Get closer to the wild side of Ireland
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has opened up a research charter scheduled for tomorrow morning to non-members. The formerly “members only” research trip is hoping to find and photograph the humpback whale confirmed in the area yesterday afternoon, and is scheduled to leave Reen Pier, Union Hall, West Cork at 9am sharp… details [...]
Of the 24 species of whales and dolphins found in Irish waters perhaps the best known is the familiar bottlenose dolphin made famous in the ‘60s television show, Flipper. Almost all of the dolphin stars of film and television over the years, and the captive performing dolphins in theme parks around the world, are bottlenose [...]
Two blue whales cruise the waters 80-100 nautical miles off Ireland’s south coast The Irish Air Corps captured some phenomenal images last week when they encountered fin whales and two incredibly rare blue whales in Irish waters near the continental shelf edge about 80-100 nautical miles off Ireland’s south coast. The Irish Whale and Dolphin [...]
After the traumatic events and harrowing images of the last few days I thought I’d post a few photographs of healthy fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) off the West Cork coast. This is how they look at their best:
I was getting settled at my desk yesterday morning, pondering what to write for my Irish Independent wildlife column, when the phone beeped. It was a message from Padraig Whooley, sightings coordinator with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, telling me that a suspected fin whale had live-stranded in Baltimore, West Cork. He’d be passing my [...]
On the 21st anniversary of the declaration of Irish waters as Europe’s first Whale and Dolphin sanctuary, The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has announced a campaign to extend that status to all European waters. On 07 June 1991 then Taoiseach Charles Haughey declared Ireland a Whale and Dolphin Sanctuary in recognition of the [...]
If you’re looking for a fun, educational wildlife weekend check out the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s summer whalewatching courses. Cape Clear Island in West Cork offers a fantastic vantage point for shore-based cetacean watching amidst fantastic wild scenery. That’s why it’s the IWDG’s destination of choice for their popular summer whale watching courses. This [...]
It was one of those calm spring days where you feel anything is possible. The Atlantic, while not quite flat, had only the tiniest of swells. Gazing out over a vast expanse of blue, a distant haze towards the horizon was the only impediment to otherwise perfect visibility. You got the sense that at any [...]
A new humpback whale, the 20th to be recorded in Irish inshore waters, was added to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s (IWDG) photo-ID catalogue over the Easter weekend. Researchers photographed HBIRL20 on Saturday 07 April just West of The Stags off Toe Head in West Cork. The whale was one of two humpbacks seen [...]
Humpback whales have returned to Ireland’s south coast during a month that was, up until now, the only month of the year with no reported large whale sightings from inshore Irish waters. The whales – at least two and probably three animals, including one juvenile, were originally spotted on the morning of the 03 April [...]
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