ORCA CALF!
Great views of some of the '65s' Orcas off Sumburgh Head, Shetland today as they headed south close inshore. Here's 'Ossa' and her 2023 calf ploughing through the swell this afternoon. 🖤🤍
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
A short video from our encounter with four of the '27s' Orcas off the east coast of Mainland Shetland on Monday. Includes a few cameo appearances from the calf born in 2022. 🖤🤍
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
ORCAS...
A epic day as we followed four of the '27s' Orcas from land up in the east Mainland of Shetland. Tail slaps, spy hops, lunges, bubble jets and belly rolls - brilliant!
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
A beautiful end to a beautiful day - at least 8 Risso's Dolphins off Sumburgh Head, Shetland. Scarring is a common feature caused by social interactions among themselves and contact with prey and forms a non-invasive platform for ongoing Photo ID.
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
Fabulous views of three Orcas as we stood on the cliffs at Sumburgh Head, Shetland this afternoon. Here's bull '72' - a member of the '27s' pod - and together with '73' and her calf '153', the threesome regularly 'split' from the main pod. 🖤🤍
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
A lovely encounter of a grey seal in the River Mersey at high tide today on my patch at Garston ….distant at first and then it came over to check me out 😍
#cetaceansUK
Orca calves!!! A short clip of aerial footage from our encounter with the 27s Orcas in Yell Sound, Shetland earlier this week. Great to see the two calves born in 2022 and 2024 alongside their mothers.🖤🤍
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
ORCAS! Today we spent a couple of hours following the 27s pod from land as they headed east from Ollaberry. We enjoyed superb views of six individuals as they passed us off Mossbank. Great to see both of the young calves born in 2022 & 2024.
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
No. 1 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen by guests on our 2025 tours: Orcas. We enjoyed several incredible encounters this year including this July day when we followed the '65s' pod from land enjoying views down to just a few metres!
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
No. 2 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen in 2025: an incredible nursery pod of at least 120 Bottlenose Dolphins in Vidlin Voe in early November. Only the fourth-ever documented record for Shetland inshore waters. A magical day!
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
No. 5 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours - this nursery pod of Pilot Whales in Mousa Sound. Some of the calves were tiny and looked just a few weeks - if not days - old. Footage by @hughharrop.bsky.social
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
No. 6 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen in 2025 were several encounters with Humpbacks including a MATCH to an individual first documented off the Azores in 2016, off Svalbard in 2017 and then by us here in Shetland in March 2025. Amazing!
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
No. 8 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours was the superpod of White-beaked Dolphins off the coast of Shetland - the 6th species of cetacean we saw that week!
Aerial footage by @hughharrop.bsky.social
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
Humpback whale lunge feeding under Kittiwakes
Minke whale lunge feeding - probably on Sprats or juvenile Herring
Out in a wee boat trying to collect whale DNA- no success but great to see the Kittiwakes and Herring gulls getting photobombed by a Humpback and a Minke! 😄 #Ullapool #Highlandbirds #CetaceansUK
Lovely conditions for checking high tide gull roosts but no sign of the adult Med gull. Had to console myself with lovely views of the Humpback whale instead 😁 #Ullapool #Highlandbirds #CetaceansUK
Braved the gale for distant, low light views of the Humpback whale showing off the village. Also views of what could be a female/ immature LF Pilot whale? - A rather bulky cetacean swimming ahead of the Common Dolphins. #CetaceansUK #LochBroom #Ullapool
A short video from our encounter with some of the '27s' Orcas as they headed north out of Vidlin Voe, Shetland on Friday. Includes a few cameo appearances from the 14-month-old calf - the latest addition to the pod.
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
Orcas past my Shorewatch site this morning. Doesn’t get much better than this
The 012s pod, with their matriarch Bréagha
#IsleOfLewis
#CetaceansUK
ORCAS!!! We enjoyed absolutely brilliant views of the 27s pod today out in a very windy east Mainland of Shetland. Here's bull '34' photographed just off Laxo this afternoon with the low winter sunshine illuminating his massive dorsal fin.
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
Orca by Hugh Harrop
Oysterplant - found at just a few locations in Shetland. Pic by Hugh Harrop.
Red-necked Phalarope by Hugh Harrop
Waiting for Storm Petrels to arrive at Mousa Broch in the 'Simmer Dim' light. Image taken at midnight! Pic by Hugh Harrop.
How was your spring and summer? Read about ours here in Shetland at shetlandwildlife.co.uk/news.htm
#MarineMammals #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #UKWildlife #MarineLife #CetaceansUK
Another amazing day for watching Humpback Whales off the south Mainland of Shetland with still at least seven individuals recorded along a 10km stretch of coast between Levenwick and Fladdabister!
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
One of at least seven Humpback Whales off the south Mainland of Shetland today. Amazing!
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
Great views of a grey seal fishing close in on the River Mersey at Oglet this afternoon ..it caught 2 fish while I was there .
#cetaceansuk
Still buzzing from our amazing encounter with this nursery pod of Bottlenose Dolphins over the weekend. They constitute only the fourth confirmed record of this species in Shetland inshore waters.
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
A short video of the nursery pod of Bottlenose Dolphins in Vidlin Voe, Shetland yesterday. Check out some of those tiny calves! Only the fourth confirmed record of this species in Shetland waters.
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
Mother and calf Bottlenose Dolphins in Vidlin Voe, Shetland today. Part of an incredible nursery pod of 120+ individuals.
Only the fourth-ever documented record for Shetland inshore waters following sightings in Dec 2002, Aug 2024 & Sep 2025.
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife
At least 40 common dolphins from the Barra - Oban ferry this morning with at least 1 calf seen. Around 20 were at the entrance to the Sound of Mull out from Tobermory, 10 were out from Castlebay on Barra and the rest somewhere in between #CetaceansUK
One of 4 bottlenose dolphins in the Sound of Fuideigh from Eoligarry jetty, Barra.
Harbour porpoise just off the Ardmhor, Sound of Barra ferry terminal.
Harbour porpoise just off the Ardmhor, Sound of Barra ferry terminal, with a calf on the right of the photo.
I've had a poor year for whales & dolphins having missed out on my annual trip to Gairloch & Ullapool. However, we have seen a few dolphins during our trip to Barra inc. common and bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoise, the latter with a calf. Hoping for more on the ferry next week #CetaceansUK
Sickening to see a clump of monofilament line trapped around and damaging the dorsal fin of this Risso's Dolphin off Trondra today.
Monofilament is a silent killer of wildlife.
Whoever discarded this clearly just doesn't care.
#MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife #marinelitter
