Humpback Whales

I was driving passed Mail beach looking out to sea and thinking it would be a good time to see some whales as it was so calm. Passing the first lay-by i noticed a surge coming towards the coast and immediately thought, Whale. I just caught a glimpse as i passed the lay-by- a  Humpback.

I headed straight home to collect my telephoto lens then headed back to the lay-by in the rain. By now a couple of cars had pulled up and , looking at not just one, but three Humpback whales a family party, along with two Risso's dolphin

One of the Humpback's seem to be working an area close to Cunningsburgh while a pair, a mother and calf headed towards us.

As they came closer they were spouting air regularly as they moved faster herding fish into position. They then started to blow bubbles ( Bubble netting) to confuse the fish while circling around them

and then diving coming up underneath them with an open mouth taking in a large number of fish. There has been a lot of herring recently, but they also feed on Mackerel & Sandeels

They did this a couple of times with the two Risso's dolphin close by taking advantage of the concentration of fish.

They slowly moved south towards Sandwick so i made a dash for the top lay-by where only two cars were parked. This area quickly filled up with about 30 people watching this great show.

Again they circled blowing bubbles then fed and towards the end showed their dorsal fins several times before heading further out and south.

Big Bubbles

From photos taken in November last year it appears that these two are the same animals that appeared at Levenwick so hopefully it may become an annual appearance. Shetland is one of three places, the others are the northern Irish sea and western Scotland

They tend to grow 11- 15 m in length, with the pectoral flippers distinctive, being extremely long and mostly white on both sides.

The dorsal fin, located two thirds along the back and is usually short and stubby.

The overall colour of the Humpback is grey, its head, is  broad and covered in fleshy tubercules.

When it dives the body arches steeply prior to a deep dive, exposing the rough edged tail- stock, the fluke is a good identification point

the blow is distinctive, a mushroom shape

Humpback's have become regulars in Shetland waters since the 1990's and tend to occur later in the year late October - January.

I read an interesting story in National Geographic that Humpbacks interfere with Orca killings and move in to protect other species

Humpbacks

You cannot get better than the recent 1st in Shetland a Pied Billed Grebe, this was followed a few days later by a superb Aurora then the day after a couple of Humpback whales in nearby Levenwick bay

This mother and calf had been seen on the previous afternoon and early in the morning reports came in that they had come back into the bay, just 10 mins away.

Arriving in the layby overlooking the bay just two cars parked with telephoto lenses stuck out. A few mins later more cars pulled in to view the Whales which now moved towards us from the Clumliewick side.

They started coming closer to the shore but were disturbed by a fishing boat which seem to cut off their movement, perhaps they were unaware on the boat. The boat moved down the bay while the whales moved the other way.

Still giving good views they stayed in the bay for around 2 hours before moving off south and we were unable to relocate them in a strengthening wind.

This was a whale species I have always wanted to see and with several sighting last year in the north isles it was only a matter of time until we caught up with them.

Humpbacks usually travel singly or in a small family group, like these two. They feed on shoaling fish such as Sandeel , Herring or mackerel as well as Krill or plankton

Sightings in British waters  have increased since the early 1980's although still rarely seen. There seem to be three main areas for sightings including Shetland, south - eastern Scotland and between southern Ireland and south Wales

Humpback Whales have been seen on a regular basis in Shetland since the 1990's 

These two Whales then moved up the coast to Gulberwick where they stayed for three days. I managed brief views of the whales between bouts of heavy rain.

                                                                   Later both were seen up in Yell

Its been a good 3 years since we moved to Shetland and have had views of Humpback, Killer, Minke, Pilot whales, White stripped, Common, Risso and possibly White sided Dolphin as well as many Neesicks(Porpoise).

Mammals & more

Otters are a firm favourite of mine and we are very fortunate in Shetland to have the largest population in Europe

Shetlanders are just as keen to see otters as visitors and to help protect them from mad motorist they have put up signs in key places where otters may be run down.

The highest density of otters can be found in the North and west mainland and on the islands, however with a bit of patience you can also see them in the south mainland. 

 These otter prints were photographed down at St Ninian's isle but could well have been taken on a number of beaches. There are more dogs it seems on the beaches in the south and Otters and Dogs don't mix so they are a bit more wary

There seem to be a good number of Mountain Hares about, these can be seen anywhere in the North & West mainland down to Sandwick area. 

Moorland is the preferred habitat and in sunny weather they can easily be seen in winter sitting out taking in the rays. It helps that they have a white coat during winter so they normally stand out again the dark heath clad hills

Seems strange seeing a hedgehog at this time of year but we met one the other night crossing the road at Tingwall, no doubt encouraged out with this very unseasonable warm weather, it was 11 degrees that night.

We never got to see them but it was good to hear that possibly 4/6 Humpback Whales had spent around 3 weeks off the coast of Yell. I met Hugh Harrop who said it was a good 3 mile walk out over boggy ground and thick heather to get to the point to get close enough for photos.

We would have gone up last weekend but it was wet and wind, a shame but we hope they may come back next year.

As for the birds, last Thursday i saw three Guillemot in Scalloway harbour which i thought was early and Helen Moncrief (RSPB) noted on Monday a number had also come back to the cliffs, the earliest date yet.

On Monday a quick tour of Sandwick revealed that the Killdeer was in the usual field and never moved for 45 mins. 

Also:

Lapwing (38) Turnstone (88) Redshank (46) Snipe (4) Ringed Plover (16) Golden Plover (78) Curlew (8) Purple sandpiper (6) Barnacle Goose, Greylag (136) Redwing (6) Twite (12) Starling (50+) Sparrow (50+) Blackbird (8) Red Throated Diver (3 Sanick) Fulmar, GtBB, Herring Gull, Rock Dove (32), Merlin, Raven (6) Hoddie (8) Shag (8) LT Duck (2) Mallard (8) Teal (4) Common Gull (5)

see www.amazingshetland.co.uk for canvas prints

Also i have a new facebook group, come and join Shetland Aurora Hunter