It seems hardly a month goes by without humpback whales offering us some new insights into their lives. This week was no different.
On Sat. 7th Nov a pair of humpback whales were photographed by Ryan Leith off Whalsay, Shetland, Scotland. The images were seen by Nick Masset on social media and he immediately felt that one of the dorsal fins looked familiar and a quick scan through the Irish Humpback Whale Catalogue confirmed our #HBIRL38 or #NAHWC 10413 on the North Atlantic Humpback Catalogue.
#HBIRL38 with others on the Deep Hole, Co. Cork 02/06/2020 © Peter Carney
This individual has been observed regularly in the Irish southwest hotspots of West Kerry and Cork, with 16 confirmed sightings over 4 years since our 1st record of it in July 2015. It was last seen here this summer, with just one confirmed sighting when it was photographed among a group of four off the Deep Hole area, West Cork on June 2nd 2020 and reported to IWDG by Peter Carney. (see image right).
This pair were also documented by wildlife photographer Hugh Harrop the following day, Sun. 8th Nov. off Fladdbister, Shetland, some 30 miles further south, and so it seems likely that they are tracking south on their migration to one of the two known Atlantic breeding grounds in the Carribbean or Cabo Verde. The identity of the 2nd animal remains unclear.
This is yet another important humpback record, as it is our first confirmed match with Scotland, which is likely to be an important stepping stone from high latitude feeding areas such as northern Norway, where we have documented at least one other Irish humpback #HBIRL07.
As always, a huge thanks to our friends in Shetland and specifically Ryan Leith and Hugh Harrop for sharing your images with IWDG. There will no doubt be others and we look forward to the enhanced cooperation between Ireland and Scotland when the Scottish Humpback Whale Catalogue is up and running.
#HBIRL38, Whalsay, Eastern Shetland, Scotland 07/11/2020 © Ryan Leith
#HBIRL38 Valentia Isl. Kerry 15/07/2020 © Nick Massett