Dolphins

[baldyash]

Just seen a pair of Dolphins in the Blackwater off W. Mersea. Grandchildren were exceedingly impressed, as was I��

 

[MoodySabre]

They were probably harbour porpoises. I've seen those many times.
https://uk.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/harbour-porpoise/

 

[FulmarJeddo]

They were probably harbour porpoises. I've seen those many times.
https://uk.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/harbour-porpoise/

Saw one by Colne Bar last Tuesday evening.

 

[RivalRedwing]

Saw one last Monday off the entrance to the Ore..

 

[LONG_KEELER]

If you have about an hour to spare you could report the sighting as follows :-

https://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/sightingsform/

 

[RivalRedwing]

needs a smartphone app..

 

[Creek]

Saw them today (Tuesday), near Bradwell Looked like two or there harbour porpoises. I've seen then fairly often in the Blackwater in spring and autumn for last couple of years.

 

[Denek]

Saw what looked like a female with a calf off Languard point about 4 weeks ago
https://share.icloud.com/photos/04yv9Vrmw5iaYhSvIQt6IXBDA#England

 

[Ali-alshira]

We have also seen porpoises in the Blackwater and Colne quite often, but only once in the Crouch. We saw dolphins when crossing the North Sea just once (out of 30-odd crossings) somewhere off Lowestoft. Of course, on our still-current Scottish trip this year, we saw dolphins quite frequently. You often hear the porpoise breathing before you see it and then it appears just once or twice. We have, or had, a lot of photos showing a bit of sea were a porpoise was an instant ago - well done anyone who managed to snatch a photo!

 

[Ali-alshira]

Last year, in Middelfart in Denmark, we stumbled on a bizarre ceremony, where they commemorate the porpoise hunting which took place up to about a hundred years ago. Porpoises are still quite common there, but they used to be hunted for their oil. They were herded, using lots of small boats, into bays and then slaughtered. The ceremony consisted of a small boat like that used for the hunt being towed round the town with a band (guitar, horizontal double bass and flute ) in the boat, pulled by a tractor. There were lots of followers who stopped and sang songs every now and then. Most bizarrely, there was a disection of a porpoise outside the library "to educate the children"! It was very gory! They are, of course, protected in Denmark now, but the Danes are proud of the tradition.

 

[johnalison]

We have also seen porpoises in the Blackwater and Colne quite often, but only once in the Crouch. We saw dolphins when crossing the North Sea just once (out of 30-odd crossings) somewhere off Lowestoft. Of course, on our still-current Scottish trip this year, we saw dolphins quite frequently. You often hear the porpoise breathing before you see it and then it appears just once or twice. We have, or had, a lot of photos showing a bit of sea were a porpoise was an instant ago - well done anyone who managed to snatch a photo!

I have a number of photos of dolphins, and rather more of their vacant slots. I have only one that includes its beak. Taking a frame from a video would be cheating of course, but my current camera might help, since it can take a series of pictures from up to a second before the shutter is pressed.

 

[mcetap]

In the Oosterschelde area in the Netherlands there's a healthy and growing population of around 50 porpoises with several calves. We have heard/seen them many times but only very briefly. Mostly just one breath, a dorsal fin once or twice and then they're gone.

The individual porpoises have even been catalogued by their dorsal fins and other markings:

https://rugvin.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/catalogus-2015-2018.pdf

 

[FulmarJeddo]

I managed to get these shots in Sheerness harbour early last year. There was quite a lot of zoom and cropping, so not great pictures. The one I mentioned at Colne Bar last week I just got a snap of an empty patch of water

 

[LittleSister]

View attachment 79894View attachment 79895
I managed to get these shots in Sheerness harbour early last year. There was quite a lot of zoom and cropping, so not great pictures. The one I mentioned at Colne Bar last week I just got a snap of an empty patch of water

So, those photos finally prove the Loch (Sheer)Ness Monster does exist!

 

[scottie]

So, those photos finally prove the Lock (Sheer)Ness Monster does exist!

Porpoises in a canal ? Lock ?

 

[LittleSister]

Porpoises in a canal ? Lock ?

Damned autocorrect!

 

[scottie]

Damned autocorrect!

Don’t we all love it

 

[Gitane]

Was out near Bench Head yesterday afternoon. Saw a pair of porpoises several times.


We only had around 5 meters of water below us. I didn’t know porpoises come this far north and in such shallow water. It was great to see.

 

[Cantata]

Porpoises were a common sight 50-60 years ago along the estuary shore of Kent where I was brought up. They usually travelled in pairs, a couple of fins and a glimpse of back breaking the surface every 50 yards or so in a kind of rolling motion as they passed by on passage. Spotting them became a rare event, so it's great if they are gaining in numbers again.
But I'm positive I saw a dolphin a couple of years ago, off Whitstable. We were heading along the coast about a mile off, downwind in a lumpy sea, when I happen to glance behind and saw a fin very quickly catching us up. As it passed, I could very clearly see it was a dolphin, very close to the surface and going like the clappers. I'd swear it leered at me as it went by.

 

[guernseyman]

Saw one a week ago just inside St Peter Port harbour mouth.
The most fantastic sighting I had was about 4 years ago, drawing north of Les Sept Iles, there was one hell of a commotion in the water two hundred yards away. Impossible to count the dolphins but counting about 10 of them and scaling up there must have been at least 100 of them, and that was just the ones on the surface. Obviously feeding on fish, and the air above was filled with sea birds from the Sept Iles.