Crawsnest (Tay Dolphins)

I received a report from Caroline yesterday of a group of dolphins, 4/5 in number, close to the castle.  The group included one young dolphin and Caroline was able to get some photos for identification.

It would seem that the dolphins are visiting more frequently now and we hope to have regular sightings updates.

Remember…  If you would like to report a sighting to us, just fill in the sightings form.  Or if you would like to become part of our sightings network, then please do contact us and we can have a chat about how you can help…

With it being midsummer and sunrise around 4:30am, we went out yesterday to catch the early tide.  We were rewarded upon our arrival with the sight of 5 dolphins spread out across the river foraging for food. We watched them for around an hour before they all came together near Tentsmuir beach and headed for the mouth of the estuary.

There must have been more spread around as when they all joined up we could see that there were in fact 8 dolphins in the group.  We were treated to an active display of breaching and tailslapping as they left the area.  All in all, it was worth getting up early for….

I received some photos from Ali in Aberdeen of some dolphins that were frequenting the harbour.  He noted the deformity of the spine present in one of the dolphins.

This deformity is called kyphoscoliosis and has been observed in a number of bottlenose dolphins, including recently in the Moray Firth, Scotland, however its cause is not known. It is most likely a genital defect but stress, bacterial infection and even high levels of organochlorines have been suggested as potential causes in other species.

This group of dolphins have been seen around the east coast of Scotland, from the Moray Firth to the River Tay.  I’d like to ask all our ’sighters’ to keep an eye open for this dolphin as information on its survival and development are important to the understanding of the potential problems faced by the whole population.

The next National Whale and Dolphin Watch will take place between 23rd June and 1st July 2007. Members of the public are once again be invited to take part, either by helping trained observers or by sending in sightings. This is an opportunity for everyone to become involved in the research which goes into understanding these magnificent creatures. The event will be the sixth consecutive annual watch.

During last year’s watch, over 600 sightings were made from around the British coastline of eight different species including killer whales, minke whales and white-beaked dolphins.

For more information on how you can get involved, please visit the Sea watch Foundation

Well… It’s been rather a busy week one way and another…

First we had dolphins present for the majority of last week although they again failed to appear this past weekend.  We had various reports from Ken, Caroline and others about the early morning appearances of 5 dolphins around the Craig buoy area.  Ken kindly passed on the pic (above).

On Sunday we had the Sea Shore festival and the dolphins were represented, one way or another, in most of the exhibits on view…  The Wildlife Rangers tent had a great exhibit (see pic below) and Ann had another board, similar to the one we erected in the castle, on show at the BFEP stall.  The Shanwell Wildlife Trust were also present along with the RNLI and the Coastguard.

We spoke to a number of visitors to the castle about the dolphins and generated some interest in the project.  Many went away with reporting sheets and hopefully we will receive sightings info from them in the days to come…

On the wildlife side, we were once again visited by a grey heron….

The message seems to be getting through…  The best place to see the dolphins, is from the shore… and in particular, from Broughty Castle…  See you there…

I’d just like to give you the ‘heads-up’ on the sea shore festival that is taking place this coming Sunday at Castle Green, Broughty Ferry.  We will have a small display on the dolphins in the wildlife rangers tent.  We will also be available to answer any questions you might have on the dolphins, the Crawsnest monitoring project, or how you can become involved in helping to protect the dolphins.

The festival begins around 12.00 noon and we will be in the castle from 12.30 onwards…  Hope to see you there….

During these quiet days, I’ve taken the opportunity to put together an interpretation board featuring the dolphins and information about the Tay dolphins project.  With the kind permission of Dundee City council we have been able to erect the board in the observation tower at Broughty Castle.

The board features pictures of dolphins taken by Charlie Philips and information on the project and how members of the public can become involved in protecting the dolphins in the area.  It also features info on how to report sightings to us to help with our collection of data.

I have also been asked to supply the local police with copies of the cetacean-watching guidelines so they can distribute them to local watercraft users as part of their patrol duties in the area.  The protection of the dolphins is becoming a part of everday life in the area…  Something we are proud to be a part of…

Hi everyone… No sign of any dolphins this week…  but we may have an answer as to why…

A dredger has been out in the river this week making sure that the ’shipping’ channel is clear for the numerous ships that come into the Tay.  The ’shipping’ channel just happens to be the same channel that the dolphins feed at the edge of.  With the noise of the dredger continuously banging away there, I would guess that the dolphins have been discouraged from entering the Tay to feed…

Most of the dredging has been completed now so with a bit of luck we’ll see the dolphins return soon…

On another subject, a little light relief came my way this afternoon as I was walking my dogs…  I spotted a deer and her calf hiding in the brush in the middle of the field next to my house.  The field is surrounded by roads and it was obvious that they were hiding there until all fell quiet and dark…  I managed to get a couple of pics, but only one showed both animals..

More later….