Sunshine Burnout!

Too Much Good Weather!
Only in the UK will you hear such a phrase being uttered unironically! After yesterday’s rainy day, you’d think we’d be just buzzing to get some unexpected sunshine again, but it certainly didn’t seem to be the case! With the return of the sun, I think everyone was too burned out by the mid-week sunbathing sessions to go out and enjoy it; including the dolphins! After some active days over the sunny spell, right into the evenings some nights too, our dolphins decided to take a bit of a break. We only had sightings of Charlie and Kesslet today in the morning, milling about quite happily together. After that they kind of left us in the lurch, and for the first time in a while, we were left fin-less for the afternoon. But it will take a lot more than that to break our Dolphin Spirit!

Sunny Days are Made for Seals!
There’s at least one of our Moray Firth spotting list that’s always up for a day in the rays; the seals! Thankfully, despite the quietness on the dolphin front, the seals were out in force all day, making for some great sightings themselves. The pupping season is coming into the latter stages now, and with still 4 recorded pups on the Longman mudflats, we’re equal with last year’s record. There is still possibility for some late arrivals but with it being so quiet on that front, and no really big females left on the patch, we may just have another year of 4. This is still fantastic to see, and great that our little population making home on those flats is doing so well to reproduce successfully year on year. What we’re really looking forward to seeing is when those little ones start to grow up they’ll be quite active out on the water; last year’s pups were spotted making a quite a show, breaching in the Kessock Channel near the end of the season! We’ll see just how many of the little ones make it to adulthood and possibly even return to the place they were born when they too breed. The cycle of life is always a fascinating one, and great to see when it comes to fruition. No dolphin newborns have been recorded yet this year near Chanonry or down our way, so there’s always floppy dorsal fins to keep an eye out for when the seal season is over too! Exciting!