Jun 1, 2022
By: Katie Baker
It has been another beautiful day here in John O’Groats! Hannah, Anne and I (from the Orca Watch team) hopped on the first ferry in the hopes of seeing some fins. No luck but a lovely round trip to Orkney and we got some more filming done with Antonia and Lauren too.
George and I then drove up to Dunnet Head to catch up with our observers there, Alec and Bill. Nothing was sighted but we had some great fun identifying all the different birds and George managed to snap photos of a few. On the way back to John O’Groats we stopped by Windhaven Campsite and Cafe (10% off at the cafe with our OW wristbands!) to check out the seals that everyone has been talking about. We also picked up some more Orca bird feeders that are available to buy from our Base in John O’Groats!
Our Regional Coordinator for north-east Scotland, Clare Boardman, joined Highlife Highland ranger, Paul Castle, on a timed sea watch at Sandside Head this morning. Clare, Paul and the dozen guests were thrilled to see some amazing views and even some Risso’s!
Weather
Another beautiful day in John O’Groats and it’s making our daily watches and ferry trips even more of a treat. The sea was very calm throughout the morning and then getting ever so slightly rougher as the afternoon came around. More excellent cetacean spotting conditions but we didn’t have much luck today..
Key Sightings Update
Nothing to report on from last night.
Wednesday 1st June
We started our day at around 9:15 with a single porpoise seen from Duncansby Head through a scope. There were reports of possible killer whales sighted at Portskerra but they were then confirmed to actually be a pod of Risso’s at 09:48. Orca were reported in Stromness at 10:04 with a Minke seen in Duncansby Head at approximately the same time. Orca were then confirmed to be seen milling at Graemsay and Ness Battery with no direction. Porpoises continued to be seen from Duncansby Head throughout the day. At midday we had reports of two bull orca heading past Warbeth turning north. They were then spotted from Yesnaby still making their way northwards and were last seen at 14:10 from the Broch of Borwick (heading north-west).
Despite the perfect conditions we haven’t had many sightings today at Dunnet Head. We had hoped the orca in Orkney would meander their way down towards us on the mainland and so many decided to board the evening ferry, including myself. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful – seeing no cetaceans off the ferry today with just a few seals here and there.
So not too much to report on today but we did manage to catch up with the Sea Watch Ambassador, Robin Petch who is currently delivering wildlife talks as Whale and Dolphin Man on a cruise returning from Norway. We also caught up with Karen in Shetland to discuss the recent orca sightings there. Watch today’s round-up on our YouTube channel.
