Epic humpback encounters off the Summer Isles

I seem to be running out of superlatives when describing whale watching trips out into the Minch with Hebridean Whale Cruises (opens in a new window), but once again I can only describe todays experience as epic. 

So far this year most of the large whale action has been just west of the Summer Isles at the mouth of Loch Broom, with several humpback whales and at least one fin whale present. These animals can be seen from the ferry and probably also land, but a dedicated whale watching trip is by far the best way to get a good look at them. Today we saw three different humpbacks, two of which were completely new individuals that had not been recorded by anybody previously.

One of the great things about the whales being in this area is that they are often seen with the magnificent backdrop of the mountains of Inverpolly. This is an area which I know well and in the photo above you can see Stac Pollaidh just left of centre.  This is is a hill that I have climbed many times over the past 40 years, including last year with Elaine, and I've photographed from all angles but I never thought that I would get a photo of it like this with a humpback whale diving in front of it!

The first humpback that we saw today was actively feeding on northern krill. What an incredible experience to witness this at close range! The winds were light and the sea was as flat as it's ever likely to get here. Suddenly an area of the sea would turn orange, perhaps no more than 50m in front of us. At first it was hard to know what was happening but it soon became apparent. 

From the Ullapool to Stornoway ferry

It's always worth the £22 to travel as a foot passenger on the Loch Seaforth, Ullapool to Stornoway ferry. The ferry leaves Ullapool at 10:30 and arrives back at 16:30 following a very brief stop at Stornoway when you literally have just enough time to leave the boat, get your return boarding pass and then reembark. However, this isn't about visiting the Isle of Lewis, it's about marine wildlife watching on the cheap in the Minch.

Of course the boat doesn't stop or turn back for a closer look at cetaceans or sea birds, it just keeps on going, straight ahead, in it's relentless fashion and if you missed something or didn't get a good enough view for an identification, then that's just too bad. Write it off.

Today we did ok, a minke whale surfaced in front of the vessel just once but good enough to confirm identification, whilst on the return journey we saw three distant blows that were almost certainly fin whale.

Common Dolphins, Summer Isles

Some more excellent cetacean watching today with Seascape Expeditions at Ullapool. We came across a pod of about 10-15 common dolphins which included some tiny calves, probably just a day or two old. Wonderful to see, one of them was so small that at first I thought that it was a fish jumping 😆. I've never seen such tiny calves. Also some tail slapping today.

Other highlights included harbour porpoise and great views of an adult white-tailed eagle, common seals and grey seals.

I posted these photos on the Facebook group Hebrides and NW Scotland cetacean sightings (opens in a new window) and a couple of far more experienced observers than I commented that the youngster looks neonatal because the dorsal fin has not fully stiffened and also that the fetal folds are still visible in the above photo. So the general consensus is that this is a new born baby just a day or two old.

Common dolphins can be anything between 1.7m - 2.5m long. Looking at the above two photo, surely the calf is less than half the size of the adult, making it somewhere between 0.65m - 1m long. From what I saw when it first jumped out on it's own, when I thought that it was a fish, I would guess that it's at the shorter end of the scale.

Cetacean watching in comfort

Our accommodation is at Aultgrishan just north of Gairloch on the road to Rua Reidh lighthouse. We chose this place because of it's excellent location for cetacean watching and we weren't disappointed. Obviously from here we're not going to see whales and dolphins close up, but today we managed to see common dolphins, harbour porpoise and a single minke whale whilst sat in the garden with a cup of tea and a biscuit! Only problem is, it's difficult to switch off when you're in a location like this!

 

Humpback 'Davies' off the Summer Isles

Another breathtaking trip with Hebridean Whale Cruises, Gairloch this evening, we encountered a humpback whale, two minke whales, a few common dolphins and a harbour porpoise. The humpback performed absolutely brilliantly.

I was scanning the sea looking for cetaceans, when I noticed the mountain Suilven in the distance, part shrouded in mist yet still clearly distinguishable. This is one of my favourite mountains right in the heart of InverpolIy,  and I thought to myself, I'd love to see a humpback jump in front of that. Then suddenly one did! Right out of the water before crashing back in again with a huge splash! We watched it jumping for several minutes and then it began feeding.

Suilven.