30 August 2008:  Offshore Angola, seismic survey vessel

09:40 GMT

"After returning to the bridge following a coffee break, the first thing I notice is a long line of splashes off our port bow.  The splashes look strange...the white water contrasts sharply against the dark grey background of the overcast grey skies and sea and are framed by the ominous outline of the flaring offshore installation we are passing.  I pick up my binoculars to scan the area of disturbed water, and the forms of travelling dolphins are clearly visible.  The scene is odd though...I have never seen dolphins moving in such a manner to produce so much choppy water and yet reveal so little of themselves.  The bridge crew are also confused...'what are those, tuna?' they ask.  They look doubtful about my dolphin explanation until they also pick up binoculars and see for themselves.  I have long learnt from experience that the best way to tackle these unusual sightings off West Africa is to take photographs.  Tempting though it is to stare through binoculars to try and establish what species I am looking at, the fast speed and splashy nature of the animals makes it very difficult to get a good view.  In contract, the still frames captured using digital camera equipment can be enlarged to provide a much better (and verified) clue as to the species present. 

I grab my camera and move out onto the bridge wing where I fire off around 50 images as the dolphin school passes our bow and heads off into the distance.  Staring through the viewfinder, I concentrate on keeping the camera as steady as possible and focusing on the narrow band of splashes moving through the water.  So it's not until I play back the images afterwards that I am finally able to identify what I have seen.  Most of the images are useless, but nestled in between are several shots showing the tiny triangular dorsal fins and short beaks of Fraser's dolphins.  This is a great record...there is only one previously documented sighting for Angola (which we photographed last year) and no other at-sea records for the entire Gulf of Guinea region except for a single probable record off Nigeria in 2004.  Unsurprisingly, the bridge crew have never heard of a Fraser's dolphin, so I spend a few minutes showing them a picture in the identification guide and explaining the importance of the sighting". 

5 August 2008:  Stonehaven, Scotland, research boat

10:43 GMT

"The sea is mirror calm today...a sufficiently rare event in the North Sea that we decide to be brave and take our small boat directly east of Stonehaven and out into open water.  Although we usually concentrate on the coastal region to try and maximise encounters with bottlenose dolphins, today our quarry is a different species.  For at this time of year (Jul-Sep) the inshore waters along the east coast of Scotland are inhabited by white-beaked dolphins. 

We have progressed almost 12 miles out to sea and are about to turn back and start the return leg home, when a small flock of circling gannets catches my eye.  So far today we have glimpsed several porpoises foraging under gannets, but the animal that surfaces beneath this flock is considerably bigger and faster.  The size, behaviour and tall falcate dorsal fin leave little doubt as to the identification, and I happily shout 'white-beaks!' to my colleagues as we turn and head over to the dolphins.  This is one of my favourite cetacean species...their panda-like black and white colouration, together with their eagerness to bow-ride makes them a great species to observe at sea.  These dolphins inevitably approach our boat to bow-ride briefly, and when we stop the boat and drift for several minutes the dolphins swim round and underneath us, seemingly very interested in our presence.  Quickly however, they return to their feeding and we start the trip back towards port. 

Although we had seen no dolphins on the outbound transect, the return trip towards the coast produces group after group of white-beaked dolphins.  In the glassy sea we can easily see their tall dorsal fins ahead of us and off to both sides as small pods of 3 to 10 animals are scattered throughout the region.  We visit several more groups and all of them come to bow-ride for short spells, before quickly losing interest as is typical for this species.  Several of the schools contain tiny calves, no doubt born earlier this summer.  Some mothers bring their calves to swim alongside our boat, but most of them wisely keep some distance away.  By the time we have left the last of our white-beaked dolphin groups about six miles east of Stonehaven, we have counted over 60 dolphins.  And this must be quite an under-estimate, given the scattered nature of the animals and our pre-occupation with trying to photo-identify the closest ones.  It has been an exciting and memorable day on the water, and we return home happy".

20 June 2008:  Flamingos, Namibe Province, Angola, research trip

07:10 GMT

"We have been driving along the coast for around 35 min when we spot the distinctive humped appearance of an Atlantic humpback dolphin breaking the surface in the calm water.  As we wait for the animal to re-appear, more dorsal fins emerge and roll slowly at the surface.   I'm thrilled to have found them again, as this is the first sighting of the species I have had since returning to Flamingos to resume the humpback dolphin research I started in January.  And I can't wait to get a closer look at the individual dolphins and establish whether this is the same group that I encountered consistently during the January survey.  We drive along the coast and position ourselves ahead of the travelling dolphin group, and I walk down the beach with my camera.  The animals travel in a line, one behind the other, and only about 15 m from the beach.  As the first dolphin approaches I prepare to try and take a photograph of its small dorsal fin, so that I can try and match the pattern of nicks in the trailing edge with the animals I photographed in January.  The sharp exhalation of the dolphin's breath sounds, and I focus on the dorsal fin and take the image.  I don't even need to wait to analyse the picture...the fin markings were clearly visible to my naked eye and I immediately identify this animal as 'VW' one of the well-marked mature adults I photographed in January (a catalogue of the individual dolphins can be found here).  Back then, VW's pod contained six dolphins including one large calf, one juvenile and four adults.  Now I am keen to establish whether this is still the case or whether the group's composition has changed.  I quickly identify 'Nicky' and her calf 'Junior', and 'Sooty' another adult.  I am surprised to see a further adult 'Chopper' is also with the group...this animal was nomadic in January and only seen with the core study group on two occasions.  I am so busy concentrating on Chopper that I almost miss the final three animals travelling alongside him.  To my delight, alongside one of the smaller adults is a tiny new calf! 

The dorsal fin of the calf is poorly developed and flopped over to the left hand side, strongly suggesting it has been born fairly recently.  The calf belongs to 'Flo', one of the smaller adults in the core group.  And the final animal is 'Nemo', a poorly-marked juvenile whose identification I confirm later from analysing the photographs.  So my original study group of six animals has become eight, with the addition of Chopper and the new calf.  We track the dolphin group from shore for over 7 hours, marking their position with a GPS, noting their behaviour and the spatial group configuration, and taking further photo-identification images whenever possible.   The data will later be analysed to examine their behaviour and habitat use in the region, with the aim of developing a management plan to conserve this rare and poorly-known species". 

Please visit our Angola humpback dolphin research pages for more details and images from the field research carried out off Namibe Province in Angola during June and July 2008.

10 May 2008:  Aberdeen, Scotland, research boat

13:45 GMT

"We have been surveying for only 15 min when splashes ahead of us indicate the presence of a dolphin group not far from Stonehaven.  The dolphins are feeding, emerging from the water in high-speed forward leaps as they pursue fish.  The group of eight animals are spread out, and the first two dolphins to approach the boat turn out to be Carter and Sooty, two of the most regular animals that use our study area.  Both remain tightly associated, surfacing together and confidently interacting with our research boat.  I am keen to try and get photographs of all of the other dolphins in the group, since the sea surface conditions today are ideal.  Our skipper carefully manoeuvres the boat to approach an individual dolphin which turns out to be Shrek, an animal we have not identified here since 2004.  An hour into the encounter, and the dolphins turn northwards back towards Aberdeen.  Clearly in a leisurely mood, the animals repeatedly swim alongside and underneath our boat, rolling on their sides to peer up at the hull.  In the glassy sea conditions we can see the entire group swimming subsurface next to us, making photo-identification an unusually easy task.  Three dolphins suddenly begin to interact together, chasing one another and repeatedly breaching from the water in a series of high leaps and backwards somersaults.  It has been a great day on the water, and a successful research trip with a positive identification of all of the dolphins in the group".

10 April 2008:  Moray Firth, Scotland, research boat

17-sec video of bottlenose dolphins travelling alongside our research boat off Gardenstown in the Moray Firth.

16 February 2008:  Aberdeen, Scotland, research vessel

11:55 GMT

"The weather conditions today are far from ideal - a choppy sea surface, swell and sun glare combine to make spotting animals very difficult.  However, the dolphins help us out by appearing unexpectedly close to the boat off Aberdeen harbour mouth!  We dodge through the vessel 'traffic' at Aberdeen harbour to follow the dolphins as they move south towards Cove.  The group of four move steadily as two separate pairs, two large adults at the front followed by another large adult with a slightly smaller animal.  I concentrate on taking photographs of their dorsal fins whenever possible, as we use the pattern of scars, nicks and notches along the trailing edge of the fin to identify individuals.  So far, we have identified 64 animals off Aberdeen based on distinct markings on the fin, and at least three of the animals we are watching just now have already been recorded in the area during 2006 and 2007.  In fact, as the dolphins approach our boat I see both 'Carter' and 'Sooty', the two most frequently seen animals off Aberdeen.  It is great to catch up with them after several months without boat surveys.  The dolphins make light of the heavy sea conditions, surfing in the swell waves and even performing a few token leaps alongside our boat".

January 2008:  Namibe Province, Angola, Southern Africa, research trip

Please visit our Angola humpback dolphin research pages for details and images from field research carried out off Namibe Province in Angola for three weeks during January 2008.  This project aimed to collect pioneering data on the distribution, abundance and behaviour of Atlantic humpback dolphins (Sousa teuszii) off Angola.  The survey also encountered Bryde's whales, humpback whale, bottlenose dolphins and nesting turtles.