Dolphins Get Into The Dolphin Spirit
Fun in the Sun
Over the past week, we have seen the return of young Charlie, Kesslet’s 9-year-old son, to the Kessock Channel for a bit of fun and mischief. Much like his mum was at that age, Charlie is incredibly energetic and social around boats, earning him the title of “urban dolphin”. He’s been spotted bow-riding the Dolphin Spirit, as well as hunting and resting around the Kessock Bridge and Meikle Mee buoy. Like mother like son so they’d say!
Trading Places
Despite Charlie’s grand return, mum Kesslet was nowhere to be found! On the evening of the 8th she was spotted on her way back into the Inner Moray Firth by one of our guides on a “busman’s holiday” to Chanonry Point. She was on her own as usual, and didn’t hang around for long before zipping off. Charlie and his mum have not spent as much time together as they have apart in recent times; one can only wonder if they’ve had a bit of a falling out! It was also noted that Kesslet has been through the wars recently, as her tail is covered in a small number of new rake marks. This could be the result of social interaction with some of the other dolphins when she’s been away on her travels, though it has been somewhat unusual to see her so marked, especially given how much she’s secluded herself since the birth of her last calf. It doesn’t seem to have bothered her much, as she’s still fishing around the river mouth and Kessock Channel once more as usual.
Kesslet’s back and tail, showing the extensive markings; some are old, some are new
Shy Seals Spotted
The other local marine mammals seem to be coming out of hiding too! Our seal sightings are on the up, after a particularly quiet start. Harbour seals are the most frequent, generally popping up around the Kessock Channel when they can sneak a fish from the dolphins. Our grey seals have also been present, mostly out in the more shallow water near Meikle Mee. It’s nice to see them again, considering that the start of the harbour seal pupping season is soon! We will be keeping our eyes out for more pups this year as our sightings of pups across both the harbour and grey seals have grown exponentially over the years; only 1 pup in 2015, but 4 last year! Now that Dolphin Mischief is also regularly checking in on the Whiteness seal colony near Ardersier, it will be interesting to see how this population compares!