Sightings

WHAT SPECIES MAY YOU ENCOUNTER?

Depending on the trip that you choose there are a variety of species that you may encounter, which are listed below. Minke whales and porpoises are sighted on over 90% of our whale-watching trips!

MINKE WHALE (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

The minke whale is the most abundant species of whale seen in the inshore waters of Scotland and is the focus of Sea Life Survey’s research. It reaches lengths of up to 10m (32ft) although lots of smaller juvenile whales are seen within our survey area. They have a pointed head, two blowholes, a small curved dorsal fin and white bands on their pectoral fins.

Minke whales return to the Hebrides every spring to spend the summer feeding on the plentiful fish in the area. Their feeding behaviour is spectacular to watch as they lunge from the water with their mouths open to scoop up the fish. In the winter they migrate south to warmer waters to breed.

KILLER WHALE (Orcinus orca)

This very distinctive whale with its dramatic black and white markings are only occasionally seen around Mull. The killer whale reaches lengths of 9m (30ft) and have a single blowhole and tall dorsal fins. The males have taller fins at about 1.9m (6ft) compared to females and juveniles.

When we do see killer whales we encounter the same family group which contains two very distinctive males John Coe and Floppy fin.

COMMON DOLPHIN (Delphinus delphis)

We are often accompanied on our trips by common dolphins. Seen in groups of 5 -100’s they love to ride the bow and are very exciting to watch. Small dolphins at 2.5m (8.2ft) they have a very distinctive figure of eight pattern along their sides. If in the area they are very easy to spot because they create lots of splashing and leap from the water.

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN(Tursiops truncatus)

This is the largest species of dolphin reaching lengths of 4m (13ft). They are uniformly grey in colour and have short but prominent beaks. They tend to be seen in small groups of 5-20 animals and swim very close inshore near to headlands and bays and so are often seen from the land. They are also regularly sighted from ferries.

RISSO DOLPHIN(Grampus griseus)

This is another large species of dolphin at 3.8m (12ft) and have very distinctive white scarring along their bodies which accumulates as they get older. They have blunt heads and large dorsal fins and are frequently seen on our trips and are seen in groups of 5-15 animals although larger groups are seen.

HARBOUR PORPOISE(Phocoena phocoena)

The smallest yet most abundant species of cetacean to be found in our coastal waters reaching lengths of 1.5m (5ft). They are sighted almost anywhere from harbours, estuaries and off headlands as well as offshore. They have blunt heads with a small beak, a very small triangular fin and are grey in colour. They are usually seen in small groups of 2-6 animals but larger groups are often. We see porpoises on most of our trips.

BASKING SHARKS(Cetorhinus maximus)

The basking shark is the second largest fish in the world. Adults can reach lengths of 12m (40ft), a size exceeded only by the tropical whale shark which reaches lengths of 18 m (60ft). In local waters, juveniles at an average length of 6 m (20ft) are more usually seen.

Despite its size, the basking shark is a harmless plankton feeder and we often see them swimming at the surface with their mouths open as they sieve the plankton from the water. Very little is actually known about the biology and behaviour of basking sharks.

COMMON & GREY SEALS

Only two species of seal inhabit the British coastline, the common seal Phoca vitulina and the grey seal Halichoerus grypus. Grey seals are larger than common seals reaching lengths of 2.2m (7ft) compared to the common seal length of 1.8m (6ft) and their head shapes differ slightly with the grey seals having a more roman shaped nose.

Their pupping times differ too with common seals having their young in the months of May through to July whereas the grey seals have their young later in the year from September to December. The distinctive fluffy white pups seen in many photographs are grey seal pups.

SEABIRDS

The different species of seabird that are encountered during our trips are far too numerous to list individually but include the puffin, guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake, herring gull, gannet, Manx shearwater, storm petrel, arctic and great skua, amongst others. Simply thousands of these birds can be sighted in one day.

Some species of bird are associated with the feeding whales and dolphins, a fascinating interaction to watch. Clouds of hovering birds diving to the surface to grab fish are often a great clue that whales and dolphins are around. We call these groups of feeding birds "hurries".

LESS COMMONLY SIGHTED SPECIES

Occasionally we see species that are not frequently sighted in our survey. In 2001 we encountered white-beaked dolphins Lagenorhynchus albirostris and Atlantic white-sighted dolphins Lagenorhynchus acutus, species that we have not recorded before on our trips.

These species are common in Hebridean waters but are usually sighted further north and west to our area. Who knows – we may just see them again in following years. Another only occasionally sighted animal is the sunfish Mola mola, which are strange looking fish, circular in shape reaching diameters of 3m. They are quite shy and you only usually catch a glimpse of them before they dive down to deeper waters.