WEMYSS Bay was Inverclyde’s top spot for dolphin watching during the first three months of the year, writes David Carnduff.
Nearly a third of the records submitted by sharp-eyed observers to Clyde Whale and Dolphin Watch during the period came from the town. Skelmorlie’s total sightings came next, followed by Gourock’s.
Michael Amos and Sophie Shields, who lead the group, said there had been a “whopping” 113 sightings from around the inner Clyde from January to March which is normally a quiet time for spotting these charismatic marine mammals.
In a report posted on the project’s WhatsApp page, Sophie and Michael say: “Wemyss Bay has already come out tops so far this year, making up 29 per cent of the total sightings.
“Skelmorlie then comes in second place with 18 per cent, followed by Gourock with 10 per cent.
“The analysis of sightings shows that in winter the pod favours downstream areas — Wemyss Bay, Skelmorlie and Largs — but is more regularly seen off Greenock during the summer.
“This pattern is borne out by figures from the second half of 2023 when 279 sightings were reported. Greenock Esplanade had the most with 36 per cent of the total, with Wemyss Bay second, having 13 per cent and Gourock again in third place with 10 per cent.”
It is believed that the pod’s movements are determined by where the best feeding is at any given time.
Sophie says they are currently looking at fish movements and aim to have a year’s worth of data to give them a decent idea of what the dolphins are up to.
She said: “We already know one pattern. They do love to follow the red trawlers and I think they are feeding off the nets, given the observations around the trawlers in the past few months.”
The Inverclyde pod has three adults — named Lunar, Zuzu and Bodhi — and a juvenile, Clyde. Sadly, an older female, Zephyr, was found dead last year on the north side of the Clyde.
The adults, which have been in the Upper Clyde since 2021, were identified as being from a pod in the Moray Firth.
Another adult, Squiggle, left the Inverclyde pod early last year and has since been spotted with another group off Northern Ireland.
Sophie and Michael thanked Inverclyde’s keen dolphin spotters for submitting their sightings to the Clyde Cetaceans WhatsApp group and said their continued support was important for future analysis.
They added: “We are working on analysing sightings of all cetacean species such as our resident harbour porpoises as well as rarer visitors like last year’s humpback whale.
“We love to hear reports of species like these just as much as we love to hear reports of our dolphins.”
As well as the Clyde Cetacean Sightings page on WhatsApp, updates are given on the Clyde Cetaceans Facebook page.
