I have travelled down to Kilrush to work alongside Mags Daly, IWDG Shannon Dolphin Project officer, as her research assistant for the summer. I will be completing 3 months of placement starting with 3 weeks on board Celtic Mist. Our mission? To photograph and catalogue the entire bottlenose dolphin population along the coast of Clare and Kerry – a project as exhilarating and challenging as it is essential.

We embarked from Kilrush bright and early, making our way out of the Shannon Estuary, where we were greeted with our first sighting of the trip – a group of around 10 bottlenoses, including 3 calves. There was great excitement as the dolphins approached the boat to bow-ride, their fins slicing through the waves and their white bellies showing underwater as they rolled in and out. I ran to record our time and GPS location in Logger and grabbed my camera, hoping to capture some images for identification. We then continued along our transect lines out towards Loop Head and finally returned to anchor in Carrigaholt for the night after a successful day.

 

 

We had our most successful day of surveying so far on day six, where we had 15 total marine mammal sightings, including 8 bottlenose sightings, 2 common dolphin sightings, 3 grey seal sightings and 1 probable minke whale sighting. Three of the bottlenose sightings occurred in the Slea Head area with the other five happening in very close proximity and timing to each other in Brandon Bay. For two hours we were extremely busy running around trying to get the best angles for photographing fins and quickly scribbling down details of the sightings while the crew informed us (or rather exclaimed) of even more individuals in the distance. At one point we were surrounded by numerous tight groups of 3-4 bottlenoses, mainly juveniles, approaching the boat to bow-ride, challenging us to go faster and exhibiting social behaviour such as side slaps, leaping and breaching. It was an incredible experience, even including the several times the same dolphin splashed me with a tail slap as I attempted to take pictures!

This first week has been an absolute treat between seeing my first group of bottlenoses to spending glorious sunny days out at sea. I have gained a wealth of experience already, including improving my photography skills, working as part of a tight-knit crew and realising that I really need to scrub up on my knotting skills! Being out on the water each day has deepened my appreciation for Ireland’s marine life and the urgent need to preserve it. Playing even a small role in this process has been an invaluable opportunity.

For our second week on board Celtic Mist, we will cover more of our transect areas, focusing on the Tralee Bay and Shannon Estuary area, photographing as many individuals as we can to update the Shannon Dolphin catalogue. Watch how week two went @shannon_dolphin_project.

Read the full blog.

Learn more about the Shannon Dolphin Project.

 

Ailbhe Power

MSc Ecological Management and Conservation Biology