Another dolphin watching season has begun in beautiful bright weather. This is our 18th year! We have started with great enthusiasm this year. The Draíocht is looking well, all polished up and raring to go! We’ve had a few trips already, and the Mouth of the Shannon never ceases to amaze… gannets diving on large shoals of fish( sprat & possibly mackerel), nesting fulmars, manx shearwaters and guillemots flying low, skimming the water, the goat herd on Rehy Hill and, of course, the dolphins, themselves, are all sights that we have seen during our trips so far this year.
The last few days, the dolphins have been feeding at Loop Head, which is a spectacular backdrop for watching them. The group was comprised of about 6 adults, 4 juveniles, and at least 1 calf. One of the adults was our old friend “Notch” or CN1 (Photo ID name). Always with calves and obviously very old, judging by the large gnarly dorsal fin, we always thought of Notch as the Grand Dam of the Dolphins… but after a DNA sample was taken, it turns out Notch is male! So, he is the Granddaddy of them all, instead. The juveniles were playful and curious, zipping around the boat and riding the bow waves. It is wonderful to see new calves and we ope to be seeing plenty more.
We’d like to remind you of our Sunset Trips around Loop Head. These are very special 4 hour trips to see the nesting bird colonies on the spectacular cliff ledges at the Loop. We only do a few each year, so if you are interested, please email me to put you on our contact list. We run these trips in May, June and July, departing around 5 pm and returning around 10pm, in calm sea conditions.
If you are on Facebook, we would like to invite you to become a fan of ours. The link is on our website or you can click http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dolphinwatch-Carrigaholt/113185132041868?ref=mf .
Our plan is to keep everyone as informed as possible through our website, Facebook, Twitter and WordPress (links are all on our website: http://www.dolphinwatch.ie). We welcome your own contributions of your experiences, photos and videos, so please share with us.
We hope you have a great summer and that we will see you at some stage out on the Draíocht!
