Field Notes

This page describes highlights of some of the cetacean encounters experienced during the 2009 field season

Please also visit our field note archives from 2003 to 2008 by clicking on the links below:

3 May 2009: Chanonry Point, Moray Firth, Scotland

17:49 GMT

"Chanonry Point is probably the best place in the UK for getting regular close views of dolphins. The spit extends out into the narrow channel of the inner Moray Firth, creating strong tidal rips where salmon congregate. Never slow to take advantage of an easy meal, the local bottlenose dolphin community is well aware of this excellent feeding potential and congregate off the point an hour or two prior to high tide when the tidal rips are strongest. Today, there are round six dolphins feeding off the point, including a mother and calf pair and several other adults. The mother-calf pair are tightly associated and surface repeatedly around 10 m off the point where the adult is enjoying considerable success at catching fish. Almost every time she surfaces, her mouth is open revealing the flesh of some unlucky salmon caught between the rows of her conical teeth. Further out, the adult dolphins are cooperating to herd fish in more open water, diving repeatedly to reveal their tail stocks and then herding fish in towards each other. Occasionally this technique results in frenzied fish chases, the water being churned up into frothy white by the dolphins manoeuvring just below the surface. The dolphins are not as aerially active today as I have seen them on other occasions in the past, but we are still treated to some of the characteristic high bottlenose leaps, with animals powering themselves vertically from the water and re-entering head first in a clean arc. The 15 or so people bravely standing at the point in the chilly wind cheer in response to every leap".

16 March 2009: Walvis Bay, Namibia

13:28 GMT

"We have been told a group of around 20 dolphins has stranded alive in the lagoon, and as we finally drive around a bend in the road and see them I am shocked at the scene ahead. Out in the middle of the lagoon are a scattered pod of large dolphins, some on their sides thrashing the shallow water with their tails and others lying quietly on their bellies. People have already arrived and most of the animals are accompanied by at least one human carer.

As we park the car and move out over the sand towards the dolphins, it becomes clear that this will be no easy mission. The sand quickly changes into a thick slimy mud more than knee-deep in places - not the sort of habitat you want to carry cameras and other equipment! Furthermore, the dolphins are quickly identifiable as bottlenose dolphins - one of the largest dolphin species and with adults measuring around 3.5 m and potentially weighing up to 500 kg! As we near the animals I can hear a multitude of high-pitched whistles - the piercing tonal cries of distressed dolphins which are highly audible in the air all around. The regular sharp exhalations of the dolphins also breaks the silence. It looks like we will be here for some time, since the high tide is not due for another 6 hr and even at its highest the water depth here is only a metre or so. I concentrate firstly on collecting some data - dolphins off Namibia are rather poorly studied but the Namibian Dolphin Project established a photo-identification catalogue of identifiable bottlenose dolphins last year and they are keen to know which individuals are present here. I wade carefully through the mud around the stranded animals and try to obtain a clear photograph of the left and right sides of the dorsal fins. The nicks, notches and scars on the fins will allow us to match the dolphins to the animals in the existing catalogue. It's no easy task...time and time again the camera gets misted by the exhalations of the dolphins blown towards me on the wind, and several times I have to move quickly out of the way of thrashing tails. The mud itself makes manoeuvring around the animals very difficult, and its a slow and tedious process to document all 19 individuals.

Moving around the dolphins I notice that most of the whistling is actually coming from one group of animals - a pair of large adults and three small calves including one very young animal. The calves whistle loudly and continuously, slapping their tailstocks vigorously and clearly in distress. No-one knows which adults the calves belong with, since they were stranded separately and moved to the nearest adults. Quite possibly one of the adults further up the lagoon which never stops thrashing throughout the stranding was the mother of one of them. Unfortunately, the youngest calf suddenly stopped breathing after an hour or two, and could not be saved.

Once I finish collecting the photo-identification data, I go and sit with a dolphin and do my best to keep it's skin moist and stop it from burning in the wind and sun. We also dig out the mud from under their bellies and flippers to make them more comfortable. Otherwise, it is a waiting game for the tide. The initial enthusiasm of the human volunteers begins to wane after a few hours, as people begin to get cold and the water shows no signs of rising. Some of the dolphins are suspiciously quiet, and its hard to imagine what kind of strain they must be under in this unfamiliar predicament. Some thoughtful people wade through the mud to distribute flasks of coffee and baskets of sandwiches which is a definite moment of relief for everyone sitting in the water!"

Several hours later the tide finally rose sufficiently for the dolphins to be manoeuvred into slightly deeper water. Once their bellies were clear of the mud the dolphins moved themselves, propelling themselves through the shallow water with powerful thrusts of their tails and re-grouping into their preferred social units. Most of the animals found their way out of the lagoon and were not seen again during the subsequent days. One adult re-stranded overnight and had to be taken by vehicle to a suitable release beach in Walvis Bay the next day where it swam away strongly.

5 March 2009: Walvis Bay, Namibia, research boat

11:33 GMT

"There are dolphins galore here today...almost everywhere we look small pods of Heaviside's dolphins are leaping and splashing as they feed amongst flocks of terns. We have already spent over an hour approaching small groups to photograph their dorsal fins, and still there are many more dolphins spread out ahead of us. Most of the animals are busy foraging and don't pay much attention to our boat, but the occasional small group break away from their feeding and swim rapidly towards us to bow-ride at the front of the boat. At the moment we have a group of around 10 dolphins playing around the boat - this is the most interactive group we have encountered today and they seem content to surf the swell waves alongside the boat for a prolonged duration, sometimes rushing ahead to ride the bow-wave. The sharp exhalations of surfacing dolphins are all around us.

One or two dolphins swim immediately next to the engine propellers, appearing almost stationary in the water as they keep level with the boat's slow speed. Others get bored with the sedate pace and swim rapidly away in a wide loop to race back to the bow again with seemingly endless energy".

4 March 2009: Walvis Bay, Namibia, research boat

11:09 GMT

"The boat operators here have been reporting leatherback turtle sightings in the centre of the bay, with several sightings per day during the calm weather in the morning before the afternoon wind picks up. We are out in the centre of the bay where most of the sightings have occurred, and it is not long before the large head and distinctive dorsal ridges of a leatherback roll at the surface. This is a big animal, and with the engine off we can clearly hear the sharp exhalation of its breath as it breathes at the surface between dives. Not much further on, and two more leatherbacks appear at the surface ahead of our boat. Unlike the previous turtle, these ones seem to be resting at the surface and we edge the boat forwards to try and get a closer look. One of the leatherbacks allows us to approach to within a couple of metres before taking a final breath, raising its flippers and diving down into the murky water and out of sight".

3 March 2009: Walvis Bay, Namibia, research boat

09:10 GMT

"This morning we have been tracking the same group of bottlenose dolphins that we were watching yesterday in the lagoon, and they are once again showing how adept they are at hunting in the shallows. This time they are close in off a sandy beach, feeding close to a group of fishermen who are beach seining. The dolphins seem to take advantage of the human fishing operation, giving the fishermen a lesson in catching fish as they chase fish into the shallows and trap them against the beach.

Today the dolphins are feeding individually rather than herding the fish cooperatively, but the scene is still impressive as some individuals almost strand on the beach in pursuit of their prey".

2 March 2009: Walvis Bay, Namibia, research boat

11:17 GMT

"A group of five bottlenose dolphins are patrolling the lagoon, entering water shallower than 1 m depth in their efforts to locate and herd fish. As we watch, the dolphins circle a shoal of fish and then drive it rapidly in towards the narrow beach, almost stranding themselves as they manoeuvre in the shallows. The fish erupt into the air in an attempt to escape both the dolphins and the beach, and the dorsal fins of the dolphins turn in rapid circles at the surface as the animals chase the fish and then move back out into slightly deeper water.

We watch the group for several hours, and they repeatedly perform this same coordinated hunting behaviour, rushing in towards the shore with fish flying out of the water ahead of them. Bottlenose dolphins never fail to produce something fascinating for us to look at!".

2 March 2009: Walvis Bay, Namibia, research boat

08:33 GMT

"The dolphins are in a playful mood this morning - a small group of Heaviside's dolphins charge through the grey swell to greet our boat, and spend several minutes bursting out of the water in fast surges on either side of us. It's practically impossible to photograph them when they are behaving so unpredictably, and the overcast sky doesn't help since we can't track the animals as they move along underwater due to the dark sea.

Despite the overcast conditions the beautiful markings on the dolphins show up clearly - the pale grey forward portion of the dolphins stands out against the sharply-demarcated darker grey-black cape that extends over the rear part of their bodies. The dolphins also raise their heads out of the waves during some surfacings to reveal their small, indistinct beaks and conical heads. Although the encounter is brief it is memorable for the energy these small dolphins have".

1 March 2009: Walvis Bay, Namibia, research boat

09:02 GMT

"A group of feeding terns catches my eye off our port bow, and as I scan the area with binoculars a long back and small stubby dorsal fin roll slowly at the surface underneath them. A humpback whale is travelling beneath the birds, although we can't determine whether the whale is actually feeding or not. It is an unusual time of year for a humpback to be present in this region, as most should be further south on the feeding grounds at present. The whale itself also looks unusual - it is rather small and its back and sides are covered in small white scars.

We take the opportunity to approach the animal to photograph it's dorsal fin and strange flank markings. The whale isn't fluking so we aren't able to get images of the tail flukes which might help to match the whale to existing catalogues for West Africa to determine where it originates from. But the animal is certainly distinctive enough to be recognised again without too much trouble".

1 March 2009: Walvis Bay, Namibia, research boat

07:09 GMT

"If I didn't know better I would think I was in the North Sea on a summers day watching harbour porpoises. But although they look slightly similar, the small cetaceans I am watching are not porpoises - they are Heaviside's dolphins, with their distinctive tall triangular fins and marked colouration pattern. The two dolphins are apparently foraging in the glassy seas, with dives of several minutes interspersed with several quick rolls at the surface.

They are mostly indifferent towards our research boat today, obviously too busy searching for food to come and bow-ride. So we concentrate on getting usable photo-identification images of their dorsal fins for adding to the Namibian Dolphin project catalogue".