Hello and welcome all to National Whale and Dolphin Watch Dairies 2021! Let’s take a look at the weekend highlights.
July 24th-25th, 2021
There were 58 watches today; 17 in Scotland, 8 in Wales, 30 England, 1 in the Channel Islands, and 2 from Northern Ireland. We’ve had a great start to the watch with 113 sightings reported (and more are streaming in as we speak) of 8 different marine species. Check the map below to see some of the sightings which were verified by our Sightings Team:
- Atlantic white-sided dolphins
- Bottlenose dolphin
- Grey seal
- Harbour porpoise
- Humpback whale
- Minke whale
- Risso’s dolphin
- Common dolphin
We’ve had reports of six Atlantic white-sided dolphins in Catfirth, Shetland from Richard Shucksmith and Andy McKenzie. We also received sightings of a humpback whale spotted off Eshaness, Shetland by Mandie Fulbirg from the Shetland Cetacean Group. Annabelle and Chris Lowe from Newquay Sea Safaris and Fishing have also spotted large groups of common dolphins bowriding. Bottlenose dolphins were recorded both from land and at sea from Portland Bill and off Weymouth Bay by Catherine De Bertrand and her local volunteers.
To see the full list of all verified sightings recorded during National Whale and Dolphin Watch click here.
Please remember to keep submitting your sightings online via our sightings form or using the Sea Watcher App before you submit your recording forms to nwdw2021@gmail.com. Remember that records of species absence are just as important! So please send in your recording forms even if you don’t see any cetaceans.
You have until midnight on the 15th of August to return your recording forms or let us know you submitted all your data via the App, for a chance to win prizes from our amazing sponsors! Go to our competition page to find our more.
Don’t forget to join our on-site and online events during the NWDW week! For more information check this page and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the organizers at outreach@seawatchfoundation.org.uk.
I would love to hear from you about how you’re getting on with the National Whale and Dolphin Watch 2021. If you’d like to be featured in one of the diary entries, please get in touch at nwdw2021@gmail.com and tell us all about it! Please write “NWDW 2021 Diaries” in your email subject line.
Thank you to all our official partners who are greatly contributing to the success of this year’s National Whale and Dolphin Watch.
How you can support us:
- Make a donation
- Join our Membership Scheme
- Adopt a Dolphin
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See you tomorrow for Day 3!
Chiara Sea Watch Sightings Officer NWDW Lead Organizer NWDW Feature Blogger
