Moray Firth Latest

Well October has come and gone for another year and the clocks have been turned back one hour. It's dark now by 5pm, which always makes sightings of the dolphins much more difficult of course, especially as there is now a shorter period of time to see them during daylight.

Bottlenose dolphin sightings were recorded along the coast from Spey Bay to Fraserburgh with groups of up to 25 being seen off Findochty. The Inner Moray Firth had dolphins being spotted at Cromarty, Fort George and Burghead. The group of 25 that I saw at Findochty were also seen at Banff, which included the four calves that were also seen throughout the summer months. Its always encouraging see young dolphins thriving. Harbour porpoise have been seen in good numbers in the Inner Moray Firth with 36 animals seen feeding off Fort George. October was a superb month for basking sharks, being sighted mostly in the Inner Moray Firth from Hopeman to Cromarty. There were many people also watching them from shore as the sharks were coming in quite close to feed on the plankton.

Seals have been around too, hauling out the water at Portgordon or Craigenroan to either rest or give birth. I receive many calls from members of the public asking to assist a seal pup that seems to be stuck on rocks, but most of the time they are not abandoned and are simply waiting for their mother to return from feeding. My advice to anyone coming across a seal pup is to stay clear (especially children), and to make sure that dogs are kept on their lead for the safety of the seals and the dogs - seals have very sharp teeth and will bite if they feel threatened.

The Marine Connection educational workshops are in demand as always - but recently during a talk I was informed that dolphins had been spotted in Banff Bay, which was a unique opportunity for us to go straight out to see the animals after the talk. You can imagine my horror however, when within minutes, two jet skiers came out of Macduff harbour at great speed heading straight for the dolphins, which could have been an innocent mistake had it not been for the fact that having passed the dolphins, they then came back towards them - showing clear signs of harassment. As in all instances of marine mammal harassment witnessed by or reported to me, I completed a report which was then forwarded to the police; unfortunately due to lack of evidence or threats to witnesses from offenders, marine wildlife crime rarely results in prosecution, however at least when we report incidents to the police they are logged on record. At present there is a case pending concerning a jet skier from the Banff area so it's essential that all incidents like this are reported to protect vulnerable marine life at threat from careless acts.

As October closed the first strong gale came in from the North-east, bringing with it a taste of winter. I often wonder how the dolphins react to this sudden change - with waves at times nearly 20ft high are crashing to shore! I am sure they find it as exhilarating as we do watching from shore, although at one point when I was standing at Bow Fiddle rock feeling sure I would be swept off the cliff, reminding me that mother nature - and the oceans in particular, should be respected at all times for their awesome power.

Until next time, stay warm.

Peter Macdonald