dolphins were right in front of us where we had seen the mixed group of dolphins yesterday!





They were clearly feeding, surfacing periodically and often showing their tailstocks before diving down to the depths. They were very difficult to follow, but soon we could see that the pod contained a new calf (with foetal folds!) and a juvenile.





We were enjoying the spectacle and trying to get photo-identification shots for colleagues at SAMS (Scottish Association for Marine Science) and Aberdeen University and wondering if these were the same animals that had been photographed off Ness last week when we received a text that another 75+ bottlenoses were being simultaneously watched up there!

This certainly seems like the place to be if you are a flippered friend. We hope the dolphins stick around as the weather man tells us that we might need to baton down the hatches again, another low is approaching….. Let’s hope the weather holds out for one more day so we can get out on the water and continue our work towards photographing the Risso’s dolphins to see if the same animals return each year…

Posted on behalf of Kila - WDCS Canine Research Assistant

We're back … and yes, it's taken a while for the "humans" to let me put paw to paper but as you'll have seen in previous postings, they've had a few flippered critters that they wanted to tell you about. So in the meantime, my assistant (Harvey, or "the Harvester" as he's otherwise known) and i have been out and about scouring the beaches (to see if we could find any driftwood; these being the "stickless isles" and all), dipping all 8 paws in the surf and generally checking out what else there is on offer to keep us canines occupied - and believe me, there's loads!





Although we've had our fair share of windy days since we've been here, and the humans have been complaining about not being able to get out and "watch", we on the other hand delight in these weather conditions as for us it means more time spent on a variety of beaches - and the beaches here just seem to go on and on and on and on …









Sadly today, the weather was favouring the humans - 1 went out on a boat, whilst the other took us up to their land-based watching site (otherwise known as the "head")! By all accounts, the boat-bound human had a bit of a bumpy time of it but spotted a few wee harbour porpoises (and checked out one of the underwater listening devices that they put into the water a while back), whilst on land we had our first sighting of a basking shark (apparently none too many in these waters of late so this was good news!) and a sighting of the boat-bound human … although i couldn't quite see that far so it could have been any old human, but i did hear them on the radio so i guess i believe them!

Later in the day, once the wind and sea-state (see … I'm even learning the lingo!) had dropped, all 4 of us returned back up to the "head" to see what we could see see see! Not long after our arrival there followed much excitement as the shout of "minke" went up a few times, followed by "Risso's" and then "more Risso's" … which for the humans i'm told is fabulous news, but for us canines means possibly less beach time … but being the loyal creatures that we are, we shall join them and rejoice in their happiness - for now anyway!!

The downside to our time on the "head" however, was that the wind dropped a wee bit too much for our liking and the dreaded midgies made their very unwelcome appearance, en masse!!!! If you've never experienced the infamous "Highland Midge" then count yourself lucky … no-one is immune to their fervent biting behaviour - up your nose, in your ears, your eyes, and generally just everywhere! The rumours are that they prefer dark colours so i tried to stand by my dark-coloured assistant as much as possible (is that not the meaning of the word "assistant" after all?) but to no avail, there were obviously way too many of them to make that tactic an effective one!! Talking of midgies - Harvey and i were just discussing how friendly all the Lewis'ians seemed to be as they kept waving at us all the time, but we then realised that it was them who thought that our humans were the friendly ones, waving at them, when in fact they were just trying to swat the biting beasties and keep their faces midgie-free!

So back to our bothy we came - stopping at the beach on the way of course - and settled in for an evening of dreams full of sheep and rabbits …. oh, have i not mentioned them yet? … ahhhh … of them there are plenty, and for that we are happy dogs!

First thing on the agenda this morning was to find the “midgie hat” … the constant wind that had been accompanying us the past days had subsided and we decided to head off at first light to see what activity was awaiting us at the “Head” (Tiumpan Head that is – our land-based watching site!) … but we weren’t novices at this and knew that the infamous wee biting beasties wouldn’t be far away so wanted to be prepared!! Nothing however can prepare you for the curse of the Islands, and believe me, we’ve tried everything, so it was a case of grinning and bearing it … and waving our arms (and paws) around like a bunch of mad women and dogs!!

It was however, worth every minute of it (and every bite), as the conditions out to sea were perfect – flat calm, not a ripple on the water – and the wildlife didn’t disappoint. Within minutes of arriving we had 2 separate pods of common dolphins (over 45 animals in total) making a bit of a ruckus off in the distance, closer to shore, several minke whales were breaking the surface with their graceful ease and the odd little porpoise even popped up to say hello!

Sadly, our time on the cliff was short-lived! We were no match for the midgies and even the dogs voiced their displeasure at being attacked. With nowhere to hide it was time to head for shelter … otherwise known as “getting out on the water”!!

As yesterday we’d headed south to the Shiants, today we decided to venture north towards our land-based site at the Head. With the Minch laid out in front of us as if someone had covered it in tin-foil, we went off in search of some flippered critters, preferably of the Risso’s variety but any kind would do.

And we didn’t have long to wait! As we approached the entrance to Stornoway Harbour we were joined by a pod of about 20 exuberant common dolphins who were keen to ride the bow wave … although the youngster of the group decided it’s be much more fun to surf the wake! We were up for some competition however, as the ferry over to the mainland was leaving the harbour and cutting across our path. We expected to lose our little companions to the larger pressure wave created by the “MV Isle of Lewis” as it powered out into the Minch. It seemed however that they preferred our company and stayed with us frolicking in the surf and generally having a whale of a time!









Leaving the common dolphins behind we carried on up north to position ourselves off the “Head” and see what lay in store! Sadly … it wasn’t to be dolphins, or indeed whales or basking sharks – the latter of which interestingly and slightly worryingly, haven’t been seen in these parts yet this year – but creatures of a feathered kind weren’t to disappoint and we were treated to an aerial display from a plethora of great skuas (who spent their time asking for “mac’ral” – although when given some were obviously amateurs and the mackerel made it safely back to the depths!), skimming fulmars and diving gannets.





As our day was coming to an end and we pootled back into our home port, we were treated to a magical encounter with some of the more elusive of cetaceans, the small but perfectly formed, harbour porpoise! First a sighting of a lone individual, then a group of 6, which included what must have been a relatively newborn calf, followed by another group of 4, with yet another new addition to the pod, sticking close to mum’s side! Harbour porpoises are notoriously difficult to photograph and as soon as you see them … they’re gone again … but today they defied all rules and enthralled us with a close encounter (or 3), swimming alongside and under the boat, and delighting us with their trademark “p’ffs” … !!





A wonderful end to another eventful day on the water – then it was home for a dinner of hand-caught Pollock, cooked in garlic and thyme!

Roll on the next good weather day … … in the meantime, look forward to the return of the “Dog Blog” because the forecast for the next few days ain’t good!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a whole year since we were last here in search of Risso’s dolphins… Patiently, patiently, patiently, we have been waiting for over a week now for the wind to drop and yesterday it finally did!

We had a glorious day out on the water - one that we know first-hand to be a rare event for the notoriously messy waters of the Minch! Without so much as a breeze all day, we cruised south along the coast of Lewis and out to the Shiants, a small group of islands famed in the beautiful book ‘The Sea Room’ written by the owner and sole resident at the time, Adam Nicholson.

But I am racing ahead of myself! Before we made it that far out into the cold waters of this beautiful part of north-west Scotland we first made a stop to check on some acoustic equipment that our Skipper, Lewis, deployed for us last month. We then encountered not one, but two majestic and graceful white-tailed sea eagles gliding above us along the rocky eastern coastline of Lewis. I can never get over the sheer size of them (with a wing span of nearly 3 metres)! We stopped next to a sea-stack to catch our breath (and a Pollock for our dinner), and a big male grey seal popped his head up out of the water beside the boat. We encountered several more greys ‘basking’ in the sunshine with their heads bobbing out of the water as we travelled on our way. But no Risso’s dolphins…







As the sea was so calm, we took a few minutes out from our surveying to step ashore to investigate a remote and derelict old bothy that has been uninhabited for some 80 years and who’s only access is by sea. There was furniture intact inside and evidence of some of the only other visitors this year –red deer. It was a quiet and special place and we were appreciative of how privileged we were to visit.

We narrowly missed the weather closing in over the coast as we headed out into the deeper waters and towards the Shiants. Having spent three years conducting field surveys from the north-west mainland coast at Gairloch we had been tantalised by this group of islands which encroached into our survey area, but had yet to make it out to them. Then, PORPOISES! came the shout from all three of us simultaneously. The timing, and the backdrop, couldn’t have been better. A group of five porpoises, including a calf, dove in front of us and right in front of the islands.

The Shiants were awe-inspiring. Although we were hoping for an orca or a minke whale to break the surface as we approached and travelled from one island to the next, we were not disappointed with the infamous basalt rocks which were the size of cathedral pipes, with the sighting of another pair of sea eagles, one of whom was laden with a chick in its talons, or the group of nine sociable puffins sitting on the water, perhaps too lazy to move without the aid of the wind. What a truly stunning place to visit.




We encountered a small pod of common dolphins feeding near Kebbock Head as we headed back to the harbour. They came to check us out briefly, riding the bow of the boat before getting back to their business. And finally, in one of the Lochs we came across a group of harbour seals - who are noticeably smaller than grey seals. Harbour seals are declining in Scottish waters generally and are in a really precarious situation in the Western Isles where populations have declined dramatically in recent years.




Before we made it back to the harbour a squall came over us and reminded us of the changeable nature of the weather in this part of the world, and how lucky we had been. The forecast is looking really good again today so we hope to get back out on the water to continue our quest to find some of the Risso’s dolphins we identified in these waters this time last year and demonstrate that this is a part of the world that is important to them and in need of protection.