Posts by Vicki James
Dolphin delights at Bardsey Island
Earlier this year we were back in North Wales, at Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli), undertaking our fieldwork into the Risso’s dolphins that make Bardsey their home during the summer and autumn months. We had a fantastic field season this year with one of our best ever encounters, we had more than 30 Risso’s dolphins…
Read MoreGood news for Welsh Whales and Dolphins
Here at WDC we welcome the recent news that a large wind farm that was proposed in the Irish Sea, has been withdrawn. The Rhiannon offshore wind farm was to be situated 12 miles off the coast of Anglesey, consisting of over 400 turbines and covering an unprecedented 497 km2 – an area where there have…
Read MoreHotSpots – A Round Up of Recent UK Sightings
Some lucky (and hardy!) individuals reported some remarkable whale and dolphin sightings in UK waters during this last winter and spring. Harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphins, white beaked dolphins and even a pod of orcas were spotted in the waters off Scotland and northern England between December 2013 and May 2014. Harbour porpoise numbering three in…
Read MoreGlobal interest in report on impacts of marine renewable energy on whales and dolphins
While generating increasing amounts of energy from marine renewable sources such as wind, wave or tides could help reduce our overreliance on fossil fuels, marine renewable energy developments (MREDs) that are designed, placed, built, operated and decommissioned without a thought for their potential impact on local whale and dolphin populations could prove disastrous. To highlight…
Read MoreHotSpots – A Round up of UK Autumn 2013 Sightings
In the crisp, clean mornings of autumn the cold can catch you by surprise and so can whales and dolphins; they seem to turn up when you least expect it! Although most sightings are reported during the summer months, whales and dolphins can be seen around the UK all year, and during our recent autumn…
Read MoreHotSpots – A Round up of UK Summer Sightings
After a long cold winter and a record-breaking cold spring, the UK basked in sunshine and enjoyed one of the warmest summers on record; in fact it was the ninth warmest since records began in 1910. Many more people were out enjoying the sunshine all around the UK, so there were many more eyes on…
Read MoreRisso’s dolphins spotted off Bardsey Island in the UK
Imagine kayaking across a flat calm, almost mirror like ocean, on a balmy sunny day, only to have your path crossed by a small pod of Risso’s dolphins! Well, this is exactly what happened to Justine Curgenven as she paddled from Morfa Nefyn on the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales, to Bardsey Island. Not long…
Read MoreHotSpots – A Round up of UK Spring Sightings
Spring seemed to take a while to arrive this year as winter kept an icy grip for much longer than normal. Once the warmer weather arrived the wildlife around the UK jumped into action including beneath the waves. As the water temperature rises with the changing of the season and more light penetrates its depths,…
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