Humpback whale Howth

Smokey Bear

Hi,
There is a humpback whale in Howth clearly visible between Irelands eye and harbour.100 years since one spotted on the East Coast.

Smokey Bear.

Bluetonic

Irish Whale and Dolphin group say 20 years, how and ever exciting news.

Confirmed sighting of whale off Howth
Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:02
There has been a confirmed sighting of a humpback whale in waters off Howth Head in Co Dublin.

The animal, believed to be an adult, was photographed this afternoon within metres of the Cardinal marker, between Howth Harbour and Ireland's Eye.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group says it is the first sighting of a humpback in the eastern Irish Sea for 20 years and one of only a handful of validated recordings in Irish waters in the past century.

The IWDG is urging boats to keep a 100m distance from the whale and keep speeds to less than 7 knots.

They should not cross the animal's path, and should maintain a parallel course with the whale if travelling with it

Lickin' Gravy

Cool news. Thanks for posting this.:)

flanzer

Savage stuff.....doe's it mean we'll get a good summer now??!!

phasers

Has anyone got any photos by any chance? I'd love to see them

Loopy

There's all sorts happening out in Howth these days. I might take a test drive out there and see if I can spot it.

Larianne

http://www.iwdg.ie/article.asp?id=2391

doctorwu

Lets hope the humpback dosent want a massage. Strange things happen in Howth when you gaze into the eyes of the masseus?. Anyway good luck to the whale.

epgc3fyqirnbsx

I went fishing for a whale one day.

A bicycle whale!!!



/gets coat

FlawedGenius

Is it a killer whale???:pac: Would it eat if you were in having a dip?

ElaElaElano

I might take a trip out to Howth tomorrow, keep meaning to go anyway and here's a good reason to.

I'll have a whale of a time.

epgc3fyqirnbsx

ElaElaElano wrote: »

I might take a trip out to Howth tomorrow, keep meaning to go anyway and here's a good reason to.

I'll have a whale of a time.

Watch out for the humpback bridge on your way out

Jim

robbie_998

phasers wrote: »

Has anyone got any photos by any chance? I'd love to see them

get your fecking coat and go see the whale for yourself !

steddyeddy

there has been hump back whales sighted of dublin for years this is nothing new

Lando Griffin

Just what I always wanted

---

Grabs rod and worm.

Tabnabs

Don't tell the Japanese!

Mark#1

What's your source of that information Steddyteddy?

It wouldn't surprise me if humpbacks were present in the Irish sea, but I think the IWDG are saying there haven't been any recorded for 20 years.

If anyone sees what they think is a humpback (or any other whale, dolphin or porpoise), they should try to note any physical characteristics and take photographs if possible, and report them to the IWDG.

Anyway, this news is very exciting and could even go some way to tell us more about humpbacks around Ireland/NW Europe, and perhaps the health of the Irish sea.

Hopefully the creature doesn't get harrassed out of the area, or injured, by careless observers - if anyone's lucky enough to have access to a boat, and the weather permits, there are guidelines for watching whales from a boat on the IWDG site.


Mark

Miguel_Sanchez

steddyeddy wrote: »

there has been hump back whales sighted of dublin for years this is nothing new

Why is everyone saying there hasn't been one for 20 years or more then?

Brendog

Jim wrote: »

I'm sorry I can't hear you over the sound of how Awesome that post is!

Pigeon Reaper

Jeff_Lebowski wrote: »

Why is everyone saying there hasn't been one for 20 years or more then?

The previous sightings haven't been confirmed so they may have been mistaken about species. The IWDG team are excellent at what they do and their advise should be followed. It'll be easier to spot the whale from the land due to the higher vantage than from a boat and hopefully the strong wind will prevent too many boats from going out.

phasers

robbie_998 wrote: »

get your fecking coat and go see the whale for yourself !

I'd have to get a bus and a train, feck that!

arybvtcw0eolkf

Lads I don't have the time or patience to trim the thread, but I'll ask you to stop acting the sack please.

There are a minority here taking this serious and giving out good advice, let them do that without the BS pls.

speedster

Whale Update - Whale turns out not to be a humpback. After a small increase in visibility it was identified as Mary Harney, out for her weekly splash & wash a little earlier than normal.

arybvtcw0eolkf

speedster wrote: »

Whale Update - Whale turns out not to be a humpback. After a small increase in visibility it was identified as Mary Harney, out for her weekly splash & wash a little earlier than normal.

And infraction issued.

Anyone else?.

Larianne

Was going to head up to Howth later to check it out but from the IWDG it looks like spotting it will be hard due to stormy sea conditions.

Does anyone know whether its likely there is more than one or do they travel alone?

Pigeon Reaper

It's likely to be alone. If you're out trying to spot it keep an eye open for porpoise and dolphins off howth. You might be lucky to spot a blow from the whale but in this wind it will be difficult. Also the choppy water will make it difficult to see the actual animal.

WindSock

Shame it's not a Killer Whale that could cull some of those overfed fat smelly seals in the harbour. Wonder how the chap managed to get itself into the mingin Irish Sea? Maybe he/she has a deathwish and would prefer not to be beached.

phasers

I love the seals

Sharlovesjohn

the fella from IWDG was just on Spin 1038 and said it is a HumpBack and that it should hang around for a week at least as its a young male on its way to breed in Africa

Also there is a spot in which the IWDG go whale spotting in Howth not sure where it is though

Tabnabs

Pigeon Reaper wrote: »

It's likely to be alone. If you're out trying to spot it keep an eye open for porpoise and dolphins off howth. You might be lucky to spot a blow from the whale but in this wind it will be difficult. Also the choppy water will make it difficult to see the actual animal.

I always found a useful indication was a lot of seabird activity around a seemingly empty/random bit of water. Bring your binoculars!

Pigeon Reaper

from the reports it hasn't been feeding when sighted but the bird signs normally works when looking for dolphins.

John_Rambo

WindSock wrote: »

Wonder how the chap managed to get itself into the mingin Irish Sea?

What are you talking about? The Irish Sea is very clean, take it from someone who spends a lot of time in and on it. In the last couple of years I have seen pods of dolphins, porpoises, whales, sharks, seals and hundreds of sea birds, some rare ones.

Take a dip and see!

WindSock

Oh right. I was always under the impression it was fairly polluted from Sellafield and all that.

stovelid

John_Rambo wrote: »

What are you talking about? The Irish Sea is very clean, take it from someone who spends a lot of time in and on it. In the last couple of years I have seen pods of dolphins, porpoises, whales, sharks, seals and hundreds of sea birds, some rare ones.

Take a dip and see!

Why does it smell so bad sometimes?

Not challenging: just interested to know from somebody who knows the score. Is it rotting seaweed or some other natural cayse?

robbie_998

stovelid wrote: »

Why does it smell so bad sometimes?

Not challenging: just interested to know from somebody who knows the score. Is it rotting seaweed or some other natural cayse?

you might as well be asking why is the tide so high !

John_Rambo

stovelid wrote: »

Why does it smell so bad sometimes?

I guess nature stinks sometimes! You should get the smell when a whale blows out through it's blow hole! It's disgusting. I suppose decaying seaweed in very warm weather will smell bad.

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