Seals and Dolphins

How was your Christmas

On Christmas Eve we walked from Portgordon towards Spey Bay and back before having a nice veggie roast dinner. We don't really do the Christmas thing.

Then on Boxing Day we took at drive along the coast from Buckie to Lossiemouth stopping along the way to look for Dolphins but we only saw seals. Not that there's anything wrong with seeing seals, in fact I love to watch them, its just that we see them an awful lot more often.

With both of us busy with work committments for Thursday and Friday we didn't get out again until Saturday and this time decided we go up onto the Black Isle to Chanonry Point. This is the narrowist point of the Moray Firth which still has deep water. The light was terrible and it rained pretty much all the time we were there just varying the intensity.

We were however rewarded with some good views of a pod of five Common Bottlenose Dolphins engaged in their herding method of fishing. They were obviously more interested in fishing than anything else, and unlike in better weather, did not come near to the shore to play. As this group moved towards Fort George then back out to the wider Firth and then back to Fort George again it was beautiful to watch although not especially photogenic. The weather did nothing to help.

After watching the pod leave the narrowing between Fort George and Chanonry Point we retuned to the campervan for a spot of lunch. Sitting quite happily drinking my tea I looked out the windowscreen and there in front of the campervan some 30 yards out were two more Dolphins heading even further inland. They were equally busy with there own lives as not to hang around and were infact moving with quite some speed. It was stunning to see these wonderful animals going at pretty much full speed and still retain such utter grace that to the observer time stood still.

And to think - our government is thinking of issuing exploration licenses for the Moray Firth to gas and oil companies. The activities of which will have a massive and probably fatal impact on these, the most northern group of Bottlenoses in the world and one of the east coast most loved neighbours and attractions! If you read this please visit the www.wdcs.org website - every person that voices an objection counts. I'll be keeping you updated from here as to how you can get involved.

As the hours of daylight this far north are not plentiful at this time of year we didn't have a lot of time there.

Today I am working for the local paper but hope to get out, perhaps to Fort George over the next two days.

I wish everyone, wherever you are, a Happy New Year, but most importantly a peaceful 2008.

Jan