Fin whales arrive in Irish waters

Fin whales have a distinctive 6-8m blow which appears as a white "inverted cone". Photo credit Peter Wilson/IWDG.

By Pádraig Whooley of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group
July 2010. Well, we all know that one swallow doesn't make a summer, but 12-15 Fin whales does certainly mark the beginning of the large whale season. 

Andrew Malcolm decided he had just enough of a weather window to justify heading down to Ram Head, Ardmore, Co. Waterford to his regular watch site. From the very start of the watch Andrew detected large blows along the horizon to the south of Ram Head. The species was confirmed as Fin whales, and best estimate of numbers was an impressive 12-15 animals.

This watch, combined with his previous encounter of fin whales on Monday 5th July, confirm their arrival in Irish inshore waters. Let's hope we have opportunities to get out among them to continue our photo ID efforts in the weeks ahead.
IWDG would really appreciate any sightings reports of these or any whales in the whale season ahead.

Fin whales have an impressive 6-8m blow which appears as a white "inverted cone", length 50-75ft, and often in small aggregations of 2-5 animals, or larger feeding groups.