8th - 12th of July: Visit to Mayo

After one more successful encounter of bottlenose in the mouth of Killary fjord on the 26th of June (we decided that this was our best encounter so far due to the flat calm weather, clear water and dolphins foraging and displaying acrobatic jumps!) the weather seemed to continue sunny and more importantly calm so we decided to pack our stuff and head up to Belmullet, Mayo, for a couple of days and do surveys in the area.

Bottlenose dolphins near the mouth of Killary fjord on the 26th of June. Photo by Milaja Nykanen

After having (too many) whiskies with our gracious hosts, Ross, Barry and Kirstie on the previous night, we got up early and launched the boat just to notice that one of the engines was not working properly. Despite the engine problems and the hangover, we finally spotted some dolphins off a beach near Letterbeg on the west side of Belmullet peninsula after six hours of sailing. The dolphins were right in shore, less than 2m deep water and we (myself, Andy and Barry, who works for the CMRC Broadhaven team) observed them riding the waves and playing in the shallow water. The water was so clear and blue-green in colour that it seemed that we were somewhere in the tropics! We also observed the dolphins swimming upside down as if trying to catch something (flat fish?) from the sandy bottom, and at times they were blowing bubble rings when they were in deeper water which I have never seen before. I have to change my mind and say that this was our best encounter so far!

Bottlenose dolphins in the shallow water in Belmullet. Photo by Barry McGovern

On the following day we went out on the water again (this time with Ross who also works for the CMRC Broadhaven team) and saw another group of dolphins between Achill island and Duvillaun More just when we had given up hope to see them again and were heading back. The dolphins were again foraging, this time in the tidal rip between the islands. We had such good encounters and in general great time in Mayo - thanks again Ross, Kirstie and Barry for your hospitality!

Bottlenose dolphins jumping in Belmullet, Mayo. Photo by Barry McGovern

I haven't had the chance to properly go through the pictures that we got in Belmullet, but I recognized at least five individuals from the first day in Mayo that we have regularly seen down in Connemara. It certainly seems like the dolphins on the west coast of Ireland are very mobile and have wide home ranges.

Milaja