The recent humpback whale sighting in the Shannon Estuary caused quite a lot of excitement both inside the IWDG office and with the public. People travelled from all over Clare and beyond with their binoculars to see our new neighbour. The IWDG used their RIB to collect as much information as possible, including length and
13 December 2024 The IWDG team from the IWDG Head Office in Kilrush spent the afternoon trying to get a fluke shot of the whale to see if it has been recorded in Irish waters before it entered the Shannon Estuary. We tried to obtain a fluke shot which carries a unique pattern which can
When we go silent on humpback whales, it’s usually not what you’re thinking. So rather than there being few sightings, we are far more likely to be busy, either on the water gathering the evidence, or in my case frustratingly staring at the screen trying to put some order on who is seeing what, where
Report update, August 20th, 2024 A month after the initial sighting a message was posted on the IWDG Facebook page from a Liam McKay, a US visitor from Massachusetts, telling us that on August 13th he watched a whale from the shore in the bay between Lower Cruit Island and Arranmore, Co. Donegal, at a
In managing a public biological recording scheme, we are in effect sampling. So the records that you as Citizen Scientists report to IWDG are likely a small subset of the total number of sightings of cetaceans and basking sharks from all Irish coastal waters, and this is a situation that we are happy to live
They say a picture paints a thousand words and I’d probably not have looked into this subject had it not been for an image attached to a sighting report by IWDG Cork member and ecologist Conor Rowlands, taken from Cloghna Head, overlooking Rosscarbery Bay on June 3rd. During this watch Conor observed about four minkes
For those of you in the northwest who can’t easily make it down to West Cork for IWDG’s summer series of whale watching courses, this one-day free event should be of interest. Pitched at a range of levels, from the enthusiast with a passing interest in marine wildife, to existing whale watchers who’d like to
Now in their 3rd year, IWDG has just delivered the first of this season’s residential weekend whale watching courses at the CECAS Ctr. In Leap, west Cork. A pretty dire weather outlook for much of the weekend left us with a few challenges for the Saturday in particular, but it’s clear that this venue and
Venue: CECAS, Centre of Excellence for Climate Action & Sustainability Where: Myross Wood House, Leap, Co. Cork, P81 Y192 Dates: September 20-22nd, 2024 This May sees IWDG return to the fabulous CECAS Ctr. in Leap, West Cork for a 3rd Summer Series of weekend courses. Looking for a weekend with a difference? Why
On Saturday 18th May the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) delivered another Whale Watch Ireland 2024. All Ireland Whale Watch day, now in its 22nd year, comprises free, guided land-based whale watches, which this year was planned for 11 sites in 11 coastal counties, throughout the four provinces. The main objective of Whale Watch