Ferries, Fins, and First Sightings
Last month, the Mammal Society joined Wild Discovery and the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust aboard the CalMac ferry for three days of return crossings between Ullapool and Stornoway. Mammal Society Youth Ambassador Mel shares her experience surveying for marine mammals and chatting with passengers on the MV Loch Seaforth.
YA Mel and passengers on the lookout for marine mammals.
Day one 22/07/2025
The first day started off bright and early after a long day travelling on the train and driving through some very hard rain, (though even on that first evening I had an introduction to some of the amazing wildlife the highlands has to offer with a fleeting glimpse of a pine marten!). I spent the first day on the bottom deck for the 6 hour round boat trip and the wildlife continued to impress. We sighted many common dolphins, with their presence almost becoming a constant in the wake of the boat, as well as many minke whale sightings; their nickname of “slinky minkes” proved well deserved as they would often only be spotted once before disappearing. Having almost never seen cetaceans before, this was an incredible start and gave me a chance to brush up on my ID skills. We also had some exciting bird sightings, including a sooty shearwater.
Our team of 7 (and not forgetting Gus the dog!) from the Mammal Society, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) and Wild Discovery were amazing and worked seamlessly together. We positioned ourselves across the boat on the bottom deck, top deck and bridge and radioed to each other to report sightings so that the designated people could record them using the Whale Track app and so that we could call out animals to the public. These were our two main aims of the event: to survey marine mammals in the Minch and to engage with the public, both equally important aspects of conservation. The data we collected will be vital to help inform the state of cetacean populations and future conservation projects, especially since data is often lacking, and passenger engagement should help to encourage greater awareness for wildlife in the UK, particularly in the younger passengers.
After the ferry crossings and a chippie tea, we had an evening of talks from the Mammal Society, HWDT and Wild Discovery at the ferry terminal. We had a good turnout from the public and the talks covered wildlife watching tips, the state of our wild cetaceans and the threats they face and other mammals. I found the focus on otters particularly interesting, and I never knew that salt from seawater could damage the waterproof quality of their fur.
Mammal Society CEO Matt presenting on Otters.
Day two 23/07/2025
I spent the morning crossing on the top deck where there was a great view looking down on the water, and on the huge blooms of moon and lions mane jellyfish as we left Ullapool! The first crossing of the day proved to be another good one, with a few harbour porpoise sightings, minke whales and common dolphins. I particularly enjoyed being on the top deck when the dolphins came close to the boat as it gave an excellent view looking down on them – I even saw a dolphin calf! Even during the quiet periods of cetacean activity there were many birds to watch instead, like guillemots, puffins, manx shearwaters and the constant presence of gannets around the boat. The gannets were my favourite, with their distinctive shape and beautiful golden necks and black-tipped wings, as well as their incredible diving abilities.
In the afternoon crossing I had the amazing opportunity to go into the bridge of the boat, which apart from giving an excellent view for cetacean watching, was interesting in itself as I got to see the different equipment and controls on the boat. We were very lucky to have been allowed to watch from the bridge and it was an important position for our surveys as it allowed us to spot oncoming cetaceans to radio a heads up to the rest of the team on the boat, as well as giving the best view allowing us to survey and ID cetaceans from much further across the Minch away from the boat. My experience in there was also particularly special as I had terrific view of a pod of 6 risso’s dolphins that passed very close to the boat. These animals hunt squid so they are left with lots of scarring across their bodies, making them appear very white, which I thought looked particularly eerie under the water. They also have large, impressive dorsal fins which can be mistaken for orca.
A busy deck with lots of people keen to spot marine mammals!
Day three 24/07/2025
The first crossing of the day had excellent conditions, with very calm water and although it was unusual with fewer dolphins than before, there was plenty of activity to make up for it! We had a patch of frequent harbour porpoise sightings, as well as an incredible number of minke whale sightings – over 30! As I mentioned before, these animals have the nickname “slinky minkes” for their tendency to surface once and not reappear. However, perhaps due to the sheer number of individuals, we had many good sightings close to the boat, with the animals surfacing multiple times. This led to some excellent passenger engagement, with people crowding around the railings to get a view and even cheering and clapping! We also saw a distant humpback whale, identified by its bushy blow.
During the journey back I again went into the bridge, however this crossing was unusually quiet, with the least sightings out of the whole event. However, though there was few sightings, I was lucky to have a very special one where I saw a minke whale lunge feeding. This was an exciting behaviour to see and meant I got to see far more of the whale than usual. As the ferry pulled into Ullapool for the final time, the wildlife delivered once again, making up for the quiet crossing with the presence of two (!!) white tailed eagles. One individual was relentlessly mobbed by gulls, so that it grew tired and landed, allowing for Dan to capture an excellent photo of the eagle looking up at the gull in quite a disgruntled way!
Common Dolphins putting on a good show. PC: George Mee
I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to come along for this event – I went from having seen 1 cetacean species to 6 in the space of 3 days! My favourites were the dolphins: the Risso’s dolphins with their impressive markings and dorsal fins and common dolphins for their playful and active nature. I learnt so much in those 3 days: the importance of cetaceans for our oceans; the threats they face and what can be done about it; how to identify and survey these species; and the importance of this data for organisations like the HWDT (and how to contribute to this using Whale Track!). Finally I met the most amazing people in my time and I would like to say a big thank you to them all!