Shorewatch News - whales · Shorewatch News A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free Supported by: A Issue 23 - Autumn 2016 ... Shorewatch is not simply a data collection

Shorewatch News

A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free

Supported by:

A

Issue 23 - Autumn 2016

Contents

Watch out for whales and dolphins from your local shore

©MonicaCarrie

A Golden Autumn - Update from the last few monthsBWW September Review Shorewatch GoodbyeThe Wonder WhaleWebinar summary - Dr Filipa Samarra talks OrcaSave the datePick of the pics

We couldn’t do itwithout your help

t: 01343 820 339e: [email protected]/shorewatch A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free

Whales and dolphins are amazing: they pass on knowledge from one generation to the next, they play games just for fun, they have strong social bonds and they

look after ill family members.But sadly, they still face so many

threats and need our help to protect them against hunting,

captivity, injury in nets, pollution, the dangers of boat traffic.

WDC want to achieve 5 things for whales and dolphins

STOP THE KILLING OFWHALES AND DOLPHINSWe work internationally to stopthe killing of thousands of whales and dolphins every year despite a ban on commercial whaling

FREE WHALES AND DOLPHINS FROM A LIFE IN TANKS We want an end to captivity and we work to end captive shows around the globe

PROTECT THE HOMES OFWHALES AND DOLPHINSWe work with governmentsand provide the scientificevidence for creatingprotected areas wherewhales and dolphins live

PREVENT DEATHS IN NETSWe work with communitiesand industries to preventwhales and dolphins dying in nets or fishing gear

PROMOTE THE RIGHTS OFWHALES AND DOLPHINSWe believe whales anddolphins have the rights tolive as nature intended – notas humans decide

©CharliePhilips/WDC

©LucyMolleson/WDC


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3. 4. 5.

Shorewatch Update


Did you know? Only minke whales in the northern hemisphere have white bands on their pectoral fins.

A Golden Shorewatch Autumn

Together Shorewatch volunteers have conducted 1843 watches from August – November and we have had multiple sightings of humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, porpoises, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and a Northern bottlenose whale. It has been an exciting season; I have greatly enjoyed catching up with you all and I have loved sharing and soaking in all your enthusiasm for Shorewatch, whales and dolphins and the marine environment. So thank you for making this year another great one.As the nights draw in and the temperature drops, Shorewatching can become difficult, but continuing to watch in the winter is still very important and we can always be rewarded by fantastic sightings. Furthermore if we maintain a consistent amount of watching during the winter we can look at trends in cetacean movements between seasons.I will keep up my site visits and offer hot drinks to keep the hardy Shorewatchers warm! Katie.

This month Graham Kidd headed to his local Shorewatch site atCullen, to conduct his 1500th Shorewatch. Graham said he has enjoyed every minute of watching out from Cullen and says “roll on watch 2000”.

Ian Williams and Liz Brooker have also conducted a tremendous amount of Shorewatches in their time with WDC.Ian of Macduff has so far entered 3770 watches and Liz Brooker of North Kessock has carried out 2870 watches.

Congratulations to you all and thank you for an amazing effort!

A season of celebrationWe had a first for Shorewatch this September, with our first Shorewatch wedding! Adele, who has been watching the Moray Firth dolphins all her life, got married and knew that her wedding day would not be complete without a Shorewatch. So, in her wedding dress and accompanied by fellow Shorewatch volunteers, she took to the Burghead watch site with binoculars in hand. Unfortunately, there were no sightings but a great deal of enthusiasm and some lovely pictures. It was a very special day and a great reminder that Shorewatch is not simply a data collection project but also brings people together to share their love for the marine environment.

©MrBews/WDC

©KatieDyke/WDC

Shorewatch Science


t: 01343 820 339e: [email protected]/shorewatch

Did you know? The Irrawaddy dolphin is one of the only dolphins that regularly spits water and they even use this to assist in feeding.

Big Watch Weekend Review - September 2016

Dunnet Head

ShorewatchersColin

2 watches0 sightings

Species: N/A

NairnShorewatchers

Paul2 watches

0 sightingsSpecies: N/A

St John’s PointShorewatchers

Colin19 watches7 sightings

Species: harbour porpoiseTiumpan

HeadShorewatchers

Roger, Steve, Harris and Charlie10 watches (6 at A, 4 at B)

1 casual sightingSpecies: Risso’s dolphin

(casual)

RodelShorewatchers

Pippa, Anne, Gordon10 watches3 sightings

Species: harbour porpoise, common dolphin

Chanonry Point

ShorewatchersMercedes4 watches0 sightings

Species: N/A

CromartyShorewatchers

Phil, Karen9 watches3 sightings

Species: bottlenose dolphin

MacduffShorewatchers

Ian6 watches0 sightings

Species: N/A

Spey Bay

ShorewatchersBea, Karen, Naomi, Simon, Sarah



Fort George

ShorewatchersAndy


Species: N/A

Rhue Lighthouse

ShorewatchersStephen


Species: N/A

CullenShorewatchers

Graham, Stacey, Dave, Katie29 watches3 sightings

Species: bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise

Stoer Lighthouse

ShorewatchersDavid

5 watches1 sighting

Species: common dolphin

BurgheadShorewatchers

Adele, Ian, Helen, Steve8 watches (5 at A, 3 at B)

1 sightingSpecies: bottlenose dolphin

Torry Battery

ShorewatchersWalter, Monika

29 watches1 sighting


What your data

Shorewatch Science



Did you know? Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia have been seen carrying sponges on their jaws which they use to protect them whilst they forage for food on the sea floor. This is known as ‘sponging’.

We did 172 watches over the weekend!31 volunteers got involved29 Sightings

4 species of cetacean

Between the 9th and 11th September, you all once again participated in our bi-annual Big Watch Weekend. Our plans to beat last June’s fantastic total of 279 watches were quickly scuppered by the weather... high winds and rain on the West coast and Outer Hebrides impacted on our total number of watches for the weekend, but you still all managed a great number of watches with a total of 172. Well done to all those involved!

The watching began early at Macduff, Torry Battery, St. John’s Point and Cullen; with the first sighting of 15 harbour porpoises recorded from St. John’s Point, followed by bottlenose dolphins and porpoises at Cullen and regular sightings of bottlenose dolphins from Spey Bay. As the weekend went on we recorded porpoise, Risso’s dolphins and common dolphins from Tiumpan, Rodel, Stoer and our new site at Scalpay. Despite regular sightings of bottlenose dolphins at Torry Battery, our regular watchers Walter and Monika had a quiet weekend at Torry with no fins recorded until the last watch on Sunday, when over 20 bottlenose dolphins showed up in the harbour to feed.

Weekend Winners!

Colin Graham for the most watches, with 21 watches from St. Johns Point and Dunnet Head.

Colin also did the earliest watch of the weekend, at 06:23 at St. Johns Point.

Cullen for the most watches at a site, with 29 watches (well done also to Torry Battery, who finished with 28 watches!)

©KatieDyke/WDC

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Shorewatch News


It’s that time of year again and we have to say good bye to our Residential Volunteers. It has been great getting to know Harris and Charlie and they have both been brilliant additions to the team. Thank you for yourcommitment and hard work lads! We will miss you and wish you all the best on your next adventure.Dont forget to come and say hello.

Charlie says goodbyeUnfortunately my time as a residential volunteer with WDC is coming to a close, after a truly memorable nine months. It’s been an absolute pleasure getting to meet you all, and visiting seventeen of our fantastic Shorewatch sites around Scotland. Alongside witnessing our Moray Firth Bottlenose dolphins (which still give me a thrill despite my countless sightings!), I saw Orca on my incredible trip up to the north coast, with Humpback whales, Minke whales, Common dolphin, Harbour porpoise and Risso’s dolphin as well. Thank you to all of you for your generosity during my site visits, it is very much appreciated! I hope to see you all again at some point – I’m sure I will be back to do a Shorewatch or two in the future!I hope you all continue getting out there and doing some watches - your dedication has been inspiring to me!Many thanks, and see you soon!

Shorewatch Goodbyes

Harris says goodbye

The end of my time at WDC is only weeks away now. Afterwards I hope to get a new conservation placement or perhaps a job. One place I’ve had my eye on is the North Ronaldsay bird observatory, where my bird ID skills would really serve me well.It’s the end of an era for me, that started in February and will finish at the end of October. My highlights have been meeting a great team of Shorewatchers, getting to travel to amazing places; seeing great cetaceans; working in a shop for the first time and being in a position to guide and educate the masses that come through our doors.I felt like a part of the team, and as a Shorewatch volunteer I technically always will be.All the best, Harris

©KatieDyke/WDC

©KatieDyke

©WDC©KatieDyke/WDC

©CherylleMDawe/WDC

©LucyMolleson/WDC

Shorewatch News


Did you know? Fin whales produce about 970 litres of urine every day! That’s enough to fill up more than three bath tubs. Nice little thought next time you’r swimming in the sea!

Those of you who are connected to Shorewatch through social media will be fully aware of the fantastic humpback whale sightings that our volunteers have been recording around Scotland this year. The beach at Newburgh has been the envy of many on the east coast, with two humpbacks regularly sighted off the beach from late July right through to October, and some of us having been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the famous ‘Tarquin’ just tens of metres from the beach.

This particular individual may in fact be a new whale in this area, with no matches to other IDs of hump-back whales recorded in these waters since 2001, according to CRRU’s (Cetacean Research and Rescue Unit) records. There were further sightings from Aberdeen Beach, and from the Moray Firth at Cullen, Burghead and Cromarty. The Minch also had high sighting numbers, with our Shorewatchers at Tiumpan Head recording numerous (you could suggest common) sightings across the year. The whales have even been creating interest within the media, with articles from BBC News, the Courier, the Evening Express and the Press and Journal. The sighting in Cromarty has even given fresh impetus to the calls to stop plans for ship-to-ship oil transfers at the mouth of the Cromarty Firth.

The frequency of these sightings has surprised many, with a large increase in sightings from just a few years ago. Do these numbers suggest a permanent increase in humpback whale numbers in ourwaters? Traditionally, humpback whales will pass by Scotland, travelling between Iceland and their breeding grounds off Africa, and are perhaps only recorded once or twice per year. It has been sug-gested that the whales being sighted are males that, instead of continuing on their migration, are staying in these waters to feed. An abundance of shoaling fish such as sprats and herring in the areas that these whales are being sighted may influence this. Shoaling fish could also create a range shift for the hump-backs to more coastal waters, if they mass inshore rather than in the deeper offshore waters, which would prompt an increase in our sightings. Continued on next page.

The wonder whale | Charlie Mcnish

©WalterInnes

Shorewatch News



Did you know? Humpback whales can talk to each other across a distance of more than 2,500 km from the waters of Puerto Rico to the shores of Newfoundland

Locally known as Tarquin, the whale has been seen for over 3 months

Recent studies have certainly confirmed that there has been an increase in humpback whale numbers in Scottish waters, and the longevity of these high numbers may depend on the continued substantial amounts of shoaling fish. It has also been suggested that these increasing numbers reflect a more healthy population of humpback whales following the whaling ban in UK waters. However, similar studies undertaken in Irish waters, using data from a project similar to Shorewatch, detailed an increase in sightings per unit effort over their study period, but not a ‘statistically significant’ one.

Furthermore, these high numbers of humpback whales come at a time that their presence in Scottish waters may be endangering them. WDC recently provided our Shorewatch data for a paper detailing the emerging threat of entanglement, which has suggested that Scottish inshore waters could not support a population of humpback whales, due to the areas high mortality rate for the species. This is mainly as a result of ‘ghost-fishing’, when fishing nets are dumped or lost at sea and are subsequently involved in cetacean entanglements.

It may also be prudent to be cautious about celebrating an increase in humpback whale numbers without solid evidence and analysis – these populations could be taken off the endangered species list, as has recently happened with nine of the fourteen popula-tions of humpback whales in US waters. Whether these whales will be staying with us permanently or temporarily only time will tell, but they have been a delight to witness over the last few months – may it continue!

©WalterInnes ©WalterInnes

Shorewatch News


Did you know? Antarctica holds approximately half of the world’s orca population.

Dr Filipa Samarra discusses her research on Orca in Iceland

A Webinar is an online talk and is a great way for us as a team to all be a part of the same event,.

Viewing the Webinar is simple and the Shorewatch team are on hand to help if you need it.

If you do not have an internet connection you can use a landline to call into the discussion.

All previous Webinars can be found on the Shorewatch Database in the forum.

Talking points

• Dr. Filipa Samarra is the Lead Investigator of the Icelandic Orca Project. Filipa has spent years studying killer whales conducting acoustic surveying of the Icelandic population and is excited about using citizen science to help conservation.• Acoustic surveying has showed that unique low frequency calls are used by Orca to herd shoaling herring• Research in Iceland noted that Orca used “carousel feeding” only during the summer months, showing that the Orca has adapted hunting behaviour as a result of season change and herring numbers.• Carousel feeding is a feeding technique in which Orca work together to bring shoal-ing herring to the surface.• One aim of Filipa’s work with Icelandic Orca project is to assess whether orcas move with herring as they migrate.• Herring have spawning, feeding and over wintering areas around Iceland, with the latter changing annually.• Only 45% of Orca from the Southern areas travelled to the west coast over-wintering area, while the remaining travelled to other areas such as Shetland, in search of other food species.• This proved that some groups were moving away from Icelandic waters for periods of the year, as shown by the appearance of Orcas in the Moray Firth this year.• Filipa’s research confirms that Orca travelling around Iceland were only feeding on herring. However, those that had travelled down to Scotland ate a mixed diet of her-ring and other food types (seals/seabirds).• Citizen Science projects and social media trends have helped prove the movements of certain Orca groups.• There is still a lot unknown about them, such as population size, structure, dynam-ics and status. Much more data is needed to study their long-term stability, which is important to evidence their ability to cope with ecosystem changes.

©PippaLow

September 28th we were joined by Dr Filipa Samarra from the Icelandic Orca Project for a webinar discussing her work with orcas.

©LucyMolleson/WDC

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Shorewatch Calander



Did you know? Approximately 3% of narwhal females have a tusk and there has been one documented case of a female with two tusks. y 3% of narwhal females have a tusk and there has been one documented case of a female with two tusks.

Save the DateDespite the change in weather there is still plenty to do to stay active with Shorewatch

2017February the Shorewatch team will be going to Parliament as part Environment LINK week - keep an eye out for updates.25th March the Shorewatch team will be holding a Shorewatch training in Sanday, Orkney.We will be offering Event Training workshops to volunteers who are keen to provide WDC presence at community events during 2017

2016October 31st 2-4pm Thank you Shorewatchers afternoon tea at the dolphin centre.

Dont miss our Next Webinar;November 15th 7-8pmLauren Harney Mills of HWDT is logging on to discuss her work on Pilot whales and the importance of citizen science.Email [email protected] reserve your spot on the talk.

It’s that time of year again Christmas social 12-3pm, Scottish Dolphin CentreThe SpeySide craft Brewery are offering us a taster session, there will be mulled apple juice, mince pies and bake potatoes too.Remember don’t drink and drive! If you intend to drink lift share with a non-drinker.


©LucyMolleson/WDC

Pick of the pics


Don’t silence the Northern Right whale, a Safe home is a quiet home

©NationalGeographic

Documents

Shorewatch News - whales · Shorewatch News A world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free Supported by: A Issue 23 - Autumn 2016 ... Shorewatch is not simply a data collection