Wild Ireland - Basking Sharks

As many of you know, I have an interest and involvement in marine activities in the waters of West Cork. Some days the weather is just gruesome, other days it is just amazing, and so I look back with joy at a 'flaming first of June' last year. This was a day when basking shark activity was particularly spectacular, as was the minke whale activity but it was the former that was creating the headlines.

For a couple of weeks last summer, basking sharks were being seen off the coast, just outside Castlehaven harbour and also in Toehead Bay, my home patch. Each evening we could watch upwards of a dozen 'baskers' skulking around the waters in an effort to make the most of the feeding in the plankton-rich water. This activity came to the attention of a great Irish naturalist, film-maker, and regular visitor to West Cork, Colin Stafford-Johnson

I too was making the most of the increased activity and was getting out with Cork Whale Watch on the Holly Jo as much as I could, and on this particular day, we had to wait for the boat to come in, as yer man had grabbed the opportunity to get out early on the water with the film crew and his curragh, in search of these basking sharks.

Needless to say, a successful morning out filming rendered a slightly later than planned return to Reen Pier, thus pushing the start of our own trip on a bit but we didn't mind. Pádraig Whooley of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group launched into an impromptu and entertaining pier-side seminar on cetaceans for the benefit of those who hadn't been whale, or indeed, basking shark watching before.

With Colin no.2 now safely back onto land, (a sunny backdrop of Castletownshend behind him) we were able to look forward to going out on our own trip with Colin no.1. With the Holly Jo dwarfing the curragh which Colin Stafford-Johnson was using as his signature filming platform, we were content with the relatively larger viewing platform from which to make our observations

With the drone having done its' work for the day, it was packed carefully away into the box, the aerial shots providing an even better perspective than ever I could manage of these gentle giants of the sea, from the viewing platform on the Holly Jo.

Not knowing the actual schedule for the resulting programmes, I was delighted to see part 1 of Wild Ireland: The Edge of the World scheduled, appropriately for St Patricks' Day last week, with part 2 to be shown tonight at 9pm on BBC2. This week, showing the basking sharks in Donegal, in the north. A quick message to Colin Stafford-Johnson checking to see if the West Cork 'baskers' would also feature rendered this reply.

"Hi Celia.
Sharks were filmed in several places but could only be shown in one as it were.....I think they placed them in Donegal in this episode...Colin."

So you never know, it might be this one above which features this evening...well I would like to think so!

Do try to catch Wild Ireland: The Edge of the World tonight, or on catch up iPlayer - wonderful escapism in a week that will be memorable for tragic reasons.

Risso's Dolphin encounter

The first window in the weather for a while for a trip out on the Holly Jo was yesterday afternoon, but as I was on the airport run with my West Cork Photography Breaks guests, it was disappointment all round that we couldn't take up a place on the boat. So, this morning I was able to hop on board with the promise I would let my guests have an insight into what they might have experienced. Such is the way of nature and weather, these trips can't unfortunately be guaranteed but here I was now, on a beautiful calm morning, heading out into West Cork waters.

Almost as soon as we turned east out of Castlehaven, there were shouts of 'Blow!' Observers on the cabin roof could see a huge mass of diving birds which in turn showed up the presence of at least two fin whales, which had been seen in a similar area yesterday afternoon. Promising!

Along the way, we paused briefly for a minke whale but our pot of gold would be to find the fin whale, so we pressed on towards Galley Head. We could still see the the seabird mass ahead of us and as we got closer, it was clear that the speed-merchants of the sea had motored off, leaving the birds to carry on forming a smaller baitball than the dolphins do, and which is just too small to be of interest the fin whales.

As we turned south through the gulls and gannets, it gave an opportunity to observe the guillemots who were resplendent in their winter plumage 'specatcles'.

Now the search was on for the fin whales once more but at the speed they travel, they could have been half way to Cork. We turned tack again and headed west and were soon joined by the ever delightful short beaked common dolphins, happy to bow ride.

As we were enjoying their antics, a shout came from the observation platform.

"What was that?! It's either a Risso's or an orca with a fin like that!"

We all trained our eyes on the sea ahead. An orca?! Now that would be something, as on the pre-sailing introduction, Colin always points out that we won't be finding orcas.

"Risso's - it's a Risso's!"

This seldom seen deep water dolphin was right there in front of us and we all looked out for 'that' fin with a taller and straighter profile which can be mistaken for an orca.

And there it was, not a fin whale today but instead a relative rarity in West Cork cetacean terms, and one that I hadn't yet ticked off my list. I was delighted. Not least because all of this was happening right on my home patch just east of the Stag Rocks.

We watched with excitement, and the original thought that there was just a solitary Risso's dolphin got updated to...there may be more than one.
And then...

...there were two - a Risso's mother and her calf.

How amazing!!



I will just have to wait until another time to tick off the orca but today, I was truly happy to have watched these rarities swim and breach - several times in the water around us.

Time was up - we had to head back to Reen Pier and just then, Colin got a phone call through

"We are watching fin whales lunge feeding off Galley Head...!!!"
Doh!



Thanks as always to Colin of Cork Whale Watch

Beach bits and bobs

It's the 1st October and this afternoon I spent a very pleasant couple of hours down on our little strand out here in West Cork. It was just like summer, what with temperatures being in the 20s (I really hope this settled spell will still be with us in the middle of the month when the guests arrive for my West Cork Photography Weekends!) I sat in the sunshine and listened to the gentle swoosh of the calm sea as it lapped onto the sandy low-tide strand. I watched as the stonechats and the little wren hopped along the scrubby back cliff and the assorted corvids flew back and forth to their spot on the old watch tower on the Head.

I just love the time to escape and soak up the beauty of this world at the furthest south west corner of Ireland, and it is just this which I want to share with those who will be coming along to these exclusive photography weekends in a couple of weeks time. As well as the special opportunity to go looking for the big guys on a whale watching trip (and I'm pleased to announce that the fin whales arrived back in the West Cork waters this morning!) there will also be the chance to take an extra special close look at the little things that can often be overlooked.

As well as the more recognisable beach bits and bobs, I will be actively encouraging the keen photographers to search out the unusual. Finding things they have never seen before, photographing them then coming back to look up what they have discovered. Even I never stop discovering new things. Today I came across these squishy amber balls - some full of liquid, others deflated and dessicated. All I had to do was photograph it, leave it undisturbed on the shore and then do the ID when I returned to my special little reference library. In this library collection I have a superb little book The RSPB Handbook of the Seashore by my great tweep friend, the marine and coastal ecologist, Maya Plass. In no time at all I had found the answer to my puzzle Colpomenia peregrina or the Oyster Thief (also known as the sea potato)

So not only will there be much learning of photography techniques, there will be widening of knowledge of the natural world too. Oh, and spotting slightly more common things such as these crystal-clear common jellyfish Aurelia aurita.

If this appeals to you, then you are in luck as there are still two places available in a twin/double room on the weekend of the 25th October

However, have no fear if getting down and sandy is not completely your idea of spending a weekend with your camera, this is just a small part of the whole scheme of this taster weekend. Landscapes or people and place more your scene? They all will have their turn!

Photography Weekends

Well, it has been a quiet week in terms of my blog following the daily postings during my August Challenge. (Thank you for all your support there) However, I haven't posted anything here as I have been busy with not only the usual shoots for clients but preparing for and launching a show in Design Essentials for the month of September. (More on that in another post) But there is one more thing I have been busy with - preparing to open my West Cork doors for Photography Weekends.

As many of you know, I am fortunate to be able to divide my time between life in East Anglia and escaping to West Cork. I have also had many of you comment on how lovely it looks and how much you too would love to visit. Well now I'm offering you the opportunity to do just that!

For three weekends during October, I will be hosting exclusive three night photographic breaks for beginners and improvers in a home from home environment. Group sizes are limited to four and will be fully escorted and inclusive. There will be opportunities to try many different aspects of photography whilst enjoying a holiday in this beautiful part of Ireland. The highlight of the weekend will be a trip out whale watching (weather permitting) with Cork Whale Watch, just as the season for cetacean activity is approaching its peak.

The long weekends run from Saturday to Tuesday on the following dates:

SB01 Saturday 11th — Tuesday 14th October 2014

SB02 Saturday 18th — Tuesday 21st October 2014

SB03 Saturday 25th — Tuesday 28th October 2014

NOTE: weekend two is now sold out, there is availability on weekend three and limited availability on weekend one.

For more details, go to my website and look for West Cork Photography Weekends in the Photo Courses section. If you would like to book, I recommend you don't hang about as interest has been keen since I first mentioned I would be offering these breaks and there are limited places. If however you won't be able to make it at short notice, then don't worry - I'm planning to expand the selection of breaks in the Spring and run similar breaks next Autumn (although they won't be at the same special introductory price next year!)

Only £475.00 per person*

Don't delay! Book today, or share this post with anyone you think would love this special opportunity.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Escape to West Cork

It is the time for our annual May break in West Cork and I can't say how much I have been waiting to get back out here for an escape, after the many things that have been happening during recent weeks.
Our regular, if today, rather bracing walk around the Head blew away the cobwebs and we were once again able to sit and take in the beautiful views, the wonderful colours and the delights of watching gannets diving for fish, just off the rocks ahead of us.

I had simply gone out, armed only with my 24-105 lens and no filters, so the stunning colours are purely as seen.
Could it be any better? Well yes, if the wind would just calm down a bit, there might be the possibility of spotting a minke whale or two off the coast, or maybe even a basking shark, which are currently known to be in the area.
We can but hope.

As well as the stunning scenery, the fresh new growth is taking shape along the verges - the majestic gunnera, the wild garlic, and best of all, the first jewel-like glimpses of the flower of West Cork, the fuchsia.

Ahhhh! I can breathe again.

______________________________

If you too would like to escape and enjoy the delights of West Cork whilst learning the basics of photography, I am announcing that I hope to be running exclusive short breaks in the Autumn.
Details are to be finalised, but if this appeals to you, please do register your interest and I can forward the information as it becomes available.

A Series of Phenomena

**By the way, a bit of a celebration here... this is my 500th blog post - hip hip hooray!**

During my trip out to West Cork last week, the weather was kind enough (for once) for me to get out and about with my camera. Although this visit was made for a particular assignment, it was the unplanned shots that ended up being the winners for me. However, I must warn you that you may find some of the following images upsetting.

Rainbows, a phenomenon which never cease to please but it is a case of being in the right place at the right time, so when this one suddenly appeared over Dooneen, as I was going out on a tea-time foray at the end of a glorious day, I was fortunate to be set up with my gear.

Rolling a little further down the hill and I came across the next phenomenon - starlings. There is a small murmuration that happens around Bawnishall most evenings between late Autumn and early Spring. Nothing on the scale of the Fen Drayton show I usually go to watch here in the UK but wonderful none the less.

On this particular evening they were just starting to gather on the wires as I sat watching from the rain protected car, their distinctive chatter confirming their presence.

An hour or so later on my return journey along the Glandore road, the next phenomenon caught my eye. The rooks were noisily having their turn at gathering for the night - safety in numbers and all that. In the trees, along the wires - in the fading light it could be viewed as menacing but for me, a fascinating thing to watch. How they all stay put on a swaying wire amazes me and depending on which way they faced, they carefully adjusted their 'trim'. The overall effect was like looking at a bird-barbed wire (and as I was tucked in on a narrow road, I was getting barbed looks from the passing motorists too!)

A phenomenon which can either be interesting or distressing is cetacean stranding. Live strandings, whilst stressful for the creature, with the right care from trained volunteers they can have a successful outcome. Whales, dolphins and porpoises can be successfully returned to the sea.
Unfortunately, sometimes it is too late for a successful rescue, as it was for this common dolphin, which had been thrown over the sea wall by storm waves at Tragumna.

It was clear that this one, a female, had probably died at sea and was subsequently washed up in the carpark. I didn't know how long it had been there but I took the stance that it would be better to report the stranding to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group rather than assume it had already been reported.
In the event, IWDG's Padraig Whooley and Calvin Jones had already been on the case and their reporting of it has been logged.

Whilst this may seem a distasteful action in some eyes, this data is important in determining the health, welfare and habits of the cetacean population around the coast of Ireland

By the time I saw this stranding, the carcass had been at the location for almost a week, with the elements and predation clearly having taken its toll. Happily, by the next day, the carcass had been removed.

However, I couldn't help but be amazed at the zipper-like set of teeth.

Finally this phenomenon is practically something that occurs all the time but these unusual waves on 3rd March off the West Cork coast were seemingly appearing from nowhere in an otherwise calm sea. Such was the enormity of the waves, I was able to observe them breaking right over the top of the Fastnet Lighthouse, some seventeen miles in the distance. We shouldn't underestimate the power of the sea, as we have seen, the recent storms hitting the coast and doing millions in damage. However, it also has the power of cleansing by taking some of the unfortunate strandings back out to sea for nature to continue with recycling - you could say, one last phenomenon.

The Hunt for Whale October

Although reluctantly leaving this years fallow deer rut-watch back in East Anglia, I knew I wasn't going to be missing out on some of the nature spectacles that take place during October, as out here in West Cork the whale season has already kicked off. Having spectacularly enjoyed displays from humpback whales here in the past, I was looking forward to further encounters in this corner of the Atlantic, known as Celtic Sea. No need to travel to Iceland, America and the like, it all happens here on our doorstep.

When not in Ireland, I'm easily able to keep up to date with whale activity via the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group
a conservation and research group, so I already knew that the humpbacks had returned to Irish waters this Autumn. Before Friday, they had last been observed off Slea Head on the Kerry coast, so hopes were high that they might have moved 'around the corner' to the waters within easy cruising distance from where we were to depart, at Castlehaven. As always, we were joining the enthusiastic Colin Barnes on the Holly Jo for one of the Cork Whale Watch trips, and wearing my IWDG hat as well as a visitors hat, I would be looking out for signs of any cetacean activity.

From Castlehaven Harbour looking towards the Stag Rocks

The weather had been less than favourable for whale watching for quite some number of days, so as the first trip out for a while, it would be anyones guess as to where to start looking for the whales. Leaving the shelter of the harbour, we made for the Stag Rocks, where shags, black backed gulls and hooded crows perched. The rocks around this landmark with a cleft secret, were unusually devoid of the basking seals which normally slipped into the water as we passed between its jagged fingers. Instead, they had moved to the tiny caves under the imposing rock which is Toe Head, to give birth to and look after their young, as it is also the breeding season for the grey seals.
Fluffy, creamy-white pups nestled at the back of the caves whilst the mums balanced on top of the exposed rocks, giving us a nonchalant wave as we passed by.

A little further west beyond The Stags, we got our first indication of possible activity. Diving gannets busied themselves as we motored closer.

As anticipated, there was associated activity. Diving gannets meant there were fish, and in this case also meant the presence of dolphins...

...and this was all going on in the now choppy waters beneath the headland we call home.

Short beaked common dolphins were bow riding the Holly Jo. Side by side, several mother and calf pairs fearlessly raced in front of the catamaran, whilst ahead of us, more of this pod of dolphins were swimming round and round to form a bait ball gannets and gulls alike taking advantage of this bounty.

As we watched from The Holly Jo, now bobbing engine-less along-side, two minke whales came in from the east. Excitement rose with this first encounter of the day with whales, that it might lead to a bout of lunge feeding. All cameras were focused on the fish/dolphin/bird frenzy waiting for a huge gaping mouth to come in and gulp down the lunch snack conveniently prepared by the dolphins.
And we waited.
Several times the minke swam up and around, seemingly eyeing up the menu but not once did they attempt a lunge at the bait ball. It appeared they weren't hungry enough to gatecrash this party.

As the tide turned, so did the Holly Jo following the 'big' news Colin had received, and we motored off eastwards.

As we drew nearer to the waters around Galley Head, we could see the small trawler belonging to the local fisherman who had called Colin to alert him to the presence of 2 or 3 fin whales, the second largest of all whales. Although reported as 'big' ones it can be surpringly tricky to spot the presence of these large whales, who have the ability to quickly cover larges areas. Twice we missed the tell-tale signs as another call came across that they were right in front of us. And then we saw it. A blow!

A wind-messed column of vapourised sea water lingered in the air long enough for us all to turn towards the area of potential action. Cameras were raised in anticipation but we had caught the last indicator of this latest surfacing and it would be another nine or ten minutes before they would be likely to surface again.

And so once again we waited, the sea conditions now becoming more difficult, with the little Holly Jo bobbing and rolling in the swell, and taking its toll on several of those on board. I breathed deeply, as I was determined not to miss this opportunity to observe these fin whales as I knew that my secret wish for a humpback sighting was going to be fruitless due to being just too early in the season.

Then there they were. A pair of large fin whales surfaced a few hundred metres in front of us. Shutters clicked away as the swell moved our viewing platform up and down, bringing the whales in and out of view. To capture any shot was going to be a bit of an achievement but I managed a run of four shots, the one above being 'the best of the day'.
You already know from previous posts that I am a realist when it comes to wildlife photography, and I know it can take years to achieve the perfect shots. Sadly, this fin image was a little too oblique to be able to use for identification purposes but I was just delighted that we had had this encounter with these impressive creatures. Delighted also, that after four fruitless whale trips over a number of years, himself had finally managed to observe whales too, and he was happy (if rather green).

By now, my sailing mates Stuge and Ron were doing everything in their power to keep me happy, and not wishing to push my luck any further, I settled myself down quietly on the bench behind the wheelhouse as we began to long roly-poly journey back. In my half asleep state, I was aware we had slowed, and thinking this was the harbour approaching, I paid little attention, only to find out later that there had been fin whales motoring alongside the boat just a few metres away.
You can't win them all!

After what seemed an age, my senses then went into overdrive, even with my eyes closed, I knew we had arrived at land - I could smell it! It was a smell I recalled from the very first time I sailed into Ireland nearly twenty years ago, and a smell I have smelled almost every time I have sailed in since then. For me, it is a comforting homely smell, for others, just the smell of muck-spread fields but on this particular day, it indicated the end of a successful trip to encounter these amazing monsters of the sea.

                                                                                 * * * * * *

If you would like to see fin whale action from the Holly Jo but don't have sea legs, then you are in luck!

BBC1 is currently airing a series called The Great British Year where it reveals a portrait of the dynamic nature of Britain over the course of one year. The final episode to be screened on 23rd October covers Autumn, and back last year, the film crew went aboard the Holly Jo with Colin, to capture the fin whale footage that will be shown (check out images 10 & 11)