Entries by Nicola Hodgins

Written on behalf of Kila, WDCS Canine Research Assistant.

I heard the words "bird blog" being uttered by the humans and decided it was time to step in and take matters (blog matters that is) into my own paws. Those flying things are all very well, and it has to be said, quite attractive at times, but … i thought perhaps you'd rather hear from me (and my trusty assistant) and what we've been up to since our last post! (If the weather stays as rubbish as it has been, there will be plenty of time for those feathered critters to make an appearance!)

There was one condition to me being allowed to write the next blog, i have to mention the humans last expedition out on the water where they had a rather spectacular encounter with some 20+ harbour porpoises. Apparently they're usually very skittish and camera shy (unlike us!) and getting up close and personal with them is a rare event. So … humans went out on the boat, saw some porpoises, took some pictures, and were very happy! (That enough? Shall we move on? Oh ok … here's some photos for you!)

Anyway, back to the things that really matter to us canines!! Beaches - and the hunt for driftwood, although it has to be said that we've both become rather fond of seaweed of late, there is after all an abundance of it, as opposed to sticks, of which there are few



We've decided to rename this island the "Land of the disappearing beaches" … it's all rather confusing if truth be known. Let me explain - on one of our favourite beaches we're used to having a vast expanse of sand to play on and a very long run down to the water (which does somedays seem to get longer and longer?), then, all of a sudden, we turned up for our usual "walk" only to find the beach had gone! Completely! Not a bit of sand in sight!! As you can imagine we were quite perturbed. The humans tried to explain to us … apparently it's something to do with "Spring" tides, which confuses us even more because we were of the opinion that it was autumn?? But "Spring" tides are the opposite of "Neap" tides … although again i'm confused because i'm not entirely sure what turnips have to do with anything, and i've certainly not found any tatties (potatoes to the non-Scot!) on the beach … all of which reminds me, where's our Haggis?!?





We've been assured that things will get back to normal soon, and in the meantime we've been venturing further afield to visit some of the islands other beaches which don't appear to be affected quite as much!





On one such visit to a "new" beach we were in for a bit of a surprise (well the humans weren't because they'd already been pre-warned by their friend Martin who works for the RSPB but no-one told us)! Harvey and i have become quite the "sniffer-dog" team and have a good track record of finding unusual things on our expeditions (to date we've found a basking shark, Risso's dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, a huge jellyfish and lots of rubbish) but this one took the biscuit - although i do hope he gives it back, we like our biscuits! - and had some really sharp teeth (guess that's how he got the biscuit then?) so although it was sad to find out that he was dead … we possibly wouldn't have ever seen one of his kind alive!! He was … a blue shark! Quite a find i'm told, and rather unusual to have one washed ashore … poor thing. It does make me think twice about skipping into the water but i'm told that his kind don't usually venture into shallow waters so technically we should be safe! And anyway … one must accept that when one dips one's paw into the sea, one has entered an alien environment and is at the mercy of all the creatures that live there!!





The humans continue to hope for good "spotting" weather and today was looking promising so we headed off to the "Head" to see if there were any critters about. Unfortunately those "monster midges" were out in force and Harvey and i thought (and hoped) that our time there was to be short-lived … how wrong were we? A lone Risso's dolphin was spotted swimming back and forth, and every now and then throwing itself clear of the water (perhaps they have marine midgies that it was trying to escape?) and despite being bitten almost constantly (it's like having someone throw pins at you!) the humans decided that they (and us!) had to grin and bear it, at least until the pain became unbearable!!





Right, now my blog is written and i've updated you on the goings on out here on the Western Isles, i'm off to see if they fancy getting out and about for some more fresh air as you never know what our next walk will bring!!

Until the next time … woof!

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!

Post mortems are very complex and detailed events and it’s important not to over-interpret what we have seen today without the more detailed analysis that will follow from lab work. However, Dr Brownlow who led the PM has said that the visible injuries that the stranded female pilot whale suffered, which she had in common with some of the other whales in the pod (to beak and melon), did not lead to her death. It is likely that she had some other underlying health issue that ultimately led to her death. This is good news for the rest of the whales, who have not been seen this morning, and BDMLR’s latest report is that the whales have moved offshore.

Apologies for the gap between postings but we've been out in the field trying to undertake some research of our own on the cetaceans found around the coast of Scotland. But better late than never ... !

The freshwater regions of India are resident to two very different but equally elusive dolphins, the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) and Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica). Over the years, WDCS has been heavily involved in a number of projects focusing on their protection and conservation for the future.

The Chilika lagoon, in Orissa, north-east India, has been the focus of WDCS funded efforts towards conserving Irrawaddy dolphins in India. The lagoon itself is a designated RAMSAR site due to its rich diversity of life, notably its migratory birds and 250 species strong assemblage of fish. However it is the Irrawaddy dolphin that is the lagoon’s flagship species. The population found in the lagoon is thought to be geographically isolated and therefore immediately vulnerable to any threats to their population size, whether big or small. As with all other river dolphin species, impacts from fishing efforts are the major threat. WDCS funded researchers Dipani Sutaria and Coralie D’Lima have been focusing on both ecological research and studies into the human-dolphin interactions that impact on the dolphin population. The project is having success promoting ecotourism activities and surveying the Irrawaddy population fully in order to implement sufficient conservation practices. Local populations hold the dolphins in high regard and gaining their support and co-operation has not been difficult. However, deteriorating habitat quality and increased human disturbances are still serious issues and the population remains endangered.



Alongside the Chilika laggon project, WDCS has also been collaborating with an important project focused on the conservation of the Ganges River dolphin. WDCS is working with researchers at Bhagalpur University in Bihar, in attempts to further the protection of the dolphins in the only protected area they inhabit, the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary. It is a 60km stretch of the River Ganges which boasts a high diversity of animal life as well as a relatively high density of the river dolphins. The Ganges River dolphin faces significant threats to their future, on a scale perhaps higher than any other river dolphin.



The river supports vast numbers of economically impoverished people as well as large scale industry involving high levels of boat traffic. Competition with humans for resources, degrading habitat quality and extremely high levels of pollution are all serious threats. To make matters worse, the dolphins are targeted for their meat and oil. WDCS and the Vikramshila Biodiversity Research and Education Centre have been working to ensure the sanctuary is effective in its conservation measures and that they are supported by the proper legislation. A good level of baseline ecological information on the dolphins and their habitats has been collected alongside a variety of education and awareness programmes. The health of the river is essential to both dolphins and humans, as is the health of the dolphins to the river. As such, both dolphins and humans are on the same team and the challenge is to convey fact this to the local populations and authorities. WDCS continues to work towards ensuring that this is achieved.