Orca visit Aberdeen!

Yesterday several of the AMMP team had the amazing good fortune to spot orca from Aberdeen! One of our Field Assistants Giverny Maidlow managed to capture some excellent pictures, which she kindly shared with us.

Orca feeding off coast of Aberdeen
(credit: Giverny Maidlow)

On Sunday morning, my colleague Dr Louise Ross (Scotland's Rural College) raised the alarm on social media and our staff Whatsapp after spotting the pod south of the city. Soon after hundreds of people flocked to spots along the coastline to try and catch a glimpse of the elusive mammals.

After accidentally-on-purpose abducting my husband in the car, we raced down towards Aberdeen Harbour to join the on-lookers. The road running past Girdle Ness Lighthouse offered a great vantage point to watch the pod, with marine-mammal enthusiasts from SRUC, JNCC, and Shorewatch (and no doubt other organisations) intermingled with curious members of the public. I was amused, but not surprised, to bump into some others from the AMMP team! Ironically, the last time I saw orca was ~30years ago at exactly the same spot!

Together we were treated to the sight of several killer whales foraging near the South Harbour breakwater, with audible 'awws' from the crowd whenever one of the calves surfaced. But for me, nothing beats the big dorsal fins of the males, which can reach 2m tall - this really brought home how amazingly unique these animals are!

Orca mum and calf surfacing near Aberdeen - credit Giverny Maidlow

Orca mother and calf surfacing near Aberdeen
(credit Giverny Maidlow)

After watching for a couple of hours, the rain set in and the pod started to move further offshore. So we reluctantly headed home.

Though rumour has it that not long after a (presumably nervous!) group of bottlenose dolphins then came out of hiding behind the North Harbour and resumed their normal activities! So at least someone was happy!

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