Posts by Katie Dyke
Citizen Science really matters
The WDC Shorewatch team have been recording some really exciting sightings: pygmy sperm whales from the Western Isles, sperm whales from the Moray Coast and orca from the North coast; but why does all this data matter? The term ‘citizen science’ is most often used to describe schemes which data is collected by community volunteers…
Read MoreBig Watch Weekend 2017
Update by Anna Inman Thanks to all Shorewatchers who took part in another exciting Big Watch Weekend! It was great to meet up with so many dedicated Shorewatchers over the weekend, with many being rewarded for their efforts with some great sightings, including: bottlenose dolphin, minke whale, harbour porpoise, orca, humpback whale, pygmy sperm whale,…
Read More2017 Sightings in Scotland
Update by Emma Steel It has been an extremely exciting couple of weeks for cetacean sightings here in Scotland, with a few less common species popping in to say hello, and a total of 12 cetacean species recorded in 2017 so far! The Shorewatch team spent a week up in Caithness and had some fantastic…
Read MoreThe Life of Riley, A WDC Shorewatch dog; Orcawatch by Steve Truluck
‘ORCA!!!!’ That was the new command billowing from my human during our visit to Duncansby Head, Caithness, Scotland. We’ve done lots of training together including closing doors and bringing his slippers, but I’d never heard this command before!? Funnily enough though, all of the humans that were there did know this command. They would instantly…
Read MoreThe Life of Riley, A Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) Shorewatch dog
It all started on the sofa. There we were, enjoying the sea view when suddenly there was an almighty splash out in the Firth. A whale then launched out of the water several times. My human, Steve, who is a WDC Shorewatcher, was beside himself. He grabbed his binoculars and witnessed a humpback whale pirouetting…
Read MoreMen in suits – The Life of Riley, A WDC Shorewatch dog
Like most of the Moray Firth in Scotland, the WDC Shorewatch site at Nairn is stunning. We were enjoying the views over the sandy beach and across 5 miles of sea to the entrance of the Cromarty Firth, hoping to catch a glimpse of the world famous Moray Firth dolphins, or maybe a whale, when…
Read MoreThe Life of Riley, A WDC Shorewatch dog
He’s lost the plot. My poor human has lost the plot. 10 days in Englandshire without seeing whales and dolphins have broken him. It all started when he went on BookFace. He saw that my friends the WDC Shorewatchers have been seeing dolphins and many lots of different types of whales. New volunteers, Mark and…
Read MoreThe Life of Riley, A WDC Shorewatch dog
Find out about WDC Shorewatch through the eyes of Riley the springer spaniel and his owner Steve Truluck. A dog that writes blogs? Pull the other one! OK so actually I’ve trained my human to type what he’s told; he’ll do anything for one of my cuddles. I’ve been asked to write a series of…
Read MoreThe Moray 'Mediterranean’ shines over watching weekend
September 9-11th marked our 12th Big Watch Weekend for WDC’s Shorewatch sighting project in Scotland. With our team of dedicated volunteers raring to go, we were hoping for a record number of watches. Unfortunately, high winds on the west coast stopped our west coast volunteers in carrying out many watches and impacted our overall numbers.…
Read MoreLocal volunteers record lots of activity over WDC Shorewatch Big Watch Weekend
Volunteer whale and dolphin observers took to the shore despite the weather as part of the WDC Shorewatch Big Watch Weekend (BWW). WDC Shorewatch relies on community volunteers to monitor the presence of whales, dolphins and porpoises around Scotland. WDC asks volunteers to carry out regular 10-minute watches at specific sites to help learn more about…
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