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27-Jul-2010
On the 23rd of July, the Manx Basking Shark boat Happy Jack was cruising along, around about 5 miles west of Peel, when they spotted a large cetacean, around 500 metres ahead of them. Assuming it was a Minke Whale, the animal was photographed and left alone. However, when the images were downloaded, it became apparent that this animal was either a very strange looking Minke Whale, or a different species. On closer inspection, it was realised that it could only be one thing, a Humpback Whale. The key identifiable features are firstly the strange shaped dorsal fin of the animal and also the ridges along the back of the animal. This, we believe, is the first photograph of a Humpback in Manx waters. It is likely that this was the same individual who has been seen off Dublin and Rathlin island, across the water, although this is yet to be confirmed. Either way, this is incredibly exciting news and news that we hope to be able to bring you again in the not too distant future. Credit for the photograph goes to Hannah Keogh, one of the Dolphineers helping out MWDW and MBSW this year.
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19-Jul-2010
On the 12th of July, a large group of Risso's dolphins, numbering perhaps 20 individuals, was reported to us, thanks to Dermot and Nina Shimmin. The pod of Risso's was encountered to the south of the Calf and Nina managed to take some exceptional photos of these remarkable dolphins. Having looked at the photos, there were definitely some calves amongst the pod, as well as some individuals that we already know from our catalogue of these dolphins. The encounter was full of energetic behaviour, such as leaping, breaching and riding the bow wave of the boat, behaviours not typically associated with Risso's dolphins in other parts of the world. Thank-you to Nina for reporting the sighting and for providing such useful photographs of their encounter. This year has been a strange year in terms of Risso's dolphin sightings, with very few sightings at all throughout April and May. This is normally when Risso's start being seen in Manx waters each year, particularly from Marine Drive. This pattern has continued into June and July, with less than 20 sightings being reported all year, compared to around 50 or 60 sightings by this time of year, in previous years. Hopefully, there will be many more sightings of these wonderfully charismatic dolphins during the rest of the "summer". The image below (courtesy of Nina Shimmin) is of an individual dolphin known as Galps, who we have seen for each of the previous four years in Manx waters.
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23-Jun-2010
Saturday 26th June, 2-5pm - Gardens of the SouthA fantastic array of gardens to visit, whatever the weather, in the south of the island. Two gardens are starting points, where you can plan your route. Admission leaflets will be available at these gardens and from the Wildlife shop. Full details in the newsletter. Admission £5 per person, includes refreshments. Starting points are: Westend House, 7 Arbory Road, Castletown (entrance from Farrant's Way) and Baycliffe, Tower Road, Bradda West.
Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th July from 11am - Marine Weekend Fabulous family fun with touch tanks, competitions, cookery demonstrations, trawler race, stalls, marine lectures, refreshments and much more. Cost: £1 per adult, children free Location: The Quayside, Port St Mary
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21-May-2010
Due to the sea fog, the planned watches this weekend may or may not be going ahead. If the mists lift (probably by the afternoon if today is anything to go by) then they will go ahead as organised.
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20-May-2010
We would like to invite people to join myself and my team this weekend doing land based watches for marine mammals and basking sharks. The calm weather over the next few days will provide perfect conditions for seeing these amazing animals. Our watching schedule will be as follows:
Friday 21st May 8am to 11am - Manned watches at Peel Castle and Port St Mary (the ledges) 12 pm to 3pm - Manned watches at Marine Drive, Niarbyl and the Calf
Saturday 22nd May 9am to 12pm - Manned watches at Niarbyl and Peel Castle 4pm to 7pm - Manned watch at Peel Castle
Sunday 23rd May 9am to 12pm - Manned watches at Marine Drive and Port St Mary
Please feel free to join in with the watches for as long as you can spare. Happy watching.
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18-May-2010
Just a quick update on the sightings we have had reported to the website recently. Firstly and slightly worryingly, there has been a distinct lack of Risso's dolphin sightings this year, only five so far compared with nearly fifty by the same time last year. We would expect to have had a glut of sightings throughout April and May, particularly from Onchan and Marine Drive, but so far, only one sighting of Risso's dolphins from these two places, in March. Hopefully, the cold winter has just delayed their arrival in Manx waters for a month or so. However, there has been a remarkable number of Harbour Porpoise sightings, particularly from from the south of the island, between Carrick Bay and the Calf. As well as many groups of one or two individuals that have been seen, there have also been sightings of larger groups numbering just under 10 individuals. The large number of porpoise sightings is probably related to the large quantity of sand eels that some fishermen have been reporting in Manx waters this year, which is a good sign for all marine hunters, birds, seals and cetaceans. As always, please continue to report your sightings to us, even if it is just one sighting, for one minute, of one porpoise. All sightings, no matter how insignificant they seem, are important to report. Thanks and happy spotting.
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18-May-2010
I have recently been joined in Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch by a team of volunteers, "the Dolphineers" who will be doing land based watches for marine mammals and basking sharks throughout the summer. You may have seen some of their sightings amongst the list of recent sightings on the site. We will be doing watches at five sites around the island ; Peel Castle, Niarbyl, The Calf, the ledges at Port St Mary and the Arches on Marine Drive. The data we collect from these watches will give us an insight into how often marine mammals can be seen at these sites, which species are the most common at each site and if certain species seem to be more common at certain times of year, amongst other things. In times of settled weather, we hope to be able to inform you of where and when the land based watches will be taking place, so please keep checking this site and feel free to come and join us whenever you can spare some time. You will be able to recognise us at each of the sites because we will have information boards with us. Happy watching.
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23-Feb-2010
Typically, just as I had predicted the last of the bottlenose dolphin sightings in Manx waters, the last few days have seen another glut of sightings of these marine acrobats. The first of these was reported on Thursday, by Steve Black, off Peel castle, of a group of 8 to 10 individuals, swimming at speed in a south westerly direction. Then on Sunday, a group of perhaps up to 40 individuals were reported at Dalby at 9.00am, which were being incredibly active, leaping, breaching and generally creating a lot of splash. This same group was seen two hours later off Peel castle, again showing high levels of activity for nearly an hour. It was a privilege to watch these incredible dolphins, sometimes leaping huge distances out of the water. The dolphins were also seen to bow and wake ride a very lucky fishing vessel in the area. It was an amazing sight and one that I hope can be witnessed again before they leave for the summer.
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20-Feb-2010
We are at that time of the year when we are between the departure of one species of dolphin, Bottlenose and the arrival of another, Risso's. The last sighting of Bottlenose dolphins was reported by Richard and Janice Cooil, who spotted a group of at least 30 individuals, from Ben my Chree, heading south east towards Anglesey. This is likely to be the last of the sightings of this boisterous and playful dolphin species. Very soon, we will start to see Risso's dolphins on the east coast of the island. The first sightings are usually during the first two weeks of March, typically at either Douglas Head or on the Onchan side of Douglas Bay, so keep your eyes peeled if you are in the area. If you do see a large group of Risso's that are not moving anywhere too quickly, please call Galps as he has a new telescope that will enable him to take high quality photos of dolphins perhaps up to 1km away. As I said, only large and/or slow moving groups and please still report the sighting to the website. Despite the Bottlenose leaving our waters and the Risso's yet to arrive, all is not lost in terms of cetacean spotting. In the past, February has seen some large groups of Harbour Porpoise being spotted, up to thirty individuals on occasions, typically from Marine Drive near Douglas. Several sightings of porpoise have been reported from Marine Drive in the last week, although only small groups or individuals. A calm day on Sunday will provide a good opportunity for Harbour Porpoise spotting around the island.
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05-Jan-2010
For those of you who I have not met, my name is Tom and as John mentioned in his last listing, I am taking over the running of MWDW, with John supporting and helping me. I have been working with MWDW for three years now and feel incredibly lucky to be part of the first ever research team looking into Manx cetaceans.
Before I go on, I must say thank-you to Galps for his kind words about me and for all of his hard work and dedication to MWDW over the years, without him and his refusal to take "no" for an answer, many cetacean sightings would have gone unreported and there would be no research into Manx cetaceans or knowledge about them.
From now on, we would ask all cetacean related phone calls to be made to me, not Galps. The new number to call is 07624 368738. As before, please report any and all sightings to the website, if you are not registered or are unsure about any aspect of the sighting, please do not hesitate to call. I hope everyone had a good festive season and happy watching over the coming year.
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24-Dec-2009
I am delighted to announce that Tom Felce will be taking over the lead role from me at MWDW. I will continue my involvement, but in a supporting role to Tom.
Tom and Eleanor came to the Island to develop the local awareness and science of our cetaceans and between them they have greatly enhanced our knowledge and understanding of these fabulous animals.
This change will allow MWDW to develop and expand its scientific research and involvement with other groups throughout Europe while continuing to develop our knowledge of local whales and dolphins.
I will still be running Grampus and will continue to provide boating support for the surveys and photo-ID work as before.
Many thanks to everyone that has given me and MWDW such support over the years - please continue to give Tom the same.
We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - remember to keep an eye out for the Bottlenoses - they were at the Calf last Christmas morning!
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11-Dec-2009
Another large group of bottlenose dolphins, maybe up to 100 individuals in total, were seen on the east coast yesterday.
They were first reported at 11.00am in Laxey Bay and were definitely feeding, as fish could be seen in the mouths of some of the dolphins.
The group moved south and were seen off Marine Drive at 13:00. Plenty of young were seen in the group as well. The dolphins continued to move south throughout the afternoon and were last seen close to Langness at 16:30.
As always, those who were lucky enough to see them were treated to a fantastic display of leaping and breaching. Hopefully, there will be many more sightings of these aerial acrobats through the winter months.
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26-Oct-2009
A fantastic display of Bottlenose dolphins throughout the day. Starting mid morning just off Douglas, they continued to be seen until around 4 o'clock as they moved further off shore, heading south past Little Ness.
Bottlenose dolphins tend mainly to be winter visitors and today was one of those perfect days for seeing bottlenose dolphins around the Isle of Man.
A flat calm sea, high cloud cover and ideal sighting conditions combined to give a spectacular display of leaping, racing and breaching dolphins as close as 50 metres off Douglas Head.
Keep an eye out for more bottlenose dolphins throughout the coming months - regular winter visitors - and if you manage to get any good photos we would be delighted to see them too.
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14-Oct-2009
Brian Maddrell had a wonderful collection of porpoise sightings in the late afternoon on Wednesday 14 October.
For over an hour a constant stream of harbour porpoises swam past Dalby Point, all heading south.
Luckily the sea was mirror flat calm and the animals could be seen across the water from close to shore to 3 or 4 miles away. In total Brian recorded approximately 92 animals swimming quickly down the coast.
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31-Aug-2009
A sudden rush of Minke sightings off Laxey and Bulgham Bay could be signalling the start of the new east coast Minke whale season.
The first of these was from Vicky Taylor, the animal close to shore at the 'never-ending corner' near laxey.
Then John Cowin, Shane Stigant and John, Lorraine and Craig Donnelly having great Minke sightings from Laxey Head - the Cairn through to Bulgham Bay.
Particularly lucky were John, Lorraine and Craig who had some spectacular views of full Minke breaches as the animal(s) repeatedly leapt clear of the water leaving just their tail flukes below the surface. Typical Manx Minkes - lots of breaching and leaping - real show-offs.
Although not quite quick enough to his camera to catch a shot of the breaches, John still captured some great Minke photos as the animals surfaced to breathe - here is one of John's images from a couple of days ago - many thanks John.
So if you have always wanted to see a Manx Minke, now is your chance, it looks like the season might have begun.
For the next few months you stand a good chance of seeing them, try Laxey Bay and Laxey Head through to Bulgham Bay - these have been favourite hotspots over the last few seasons - you can get a good view into Bulgham Bay from the high road to Ballargh - up from Dhoon Glen corner.
Just look close to shore - not in the distance - the Minkes and sometimes even the odd Humpback (if you're really lucky) are close to shore, often by Carrick Royart - the rocky outcrop to the right hand side of the bay - really deep water very close to shore.
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27-Aug-2009
A number of Portuguese Man of War jellyfish have been discovered on Manx beaches. Here is a copy of the warning issued by DAFF.
Watch of out for Portuguese Man of War Jellyfish
Over the past couple of days three Portuguese Man of War jellyfish have been found on beaches in the south of the Island.
These beautiful creatures are toxic so if you do see one, do not touch it and keep away as the stinging tentacles can be very long. They can still give a nasty sting even when they are dead.
The Portuguese Man of War has a distinctive inflated “sail” that floats above the surface of the sea and the stinging tentacles may be more than 10 metres long.
If someone is stung by a Portuguese Man of War, ideally rubber gloves should be worn and tweezers used to remove any stings remaining and the area washed well with salt water. Soaking the affected area in warm fresh water (bath temperature) can help relieve pain.
You should not rub the sting or apply vinegar (vinegar can help with other jellyfish stings but makes Portuguese Man of War stings worse).
If you are concerned, or if the person who has been stung is very young or very old, medical advice should be sought as soon as possible (see link below for more details).
Although it looks like a jellyfish, the Portuguese Man of War is a completely different creature, a colony of animals called hydrozoans. They are usually found in warmer waters but occasionally find their way into the cooler waters of the British Isles.
These unusual visitors are not a cause for alarm – just be vigilant, don’t touch them, make sure children know not to touch them. Please report any sightings to DAFF (843109) or the Coastguard via the Marine Operations Centre (MOC) on 686628 (24hr manned line) or failing that, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
Issued by:
Fiona Gell, Wildlife and Conservation Division, DAFF Tel: 843109
Further information:
Medical:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/jellyfish_stings/article_em.htm
Marine biological:
http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4126
Contact:
DAFF Wildlife and Conservation Division 843109
Coastguard 686628
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18-Aug-2009
Here is a photo from last Thursday's trip of a Risso's that we have seen many times before.
This is No 8 - not only are the dorsal fin markings really clear on some images but the apparent '3' blow holes - some sort of head damage can easily be recognized.
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15-Aug-2009
Everyone knows - it's been a difficult summer. Although it has often been warm and bright, the wind has been relentless. It's this constant wind that has dogged us throughout the spring and summer - creating enough chop and waves to make surveying just about impossible most of the time.
So it was a real delight to have a calm spell between two active 'Lows' - just enough time for a day's survey.
Our boat 'Grampus' was out of Peel marina just after 5 in the breaking dawn to fuel up and await the survey volunteers.
We set off to the very southwest of the Island to survey box 5, last surveyed in April, when little was seen.
This time however there were lots of trawlers, lots of fish and lots of cetaceans - a great day.
One particularly good leg of the survey, some 15 miles to the SW had everyone excited by the numbers of whales and dolphins that could be seen.
In all we had 31 sightings 'On Transect' - that's really good, with around 60+ animals. That included many Minke whales, feeding vigorously and surfacing sometime close to the boat; Risso's dolphins leaping acrobatically from the sea, harbour porpoises just kissing the surface and disappearing, as well as the odd few basking sharks close to shore.
After a long day in the sun, we returned to Peel in the early evening - the photo shows us entering Peel's wonderful new marina.
If you would like to join the survey team, please email Tom Felce, on felcet@hotmail.com . We would be delighted to have you join us as these surveys are only possible with the help and time of all those who volunteer - thanks to everyone for their support.
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