I thought my sightings of blue whales off Baja this past February 2014 were insurmountable…but I always forget just how fabulous Spring wildlife sightings are off gorgeous Baltimore and the Islands.

Voyager leaving Baltimore – the whale watching capital of West Cork

After her routine winter refit and servicing our trusty ship Voyager was back in the water early April and since then we have had some lovely marine wildlife encounters off Baltimore and the Islands, around The Fastnet Rock and Lighthouse, south of The Kedges and well offshore. Sightings have been increasing steadily throughout April in what has been a great month from the weather point of view with bouts of really warm, sunny weather.

On many trip we were able to venture well offshore and had several good encounters with common dolphin groups as they foraged along the coast. Early in the season is not a traditionally the best time to see the short beaked common dolphin as they tend to move inshore towards the end of July affording us gorgeous sightings right through to the end of the year.

Short Beaked Common Dolphins

With the warm sunny weather the phytoplankton has been drawn up to the surface of the water column and you know what that means…yes, basking sharks. Right on cue the “baskers” turned up off Baltimore and we have recorded an eight metre animal south of the harbour with some nice breaching activity off the islands. Although the window of opportunity is not huge for basking sharks, the second largest fish in the world, we hope to see them through until the beginning of June.

Following a 75% drop in porpoise sightings throughout our operating area during the 2013 season we have started to see this engaging little cetacean more frequently towards the end of April and during early part of May. A group of 10-12 animals feeding in the Gascanane Sound May 2nd was a treat we had not enjoyed for several months. I love this diminutive little animal as they really don’t like people, engines or boats very much and to get good sightings requires all the tenets of responsible boat based cetacean watching, something Whale Watch West Cork champions through their membership of the Responsible Whale Watch Partnership of Whale Watch International.

Basking Shark (c) Les Dean

My colleagues around the coast have been sending in sightings of a variety of marine wildlife but none are so exciting as the first sightings of one of my favourite little baleen whales, the minke whale. Over the last few weeks sightings have been sent in to Whale Watch West Cork with good encounters off Derrynane, the Mizen Head and Cape Clear Island to name a few.  All confirmed sightings sent in to me are posted on the Sea Watch Foundation website where you can post directly online. During the past two weeks some excellent minke whale sightings have been recorded from both land and sea off Baltimore and the Islands.

Young Minke Whale surfaces by boat

One of the highlights of this past 10 days was the group of 12 Risso’s dolphins we encountered in Baltimore Bay. Feeding with several young animals it is always a delight to see these unusual dolphins with their white colouration (older animals), snub noses and large dorsal fins so reminiscent of a young female killer whale. Lots of spy hopping and tail splashing from the younger, darker skinned members of the group.

For the avid birders among us we are encountering good groups of guillemots, black guillemots, puffins, razorbills, Manx shearwaters, gannets and great northern divers around the islands and offshore Baltimore.

Risso’s dolphins

More to come as we get further into the season and regular postings on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget the National Whale and Dolphin Watch 2014 run by the Sea Watch Foundation. For a whole week from 26th July to 3rd August. They are delighted to get any sightings you may have and you can post them directly online through their up-to-date website.

If you are heading down the stunning Wild Atlantic Way this year don’t forget to make a turn down the Golden Spur to Baltimore and the Islands. Sample the local fresh cuisine in family run restaurants and bars. Stay in B&B’s and small hotels offering some of the best value in Ireland and travel to the islands. All this and more available in beautiful Baltimore –  the whale watching capital of West Cork.

Like wine a whale watching year can be good or simply outstanding. 2013 was an outstanding year in terms of breadth of species and the consistency of sightings. It was no coincidence that we also had an excellent summer with lots of sunshine and calm sea conditions!

Basking Shark (c) Les Dean

The weather in April and early May though did not bode well for the forthcoming season as we had some very cold easterly winds which caused a temperature inversion where the surface waters were colder than the deeper waters. This had an impact on basking shark sightings. We think it stopped the phytoplankton from rising to the surface waters as it encountered a thermocline around two metres down. We saw plenty of “baskers” just under the water surface in all the old haunts but not so many at the surface feeding, mouths agape. Traditionally, although the basking sharks may be present for many months feeding below the surface, we don’t see them until the warm sunny weather draws the phytoplankton up in the water column. Then these enormous animals, the second largest fish in the world, follow this food source and we see the tell tale dorsal and tail fins breaking the surface. With the younger animals we also see the bulbous, rather porcine snout. Unusually this year we saw a disproportionate number of quite young basking sharks.

One of the unusual occurrences of 2013 was the reduction in the number of porpoise sightings. We run a continuous porpoise survey every year in Roaringwater Bay and east to The Stag Rocks. Monthly numbers recorded from April through to December were well down on previous years causing us some concern initially. Strangely enough, my colleague Duncan Jones in Penzance recorded higher numbers for 2013 than in previous years. We are looking to try and link our data and surveys as this is quite likely to be related to the availability of suitable food. It may also support our long held belief  that these diminutive cetaceans are not restricted to coastal waters and that they may well travel large distances over open ocean to more productive feeding grounds.

Young Minke Whale surfaces by boat

The stars of 2013 however, were the minke whales. Even in the very cold April and May we were seeing young animals throughout inshore waters off Baltimore but in late June warmer conditions prevailed and the water temperature rose 5 degrees within a few weeks. The resulting plankton blooms provided a ready food source for sprats and other small shoaling fish and we saw large aggregations of these different fish species throughout West Cork’s inshore waters. Unsurprisingly the minke whale numbers from Galley Head to the Mizen Peninsular burgeoned and the resultant sightings were little short of stunning. Helped by the consistently good weather last year we had some unique encounters with this lovely little baleen whale from June all the way through to October. After October numbers start to decline throughout West Cork’s  inshore waters as they move offshore and we assume further south. Little is known about the movements of the northern hemisphere minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) during the winter months. Some have suggested they may travel over the equator to the southern hemisphere but as yet this has not been demonstrated conclusively. Current thinking is that northern hemisphere populations of baleen whales remain north of the equator for the whole year making less dramatic seasonal migrations than some of their southern counterparts.

Short Beaked Common Dolphins

Another cetacean species that quite simply “blew us all away” during 2013 was the short beaked common dolphin. Traditionally these charismatic little cetaceans move inshore to feed during the second half of July affording us stunning encounters with groups of adults, adolescents and calves well into December. We broke our own record of short beaked common dolphin sightings last season. From 21st July through until the 29th September we had an almost unbroken record of daily encounters. Between those dates we had nine days when we failed to encounter dolphins and for seven of those days we were unable to get out on the water due to weather anyway! A better than 90% sighting record much to the delight of our many customers from all over the world.

Humpback tail fluking

One of the highlights of late August was an early encounter with two travelling humpbacks. This is quite early for sightings of this species off West Cork. Heading west from The Kedges, where we picked them up, we had some lovely views of these large baleen whales blowing and tail lobbing as they traversed Baltimore Bay towards the Gascanane Sound and on towards the tip off Cape Clear Island and points west. Later in November and into December this same species treated us to some lovely lunge feeding activity across Baltimore Bay culminating in fabulous breaching activity captured so skilfully by Robbie Murphy of Sherkin Island whose lovely images were published in the national broadsheets yet again confirming Baltimore as the premier whale watching destination of Ireland.

Fin Whales surfacing

During the first week of September we encountered a lone fin whale south of Cape Clear Island followed a few days later by reports from fishing boats heading into Baltimore of groups of fin whales feeding south of Baltimore Harbour. We enjoyed a week of lovely encounters as these animals continued to feed as far south as The Fastnet Rock and Lighthouse and on one occasion heading right into the Gascanane Sound between Sherkin and Cape Clear islands before heading southeast. We continued to see fin whale activity throughout November and December off Baltimore, Cape Clear Island, Sherkin Island and The Kedges and into Barlogue Bay. Some of the best images of West Cork’s fin whales I have seen were captured by the very talented Deirdre Fitzgerald aboard Voyager, showing some lovely lunge feeding activity, which she so generously shared with other customers and over 2000 followers on our Whale Watch West Cork Facebook page.

Minke Whale swimming under Voyager

2013 was certainly a year of highlights. We had the largest Atlantic sunfish I have ever recorded off West Cork, easily two metres long and a metre high. A lone Risso’s dolphin and calf. Many juvenile minke whales and one very new minke calf that came and inspected our stationary boat – judging by it’s size we estimated it to be no more than two weeks old. Minke whales swimming under the boat on several occasions. A minke whale that breached over 17 times in front of the boat as we headed slowly up the south coast of Sherkin Island to the Gascanane Sound. This same animal later breached within 20 feet of Voyager’s stern as we drifted on the tide. No season is complete without a turtle sighting. On several occasions through the summer we encountered large leatherback turtles heading west across Baltimore Bay. Pelagic bird species continue to thrill the birders amongst us. Skuas, petrels, razorbils, puffins, guillemots and shearwaters consistently being seen. During 2013 we had large numbers of Corey’s shearwaters feeding inshore among the groups of Manx shearwater forming some of the largest rafts of mixed shearwater species we have ever encountered off West Cork.

WWWC Ambassador company for responsible whalewatching

As Whale Watch West Cork enters it’s 10th year of operation on the water we continue to promote responsible and sustainable whale watching here in Ireland and in our overseas destinations through our alliance with Whale Watch International and the World Cetacean Alliance. We are also celebrating our 10th year with a number of exciting initiatives which include:

>>> Weekend, residential whale identification and watching courses. We are ideally situated in Baltimore to run these exciting whale watching events for the cetacean enthusiast. We plan these popular courses from July to November. Dates will be published very shortly.

>>> By popular demand we will be running boat based and terrestrial walking tours to view other species of Ireland’s Marine and Estuarine wildlife. Details to be published shortly.

>>> Once the larger species have departed from the Baltimore Bay area and started to move east following the herring we will be continuing with our “Cork Whale Watching with Nic Slocum” programme through the winter months off East Cork.

Inflatable humpback used in schools

Other initiatives designed to address some of the pressing issues related to Irish Whale and Dolphin Conservation will be announced as they are developed this year including expansion of the schools programme.

For the second year running we will run our popular wildlife weekend in conjunction with Sea Shepherd Ireland July 11th, 12th and 13th. This action packed weekend will include island nature walks on Cape Clear Island and boat based whale watching courses as part of the programme. A must for anyone interested in supporting Sea Shepherd Ireland and the important direct conservation work that Sea Shepherd get involved in, both here in Ireland and overseas. Whale Watch West Cork will be running tours all that weekend in support of this Sea Shepherd initiative. There will be a whale identification course running in conjunction with this weekend.

During the summer we will see the return of Sarah Hucek, our outstanding assistant guide and crew aboard Voyager. Sarah, who is Austrian, proved an invaluable asset to us on board Voyager last year as she manages all our German customers. Her warm and friendly nature makes our customers feel at ease immediately they step on board.

In November 2013 Whale Watch West Cork attended the International Whale Conference in Gloucester, Massachusetts as part of the team from the Responsible Whale Watching Partnership (RWWP) of Whale Watch International. Whale Watch West Cork achieved second place in the prestigious Responsible Whale Watch Awards competing against whale watch operations as far apart as Iceland, Australia, Panama and the USA.

Symbolic release of Morgan a wild caught killer whale

Nic has been the chairman of the steering committee of the RWWP this past year and attended the International Whaling Commission Working Group for Whale Watching in Brisbane, Australia in May 2013 at the invitation of the IWC and NOAA. This busy year of meetings culminated in March 2014 with Whale Watch West Cork exhibiting at WhaleFest, the largest whale festival of its kind in the world based in Brighton, UK. It was good to catch up and compare notes with some old friends from Whale Watching Panama, Futurismo from the Azores, Tumares from Spain, Cape Ann Whale Watch from Gloucester, Massachusetts, ROW Adventures from Vancouver Island and Marine Discovery Penzance from the UK among many others. We all attended the symbolic release of Morgan, a wild caught killer whale now languishing in abysmal conditions in the horrible amusement park Loro Parque in Tenerife.

The documentary film “Blackfish”, released in the last year highlights the plight of killer whales and other cetaceans kept in captivity but especially that of Tilikum, the bull killer whale involved in the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in February 2010 at SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida. Try to see this film if you have not already.

Whales Worldwide tours to Mexico and Maui

Blue Whale peduncle waving

Our overseas tours to see iconic species in difficult to get to locations continue to be very popular. We run these overseas tours through our sister company Whales Worldwide and our tours during early 2014 to Mexico and Maui were outstanding. The blue whale activity throughout the Loreto Marine Reserve this year was incredible with humpbacks and fin whales also being seen among the islands of the reserve. The humpback activity in the Moloka’i Channel between Maui and Lanai Islands was equally stunning with some amazing breaching and male heat run activity taking place. Mother calf pairs, some with newborns and others with boisterous “teenagers” continue to enthral our customers who come with us on these overseas whale watching adventures. We are busy promoting and filling the 2015 Mexico and Maui tours as we speak with a number of other tours being scheduled.

Looking forward to an outstanding 2014 season in Ireland

Voyager leaving Baltimore – the whale watching capital of West Cork

We will be launching Voyager after the winter layoff during the weekend of 5th/6th April and are really looking forward to the 2014 season of whale and dolphin watching off Baltimore – the Whale Watching Capital of Ireland.

Nic Slocum. 3/4/14

Original article produced in the Namibian Dolphin Project blog

Click on the header for original article…

That illusive tail fluke

A rare and mysterious visitor in Walvis Bay

REPRODUCED FROM LIVE SCIENCE…

Click here for full article

On June 9, 2008, at least 60 dolphins stranded along the coast of Cornwall, England, in what was by far the largest common dolphin mortality ever seen in British waters. For hours, rescuers tried to lead them back to sea — often unsuccessfully, as some of the animals were panicked and others just milled about in tight circles, resistant to saving. The forensic investigation that followed involved 24 experts

(c) Live Science

Dr Nic Slocum, Managing Director of the Ireland based whale watch operator Whale Watch West Cork has been appointed to the chairmanship of the steering committee of the Planet Whale responsible whale watching partnership as of May 2013.

This role will entail pulling together a team of experts from the responsible whale watching partnership who will look at such diverse issues as codes of conduct at the species level for different activities such as swim with programmes, education within the whale watching industry and working with the IWC standing committee  for whale watching in the launch of their new five year plan for whale watching and the implementation of their proposed online whale watching guide.

Dr Nic Slocum, Managing Director of Whale Watch West Cork and chairman of the steering committee of the Planet Whale responsible Whale Watching Partnership, has been invited to attend the IWC Whale Watch Operator’s Workshop on 24th-26th May in Brisbane, Australia.

The IWC is drawing on operator expertise from around the globe during this two day workshop to assist in the implementation of it’s five year plan for sustainable whale watching. This will cover issues such as the use of whale watching boats to gather meaningful scientific data; systems for monitoring adverse impact of whale watching on cetacean populations; how to share expertise between whale watching nations, building responsibility for sustainable whale watching within the industry and the creation and development of an adaptive management framework.

Ryan Wulff, NOAA, Chair of the IWC Working Group on Whale Watching said “…we’re looking forward to your input and making real progress with implementation of the five-year plan and development of the online whale watch handbook…”

The IWC has been considering the issue of sustainable whale watching since 1975 and adopted its first resolution on global whale watching in 1993. In 1998 a standing whale watching sub-committee was set up under the existing scientific committee and has since addressed a range of matters concerning the sector. Much of its work has focussed on better identifying, assessing and understanding the impact of whale watching on whale communities both large and small.

“…I am delighted to attend this important international workshop and contribute some of the momentum we have achieved over the past nine years with Whale Watch West Cork through the development of species specific codes of conduct. With whale watching becoming an increasingly important and unique tourism attraction off the south coast of Ireland, it is imperative to draw on the expertise of others around the globe. This will ensure we develop a workable framework for best practice down to the species level that may be applied as a benchmark for those developing whale watching operations for the first time…” Dr Slocum said.

About Whale Watch West Cork

Whale Watch West Cork is dedicated to providing our customers with a safe, comfortable and educational whale and dolphin watching experience. We seek to impart detailed knowledge on the marine mammals and other wildlife we encounter and on the wider issues of marine conservation through informed commentary with special emphasis on the current threats facing these unique animals and their fragile environment.

www.whalewatchwestcork.com

About Planet Whale

Planet Whale is the global community that will change the way we view whales and dolphins forever. By harnessing the passion and ideas of individuals, we will achieve more to protect and defend our oceans than ever before.

www.planetwhale.com

About the IWC

The International Whaling Commission is an Inter-Governmental Organisation tasked with the conservation of whales and the management of whaling. It is set up under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling signed in 1946. The Commission has a current membership of 89 Governments from countries around the World.

www.iwc.int