Crawsnest (Tay Dolphins)

We have been treated to a wonderful display from the dolphins this weekend.  With increasing numbers entering the river we have seen a myriad of behaviours from the various groups of dolphins.

On Saturday we had around 30 dolphins in total split into 3 groups.  On Sunday there were around 35 dolphins present.  The largest group (20) were seen at the mouth of the river with smaller groups (8)+(5)+(3) spreading out across the river to feed, rest and play.

One group of 8 came across to the Broughty Ferry side of the river and we were privy to a display of breaching, porpoising and had close views of the younger dolphins in the group.  After the acrobatics the group were seen to calm down and display resting behaviour, surfacing frequently to breathe.

Hopefully, after a slow start to the season, we are now beginning to see the dolphins returning regularly and in increasing numbers.  Watch this space…

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…

I’m afraid I have to report that the dolphins were on the wrong end of some behaviour which amounted to harrassment on Sunday afternoon…

While most boats were abiding by the dolphin-watching guidelines, there was one boat which consistently approached the dolphins with its engine running.  It was also observed to continually change direction heading back towards the dolphins every time they moved away.  The boat in question showed no regard for the fact that the dolphins were feeding in the area.  It was obvious that the 2 people on board were more interested in their own pleasure rather than the welfare of the animals.  Evidence of their engine running can be seen in the picture above, ie wake at the rear of the boat.

As you can also see from the pic above, the river was busy with all sorts of watercraft on Sunday, but the vast majority showed respect for the dolphins.  The MVS craft, Marigot and Badger were observing the guidelines, spending no more than 15 minutes with the dolphins.  Both boats were seen to cut their engines when in the dolphins vicinity and also to keep at a respectful distance.

There were also a number of jet-skis in the river, but they gave the dolphins a wide berth and did not cause any problems.  There were also a couple of high-powered speedboats which approached the dolphins at high speed, but they did cut their engines as they closed in.  The sail boats on the river were obviously more interested in their sailing than the dolphins as they were not seen to even approach the animals.

However, the behaviour shown by the occupants of the motor cruiser in question was unacceptable and pictorial evidence will be forwarded to the relevant authorities.  If anyone has any details on the boat or its occupants, please contact us…

A picture of the motor cruiser which was harrassing the dolphins in the River Tay.

This behaviour was witnessed by 3 researchers with the Crawsnest Wildlife Group.

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….?

As I noted earlier, there seemed to be a lack of food in the area causing the dolphins to split up and forage for fish rather than hunt in groups… This may be one of the reasons…

“FISHERMEN and dolphin experts are reporting that migratory salmon are arriving later than expected to rivers in the Scottish Highlands.

Charlie Phillips, of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said the fish were three to four weeks late.

He said dolphins have just begun their first real hunting for salmon off a popular wildlife watching spot”.

Source:  Fishupdate

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.