Crawsnest (Tay Dolphins)

Pro’s and Cons….

The Crawsnest has been in discussions over the past few weeks with a number of agencies on the ‘pro’s and cons’ of shore-based watching and boat-based watching.

The most commonly quoted reason for going dolphin watching on a boat is to get closer to the dolphins, ie. to get a better view…  Although, on the whole, this is probably true, it does not take into account the welfare of the wild dolphins.  It is a purely selfish human motive.

The dolphins that enter the River Tay do so to feed.  The area that the dolphins are most commonly seen in is the edge of the deeper ’shipping channel’.  This is also the channel that the fish use on their journey up the Tay.  It also is the area most used by boats that wish to get ‘closer to the dolphins’.

We contend that to take boats into this area while the dolphins are feeding is an abuse of the dolphins.  It shows a complete disregard for their welfare and could in fact cause distress and alarm to these wild animals whilst in pursuit of the most natural of objectives, food!

Many of the behaviours that are oohed and aahed at by dolphin watchers in boats are in fact aggressive behaviours that are warning the boats to keep their distance.  A prime example of this is ‘tailslapping’ which can be seen anytime a boat enters the vicinity of dolphins feeding.

Once dolphins have completed feeding, they often go into a period of ‘resting’.  This is noticable in that they surface more frequently while travelling much slower through the water.  It is at this time that they are at their most vulnerable as they do not make deep dives as they are for all purposes ‘fast asleep’.  This puts them in danger from boats as they could easily be struck and injured by propellers while in this resting mode.

It is after a period of rest that the dolphins are most likely to put on the acrobatic displays that they are famous for…  However, there is no need to go out in boats to witness this kind of behaviour.  It is at this time that the dolphins are likely to spread out across the river and may be clearly seen from many vantage points along the shore. 

We witnessed an amazing display just 20 metres from the shoreline at Broughty Ferry beach.  The animals were breaching, porpoising and spyhopping much to the delight of the 100 or so people present on the beach.  All that ‘entertainment’ and it didn’t cost a penny, but most importantly, there was no detrimental effect on the dolphins as they were in their natural environment and we were in ours…

The Crawsnest would ask that you spare a thought for the welfare of these wild animals and watch them from the shore.  Please do not take boats out and disturb them…  Dolphins are wild animals.. We would like to see them stay that way…

Many Thanks…  Crawsnest Team

As a timely codocil…  Dolphin ‘hit by boat propeller’

A bottlenose dolphin that has been swimming off the Kent coast since last year has sustained injuries apparently from a boat propeller.  Swimmers and boats have recently been ignoring advice to keep away from her.

Full story: BBC

Many thanks to Gavin, who sent in this picture of a bottlenose dolphin in Lunan Bay..  Taken from a kayak…  Look in ‘Farther afield’ for more…

The dolphins are now frequenting the river on a fairly regular basis and seem to be fishing in groups rather than solo foraging.  We expect to see an increase in numbers over the next few weeks as there is obviously more food in the river now.  Here are some sightings from the past few days.

Thursday: one dolphin very close to the shore at James Place.  Also saw about five more but over towards Tayport. Report from Caroline.

Saturday: Small group 3/4 headed west (upriver) also another group of 6/8 between the Pile and Horseshoe buoy.  Both groups were in the river for around 3 hours.  Obvious fishing behaviour was observed… Allan.

Sunday:  Again there were 2 groups present in the river.. One group of 4/5 and another of 8.  Both groups were observed in earnest fishing behaviour, but later were also seen to be breaching and generally resting.  The group of 8 left the river after an hour or so, but the group of 4/5 stayed until the turn of the tide (2 hours). Allan.

Just to let you know about a sighting made in the outer Moray Firth this week….  Researchers with the CRRU (Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit) and the environmental charity Earthwatch were surrounded by a group of around 300 common dolphins.

These dolphins are not native to our waters, but with the rising sea temperatures they may become a more common sight.

Anyway, keep your eyes open… 

We have just received another sighting from Niall who was on the river last evening.

“We were out last night on the river (between about 7 and 8pm) and there seemed to be a few more dolphins than on sunday. There was still a small group of 3 or 4 really close to Tayport Harbour and they seemed to be hunting in the shallows around the pile light. We also spotted another few further out - there seemed to be 2 together and then a couple of individual ones”.

Once again this seems to confirm the lack of food with the dolphins foraging individually….?

We have only two confirmed sightings over the past week…  One of a large group out at the mouth of the river spotted by George whilst out on his jet-ski.  They did not enter the river, but seemed to be traversing the coastal waters.

On Sunday a group of 3/4 small dolphins were seen between Tayport harbour and the Pile lighthouse.  A solo dolphin was seen at the same time travelling upstream from Tayport harbour.  Thanks to Niall for this sighting….

We received two seperate reports of a group of 3 dolphins in the area over the last couple of days…

“There was a group of dolphins 3-4? out around the Horseshoe buoy on Sunday afternoon before high tide.  Difficult to be specific but I’d say that they were young ones as they seemed quite small and relatively pale coloured. One of them may have been considerably smaller than the others, but again, we weren’t really close enough”. (Ken)

Tuesday 3rd July.  “Three bottlenose dolphin.Very close to Tayport harbour entrance.  One may have been juvenile”. (Bob)

Again, both groups (same?) were seen to be foraging for food before leaving the area.

 As I speculated before, we have had regular visits from the dolphins over the past week.  Sightings have been reported to us on 4 separate days.  There appears to be two distinct groups frequenting the River Tay at the moment.  A group of 5 and a group of 8.

When in the river the groups are splitting up to forage, but are rejoining each other before departure.  This suggests that the food source (fish) is quite sparse at the present time.  As the fish runs begin in the near future, we expect to see the groups of dolphins begin to co-operate and join together to encircle the fish as they enter the Tay.

I’d like to thank everyone who has reported their sightings over the past week, especially the Broughty castle museum staff and the lifeguards on Broughty Ferry beach.