On 8 August Liz Morrow was on a boat trip in Donegal Bay when they encountered a single large whale off Slieve League that was about 2.5 – 3 times larger than their 6.5 metre RIB. The sighting was reported to IWDG with images as a “probable” fin whale and on viewing all the images,
It doesn’t seem that long ago when humpback whale sightings in Irish waters were a rare occurrence….. they were something that happened to others and in hard to reach places. Then something special happened in West Cork in September 1999; we not only got a sighting report of three humpback whales off the Kinsale Gas
“Ireland to Iceland – On The Trail Of The Humpback Whale” looks to bring you on an immersive journey following the IWDG around Iceland in 2018 . It runs 58 minutes. “The aim of the film is not to tell you everything but to give you a sense of something.” Tony Whelan director ‘The music….the
We find ourselves in unique circumstances with our lives on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With every day that passes there is a sense that something unpleasant is coming down the line, but the “when’s and where’s” aren’t well understood and this uncertainty is making a bad situation worse. Heck, even getting out to
For good reason it always seems to be humpback whales off the known Cork and Kerry hotspots that make the big news stories, such as the one that featured on the main RTE news last night, but recent humpback whale sightings in Donegal Bay remind us that there may be a bigger picture….. IWDG have
Estimating total length and body condition An Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or a “drone” will be used to capture high resolution images of whales from the air that will be measured using a technique called aerial photogrammetry. It has proved to be a powerful non-invasive method to collect information on how long or how healthy
WhaleTrack Ireland aims to determine what humpback whales do in Irish waters, where they come from and go to. This will be achieved by identifying migration patterns and important feeding areas in Irish waters using a variety of techniques. Individual whales will be identified using their unique markings from images through photo-identification with the help
IWDG encourage all citizen scientists to report sightings of large whales. IWDG will validate these records and use them to identify key area for humpback whales and other species such as fin whale. IWDG already have a large database of sightings but want to spread the recording, especially to areas which historically have suffered from
Biopsy sampling is a powerful tool to understand genetics, feeding ecology and threats caused by pollution. It involves firing a dart (under license) into the whale to collect a small plug of skin and blubber. The skin is used to determine the sex of the whale and can be compared to samples collected elsewhere to