We had a fascinating encounter this morning. We were heading out south but in a more SE direction than normal so as to get the right wind direction, when Duncan spotted a breach at about five miles out, with no real idea what species it was. Heading that way...nothing! Then out of nowhere about 60 fins appeared close to the boat - they looked very sharp and the dolphins were medium sized. Aha we thought, Rissos! This thought lasted about 1 second before the dolphins headed towards us and we could ID them as a large offshore pod of bottlenose dolphins. We have a very well known pod of inshore bottlenoses and they are often thought of as being Cornwalls, even though they will range to Devon and Dorset and even further east, but they are not seen more than a mile offshore or in group sizes of more than sixteen or so. They are also extremely large whereas these dolphins were smaller and slimmer. Not much is known about the offshore bottlenose pods which occasionally venture closer to the coast, but it stands to reason that their range extends a long way south, and their diet is different. Their movements and behaviour seem more akin to common dolphins. A very exciting moment and a great find for the passengers on board including the Kelly family who had driven down all the way from Coventry this morning and are now on their way back again having seen what they were hoping to see!
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 16:32:15 +0000
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