Summer Season Gets Under Way At The Scottish Dolphin Centre- Meet Our New Recruits

We have two new arrivals here at the Scottish Dolphin Centre for the summer season. They have been here for a few weeks now so it is about time that they introduced themselves…

Hi All, My name is Rebecca and I have taken on an exciting new position here at Spey Bay as Membership Development Officer which is a bit of a mouthful but in brief I am here to meet everyone at the centre and literally do what I do best, which is talk about our beautiful area which I was fortunate to be brought up in and the bottlenose dolphins we have as our resident population and in particular the adoptive dolphins and their stories.

My first two weeks have been absolutely incredible! From all the staff whom work with me at Spey Bay, North Kessock and of course my guru/ friend Charlie Phillips to the visitors that have already been in to the centre and at Chanonry point that I have spoken to. It has been overwhelming how lovely everyone is and work days are filled with meeting our members and updating them on our adoptive dolphins whereabouts and activity but also meeting new visitors whom I can relay all my knowledge and passion for the dolphins to which is a very special position to be in when you explain how special this area is and then they experience the dolphins from the shore and come back to find out more on how they can help.

On Thursday I headed up to Chanonry Point to meet Charlie and help inform all the visitors on the dolphins we were viewing and again any questions or dolphin background they were interested in. It was great weather and as soon as we arrived we had Sundance, Kesslet, Zephyr, Breeze and a few others further out. I had a lovely couple at the centre on Wednesday who adopted Mischief and decided to meet me at Chanonry Point to see if we could see him. Sure enough he came later on in the Morning and stayed into the afternoon, which was just wonderful as having just received their lovely adoption pack and certificate the previous day, they were then immediately having a land-based encounter with him from a stones- throw distance and was truly magical for them and for me to witness a couple that had come and learned about our dolphin population at Spey Bay, then after a day here wanted to help by adopting Mischief to then meet him the following day within such close proximity was a very fulfilling moment and definitely the highlight so far.

Dolphins at Chanonry Point – © Rebecca Belleni

Hello! I’m Heather and I am the new Scottish Dolphin Centre Summer Guide. I have been working here for almost 2 weeks and I have enjoyed every moment of it and I am sure I will continue to enjoy it for the rest of the summer. As the people who have been on my tours and spoken to me in the shop have discovered I am very passionate about our oceans and when people get me talking it’s difficult to get me to stop. People have also noticed my accent! I have recently arrived to Scotland from Australia and it has been a joy to experience all of the wildlife that Scotland has to offer. This is the dream job for any ocean lover like myself because almost every day I get to see dolphins, ospreys and if I’m extra lucky a seal!

I enjoy every part of my job but some highlights have been the shore watch training and an added bonus of this day was getting to see one of our adopt a dolphins, Mischief! And learning about all of the species in the reserve, everyone has been very patient with me as I have lots of new plants and birds to learn.

Everyone at the centre has been very welcoming and it is great to work with people who share the same passion about our oceans. But the best part is seeing the amount of people who come on our tours or stand on the hill or walk the reserve who are so proud of this amazing place and the knowledge that they impart onto me is invaluable and that I am able to give to them.

Why not come down to the Scottish Dolphin Centre and see what you can spot and meet our new summer recruits.