Goodbye BND? hello WBD :-)

After a number of near misses, I finally caught up with the Bottlenose Dolphins on Thursday 5th June, and tracked their movement down the coast from Newbiggin to St Mary's Island.  I lost them at that point, as they headed across Whitley Bay.  They seem to have moved quickly south, and were reported from Marsden Rock...unfortunately as a pod of Minke Whales...subsequently 'corrected' to a pod of Pilot Whales :-)  The following day I was guiding for NEWT and took my clients to see the BND as they were just off Church Point.  The dolphins then relocated (again) to the Farne Islands, and the latest sighting report we have was as they travelled north of the islands on Monday 9th June.

Overlapping with the BND were the first few reports of White-beaked Dolphin around the south Northumberland coast; 11 heading N at St Mary's Island at 05:00 on Sunday 1st June (S. Lowe), two off Alnmouth on Tuesday 10th (via S. Wales), 40 off the River Tyne on Thursday 12th (A. Bunney/ORCA) and ~100 off the Tyne on the weekend of 14th/15th (ORCA).

White-beaked Dolphins 19/06/2013

10 White-beaked Dolphins 6nm E of Souter Point this morning (A. Skinner/SarahJFK).

NEWT's 16th year of North Sea pelagics gets underway this Friday, 21/06/2013, departing Royal Quays marina at 18:00 for a 4hr sailing off the coast of southeast Northumberland in search of whales, dolphins and seabirds.  Following a late cancellation we've got a few places available at £32.50/person.  Call 07908 119535 or e-mail martin@newtltd.co.uk

Sightings May 2012

Plenty of Harbour Porpoise sightings throughout the month with up to 5 from the shore at Scarborough (S. Baines)

6 Bottlenose Dolphins (including a very small calf) S past Snab Point on 8th (M.Kitching/Northern Experience Wildlife Tours)

Sighting of the month though, was a large whale 1.5nm E of Cresswell, initially identified as a Humpback Whale, and later reidentified as a Sperm Whale, during a North East Cetacean Project transect survey on PV St Oswald on 31st (R.Milor/NECP).

Sightings 01/02/2012

Enough to warm you through, no matter that's it's sub-zero :-)

01/02/2012
Harbour Porpoise x2 and a distant dolphin sp. from Harkess Rocks, Bamburgh, late afternoon (M. S. Kitching/Northern Experience Wildlife Tours)

Northeast Cetacean Project Transect Survey 05/07/2011

Plenty of swell and a strengthening southeasterly combined to make surveying impossible this afternoon (waves crashing over the boat every few minutes...) but the morning produced the sort of sightings we dream of;

Minke Whale 1 off Alnmouth

White-beaked Dolphin 6 bow-riding for 12mins from 2mi off Druridge Pools to a point 1.8mi E of Coquet Island

White-beaked Dolphins 01/07/2011

A rush of sightings, possibly all relating to the same pod;

01/07/2011 White-beaked Dolphin 4 breaching off Lynemouth Bay 13:50-14:00 (Northern Experience Wildlife Tours)

01/07/2011 White-beaked Dolphin 8-10 Church Point, Newbiggin 14:38 (A Priest)

01/07/2011 White-beaked Dolphin 10+ off Seaton Sluice for 2hrs this evening (B Dack)

Harbour Porpoises

21/09/2010, 7+ Harbour Porpoises from Harkess Rocks, Bamburgh (Northern Experience Wildlife Tours www.newtltd.co.uk /Bird Watching Magazine)

September cetacean sightings

03/09/2010 5 White-beaked Dolphins in the Farne Deeps, Northumberland. Video can be viewed on the Northern Experience blog (Northern Experience Pelagics)

11/09/2010 1 Harbour Porpoise just south of Staple Island, Farne Islands, Northumberland (Northern Experience Pelagics)

18/09/2010 2 White-beaked Dolphins off Newbiggin, Northumberland at 15:00 from NEWT Birdwatching trip (Northern Experience Pelagics)

19/09/2010 30+ White-beaked Dolphins breaching off Tynemouth, North Tyneside at 11:15 (A. Skinner)

Additional sightings

03/08/2010 large dolphins breaching off Whitburn obs, possibly 2x Risso's Dolphin (via Andy Tait)

05/08/2010 25+ White-beaked Dolphins, Lynemouth Bay 19:20-19:30 (NEWT), best cetacean sighting yet for Northern Experience Wildlife Tours :-)

Sightings 05/08/2010

Bottlenose Dolphin 1 in Lynemouth Bay 11:15 (NEWT)

4-5 large active dolphins well offshore from Snab Point, unidentifiable in heat haze 11:20 (NEWT)

Yet more sightings 04/08/2010

1 Harbour Porpoise, Church Point, Newbiggin 14:40 (NEWT)

3 Harbour Porpoise, Snab Point 15:20 (NEWT)

4 Bottlenose Dolphins, Snab Point 19:30 (NEWT)

12 White-beaked Dolphins, off Druridge Pools yesterday evening (G. Roberts)

Dolphins 04/08/2010

4-5 Bottlenose Dolphins S past Newbiggin at 11:55, then heading N towards Church Point at 13:10 (A. Priest)

20-40 Bottlenose Dolphins 4 miles E of St Mary's Island at 11:46 (A. Skinner)

All good data for the Northeast Cetacean project. Now, we just need something similar on the Northern Experience Wildlife Tours pelagic this Friday :-)

Harbour Porpoises

4 Harbour Porpoises off Harkess Rocks (Bamburgh) this morning, found on a Northern Experience Lindisfarne Safari. Logging for a short while and then actively foraging.

The end of the beginning

Yesterday saw the finale to the winter phase of the Northeast Cetacean Project...and there couldn't have been a more appropriate way to do it. Our specially invited list of participants gathered at Royal Quays marina just before 9am ready to board the SarahJFK for a trip to the Farne Deeps. We'd invited all of the key organisations so there were representatives from Natural England, Marinelife, Northern Experience Wildlife Tours, Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Newcastle University and the Sea Fisheries Protection Office. Sadly, David Steel was stuck on the Farne Islands so couldn't join us, and the Chief Exec of the NWT had had a breakdown in his car (not him personally, his car had broken down).

As we set sail on a flat calm sea (so very, very different from any of the survey dates...) the draft report for the initial project was available for discussion, plans were formulated for the next stage of the project and we were able to enjoy some very relaxed birdwatching. Puffins were probably the most numerous bird seen during the day, Kittiwakes followed the boat for much of the trip, being their endearing selves, Gannets passed by, an occasional Fulmar glided along effortlessly and we managed to see two cetaceans; both were very brief - one Harbour Porpoise and one unidentified animal. As we returned to Royal Quays there was great deal to ponder; our report will draw some interesting conclusions, which will surely lead to more questions, more surveys, more seawatching, more pelagics.

Exciting New Dolphin Project off Northeast Coast

White-beaked Dolphin (c)Adrian Shephard/Marinelife

Marinelife and Natural England launch a new project to monitor White-Beaked Dolphins and other marine wildlife in the waters off the Northumberland coast with Northern Experience Wildlife Tours.

The White-Beaked Dolphin is a little studied species which occurs around the coast of the UK and is vulnerable to the effects of global warming. It lives in the cold waters of the northern Atlantic and its available habitat is thought to be shrinking. There is little detailed information on the status of the species around the UK and the charity Marinelife has been studying these dolphins as well as other marine mammal species and seabirds off the south west coast of the UK for a number of years.

Now thanks to funding from Natural England (£17,700) and the Northumberland and Tyneside Bird Club (£1000), a new project starts this month to discover more about White-Beaked Dolphins and other species in the rarely studied Farne Deeps off the Northumberland coast. The partnership includes Marinelife, Natural England, the Northumberland and Tyneside Bird Club, the University of Aberdeen, and Northern Experience Wildlife Tours - who will coordinate the winter surveys in the Farne Deeps and surrounding waters.

Dr. Tom Brereton, Research Director for Marinelife commented: “Our work along the coast of the south west has provided useful information on the distribution of White-Beaked Dolphins and their preferred habitats and this project will help complement and extend the existing work. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the area around the Farne Deeps will be important not only for White-Beaked Dolphins, but also for wintering seabirds”.

As with the project along the south west coast, the aim is to engage the local community in the conservation work and the value of safeguarding this species. It is believed the work can also raise the profile of Northumberland as an eco-tourism destination. A sightings website and postcard survey will be launched for local fishermen, recreational dive and angling boats, and yachtsmen to submit any sightings of White-beaked Dolphin and other cetacean species.

Dr. Catherine Scott, Marine Advisor for Natural England North East added: “Natural England is delighted to be supporting this exciting project. The survey will help us understand more about the importance of the sea off Northumberland for these little-known marine mammals, which are a priority species for wider marine protection. This is a great way for the North East to mark the start of the International Year of Biodiversity and it’s possible that this survey will discover that we have a nationally important stronghold for White-Beaked Dolphins off the coast of Northumberland. Through this new project, the North East is playing a vital role in identifying the areas which need protection to safeguard the future for this species around the UK.” Dr. Martin Kitching, lead surveyor from Northern Experience said: "We have been recording White-Beaked Dolphins and other wildlife along the coast of Northumberland for seven years, and now systematically investigating the off-shore waters during the winter months, and engaging with the local community, provides a real opportunity to define the North Sea off Northumberland as an important area for conservation efforts".

The project also involves setting up a photographic database of dolphins that will help experts to identify individual animals. In future, the ‘photo fits’ taken of dolphins in waters off South West and North East England will help find out how wide ranging the animals are and whether the two populations are linked.

White-Beaked Dolphins are a species limited in distribution to the colder waters of the Atlantic. The North Sea represents some of the coldest waters around the UK coastline and this new project will strengthen the scientific data about this and other species in this area and help support conservation efforts for this vulnerable species.

Scouring the seas

A major project for NEWT this winter is an offshore survey, primarily to search for White-beaked Dolphins, covering most of Northumberland's waters out to a distance of 20-35 miles (depending which sector we're surveying on any given day). As it's incredibly weather-dependent we're running the surveys at fairly short notice (we're usually confident enough to arrange the boat and the survey team 3-4 days in advance of sailing).

We've got a few spaces available for passengers on each survey, which are available at very low cost, so give us a call on 01670 827465 if you think you might enjoy a 7 hour pelagic into the unknown at some point in the next 6 weeks.

Best wishes for the New Year :-)

NEWT Whale and Dolphin Cruise

No, not a cruise in search of newts, whales and dolphins (how esoteric would that be?) but a Whale, Dolphin and Birdwatching Cruise from Seahouses at 10:00 tomorrow (Saturday 12th September). Organised by Northern Experience Wildlife Tours in association with Billy Shiel MBE, we will sail into the offshore waters of North Northumberland in search of cetaceans and seabirds.

Places are selling well, but there are still some remaining (£30/adult, £20/child) so call Martin on 01670 827465 to book your place.

With Minke Whale, White-beaked Dolphin and Harbour Porpoise all real possibilities it's one not to miss.

Weather will be glorious, winds will be light, and things are looking promising...

More WBDs

Another Andy Tait/Northern Experience video clip from 2005

White-beaked Dolphins

Mid-July is always a time when expectations for the forthcoming cetacean season are growing. With a pod of 20-30 dolphins off Sunderland and Tynemouth last Friday, which seem very likely to have been White-beaked, I thought I'd post a video clip from Andy Tait/Northern Experience, from a pelagic I organised in 2005, showing how close they sometimes get to our boat. We counted at least 15 animals on this trip, including one juvenile. Enjoy.