Posts in Survey Summaries

Killer End to our 2019 Summer Surveys

What an end to the 2019 summer season on board Silurian: amazing encounters, fantastic team, great conditions and, to top it all off, an encounter with the famous bull killer whales, John Coe and Aquarius!

Silurian surveys Joint Warrior military exercise

Our latest survey was scheduled to coincide with the biannual Joint Warrior exercise to help understand the impact that these activities may have on cetaceans across the Hebrides.

A truly epic wildlife experience on our last Kyle of Lochalsh survey!

It was a truely epic experience for our last Kyle of Localsh survey of the year, with seven species of marine mammals encountered including: common dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, white-beaked dolphins, minke whales, harbour porpoise, grey and common seals.

All four seasons experienced on our first survey from Kyle of Lochalsh

We experienced every type of weather that the west coast has to offer on our first survey departing from Kyle of Lochalsh. Seven species of marine megafauna were encountered: basking sharks, common dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, minke whales, harbour porpoise, grey and common seals

Time and tide wait for no one... Silurian surveys the Corryvreckan

Silurian and her crew soak up some iconic Scottish scenery winding their way through spectacular sea lochs in between the cloud-capped mountains, well known castles and sail through the Corryvreckan, enjoying some wonderful porpoise sightings and frolicking common dolphins along the way.

Silurian surveys Stanton Banks on our Teen Research Expedition

Our first Teen Expedition of 2019, was totally unexpected, completely extraordinary and a huge amount of fun! Thanks to our six young, enthusiastic citizen scientists and some very settled weather, we sailed an impressive 232 nautical miles over five days, recording a whopping 123 sightings of 455 marine animals.

Expedition Survey ends on a bottlenose dolphin high!

A variety weather conditions kept us on our toes for the latest research expedition. Six species of marine mammal were encountered: common dolphin, minke whale, harbour porpoise, grey and common seal and on our last morning a pod of 15 bottlenose dolphin!

All species checked off ID guide during Ullapool survey!

The seventh expedition of the summer season concentrated on the northern and western reaches of our survey area, with ten species of marine mega-fauna encountered, including: basking shark, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, minke whales, harbour porpoise, grey and common seals.

Silurian volunteers have an unforgettable morning surrounded by basking sharks

Our latest research expedition concentrated on surveying the wild and remote northern reaches of our survey area, and saw Silurian sail up to Cape Wrath, the most north-westerly point of the UK mainland. It was a great trip with an unforgettable morning with basking sharks and plenty of other wildlife along the way too, and the evenings were spent enjoying spectacular sunsets and exploring uninhabited islands.

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User27 June 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans, Basking shark

Species galore as Silurian surveys the southern reaches of our survey area

The fourth survey of the summer season concentrated on the southern reaches of our survey area, with eight species of marine megafauna encountered, inlcuding: basking sharks, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, minke whales, harbour porpoise, grey and common seals.

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User12 June 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

Familiar faces join Silurian as she surveys the Outer Isles

The third survey of the season explored the waters of the southern Outer Hebridean Islands, bringing the first basking shark sightings of the year on board Silurian! We also encountered hundreds of common dolphins, 10 minke whales, as well as harbour porpoise, common and grey seals.

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User4 June 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

Spectacular minke whale sightings mark the start of Silurian’s summer survey season

We started the summer survey season in style on Silurian with our first minke whales of the year during the first standard survey expedition of 2019, and what spectacular sightings they were! We also saw bottlenose and common dolphins, harbour porpoise, grey seals and common seals.

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User27 May 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

Silurian receives some well-deserved TLC!

Thanks to the generous backing of our funders and supporters, our research vessel Silurian has undergone a transformation! She travels thousands of miles every year to monitor Hebridean marine life and we are delighted that we have been able to give her the TLC she deserves!

Silurian, Survey SummariesLauren Hartny-Mills23 May 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

HWDT monitor Joint Warrior exercises in the Hebrides

Our last winter survey departed last week with a special volunteer on board. Andy Tait is one of our longest running and dedicated volunteers and has been working with the trust for 25 years! During the survey we saw harbour porpoise, grey and common seals and even a common dolphin!

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User24 April 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

One of our longest running volunteers joins us for the March winter survey

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User1 April 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

First all-female crew run February winter survey

An all-female crew have delivered a dedicated monitoring survey on Silurian for the first time! With the help of five volunteers, they scanned the waters around Mull during our second winter survey.

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User13 March 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

Winter Survey Summary: January

Our first ever survey in January marked the launch of our new multiyear programme of dedicated monitoring surveys during the winter months, providing critical year-round data for the first time in our history.

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User18 February 2019Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

Inspiring Ullapool’s Future Scientists and Sailors

As part of the Coigach and Assynt Living Landscape Partnership Scheme’s Marine Project, five local teens joined HWDT on board Silurian to see what living at sea and researching whales and dolphins is all about. Find out from their perspective how they got on…

Silurian, Survey SummariesCaroline Willis5 November 2018silurian, survey, dolphins, volunteers, volunteernow, marine wildlife, marine conservation, HWDT, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, scotland, work experience, porpoise, sailing, youth trip, breakingdownbarriers

Survey Summary: Teen Research Expedition 3

The last survey of 2018 - our third and final Teen Research Expedition, covering waters around Wester Ross and up to Lochinver. This trip really proves that volunteering on board Silurian, is about much more than spotting a few dolphins!

Silurian, Survey SummariesCaroline Willis2 November 2018silurian, survey, dolphins, volunteers, volunteernow, marine wildlife, marine conservation, HWDT, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, scotland, teen team, teen research expedition, work experience, porpoise, sailing, sailing holiday

Survey Summary: HWDT 13

During the survey we had some amazing sightings of several species of cetacean, encountering white-beaked dolphins, common dolphins, minke whales and harbour porpoise. We also had some incredible skies, including an amazing display of the northern lights, accompanied by shooting stars.

Silurian, Survey SummariesGuest User23 October 2018Silurian, volunteer holidays, whales, dolphins, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, HWDT, survey, Scotland, Hebrides, cetaceans

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