# General > Biodiversity >  Killer Whale (Orca)

## Seabird

Found around the Caithness Coast at Around the time Common Seal pups are Born May to August.
At the moment there is speculation that the increase in Orca activity is the cause of the decline in Common Seal numbers around the far North Coasts.
This picture was taken at Duncansby Head July 2007

----------


## kas

I heard Orca were spotted by the North Coast Explorer in the Firth on Sunday. There was also another sighting in Hoxa, Orkney the following day.

----------


## sprint95m

Population of grey seals has increased, it is therefore only to be expected that the numbers of their predator, the Killer Whale will also increase?

----------


## Seabird

> Population of grey seals has increased, it is therefore only to be expected that the numbers of their predator, the Killer Whale will also increase?


Your Logic is sound sprint95m but not necessarily true in the case of Kller Whales
Not all Killer Whales eat Mammals some eat only fish.
Killer Whales will take Grey Seals thats for sure.
 Their arrival is timed with the comon pup season, they are smaller and are easier for the calves to manage.
I might add Grey seal may have increased but Commons are down by about 30% Andy Foot from Aberdeen University is studying Orcas around the North of Scotland and thinks Orcas might be the reason for the decline in common seals.
That is assuming the Orcas are taking the baby commons which unlike greys are born in the sea.
Andy Foot will be giving a talk in Caithness later in the year to reveal some of his findings.
There is no evidence to suggest Orcas have increased in numbers.
The popularity of Digital Photography and seawatching as brought about more reporting of Cetaceans.
Last year the number of Orcas off Norway was well down as was the Minke Whale.
2006 there were very few Orca sightings around Caithness compared with 2005.
Caithness had a good year 2007 with about 15 sightings, but you must remember people are reporting the same groups several times over as they move back and forth along the coast.

----------


## sprint95m

Thanks for the explanation, Seabird.

There used to be a killer whale in Strathy Bay each late summer until about ten years ago. A fisherman from Melvich told me it was a male that returned year after year. 
Strathy Point used to be a good spot for seeing various cetaceans and sea birds, but not so in recent years alas.

----------


## alcyjohn

i used to be a fisherman and we saw them around caithness quite often

----------


## Kismet

Great, must get a few coastal walks in, in the hope  of seeing some  :Grin:  My daughter was always whale daft and she would be over the moon to see one relatively close. Orcas were her favourite but even as a small child seemed to adore them all covered in barnacles or not  ::  She was a hyper wee thing and only way to keep her sitting in one place was to put on an her whale documentary lol Was an hour and a half long and she sat glued was a well needed break I can tell you  ::

----------


## fingalmacool

One of the best summer jobs i ever had was salmon fishing of the Melness coast, did two seasons 82 and 83. Orca's were a common sight for us working close to the shore, I must admit i was a little scared the first time we saw them, because they were very interested in us and gave us a good looking over for about 10 mins, there were about 7 of them and two or three of them were a good bit bigger than our cobble. 
An elderly farmer who had sheep all up the coast as far as Eriboll told me one day when he was a boy he seen an Orca take a seal of the rocks in Eriboll.

----------


## Hibeechick

Orca's. Some of the most beautiful creatures on this earth. Been lucky to have had the opertunity to see them in the wild. Almost had to be held back as it wouldn't have taken much to have gone in for a swim with them! Theres just something to majestic about them, and to look into the eye of one, such deep souls!

----------


## Kismet

Have read articles claiming that being close to whales and dolphins changes you, a pretty fantastic experience I would imagine, having never been up close to a whale. Except one dying on the beach  :Frown:

----------


## Hibeechick

> Have read articles claiming that being close to whales and dolphins changes you, a pretty fantastic experience I would imagine, having never been up close to a whale. Except one dying on the beach


Sounds daft doesnt it? True though! I swam with dolphins in 2000 and again 2005. Nothing in the world compares for me! It's like they can see right inside you. Totally relaxed, for me the rest of the world blurred in the back ground. It's hard to put into words how it makes you feel, just one of those things you really have to experience for yourself.

----------


## Seabird

The North Coast Adventure Rib boat as now had 2 encounters with Orcas in the Pentland Firth this month.
The first encounter was on the 4th of May when 6 were seen close to shore before turning North and past Stroma.
The group consisted of 1 Bull 3 females and 2 juveniles.

The latest encounter was on Saturday the 17th when 8 animals were seen to the North of Stroma heading East.
This group consisted of 2 large males the remainder is uncertain.
The reason for this was the rib was carring a group of childeren who were not to keen to get closer so the rib turned away before they could fully investigate the group.

Colin

----------


## Seabird

The Pentland Venture John O'Groats Ferry so i'm informed saw Orcas tonight between Stroma and the skerries.
Also uncomfirmed report that they saw them on Sunday.

If any one wants to try and see Orcas i would suggest they try around the time that
Low Tide starts to turn at Duncansby Head.
That should be about 16.58pm on the 20th May Give it 30 minutes either side.
Remember the Pentland Firth is quite wide so even if they are there you may not be able to see them if they are to far out.

Colin

----------


## Seabird

Now have confirmed reports that Orcas were seen by the John O'Groats Ferry Monday evening at aprox 19.15pm. No sighting on Sunday.
This evening i went straight to Duncansby Head arriving at 18.00pm to find my friend Kas had got there first.
A minke was seen at 18.50pm several miles out going East.
At 19.10pm i heard a shriek from Kas saying i see them.
They were right next to the ferry port on South Ronaldsay, the ferry had also seen them.
We watched them splashing ,tail slapping,leaping and spy hopping up until 21.50pm when we lost sight of them.
There were 2 large Males and 4 females.

Colin

----------


## kas

The Aberdeen lifeboat crew were on passage past Wick today and saw 3 Orca, 2 males and a small female. They were 3 miles offshore.
INfo courtesy of Billy miller of the Thurso Lifeboat. Thanks Billy.

----------


## Seabird

Pentland Firth
   4th May x6....17th May x8.....19th May x6.....20th May x6 also seen from Duncansby
Wick
   8th June x3
Dunnet Head
   Unconfirmed sighting 15th June

Colin Bird
Sea watch Coordinator NE

----------


## Seabird

North Coast Adventure rib encountered 9 Killer Whales in the Pentland Firth at about 4pm between Stroma and John 0'Groats on Saturday.
There was 1 large Bull 2 females and 6 juveniles.
Thats their 3rd encounter with Killer Whales this Summer.

----------


## horseman

Right thats it--signed up for America this year,but it's gonna' be caithness next year :Wink:

----------


## Seabird

Reported sighting in the Pentland Firth on the 5th July by Andy Smart.
(Orkney side of Firth)

----------


## kas

Report of 5 at Portskerra on 04.08.08, 2 males and 3 females.

----------


## smithp

There are 3 brackets of orcas - ones that occupy fixed locations near to land, ones that spend most of there time far out at sea and transitory ones. A large pod can be as many as sixty - smaller pods could be breakaways from larger pods. The primary food for the majority of orcas is herring. However transitory orcas (which is what we have ) most commonly  feed on seals.

----------


## Seabird

> There are 3 brackets of orcas - ones that occupy fixed locations near to land, ones that spend most of there time far out at sea and transitory ones. A large pod can be as many as sixty - smaller pods could be breakaways from larger pods. The primary food for the majority of orcas is herring. However transitory orcas (which is what we have ) most commonly  feed on seals.


Orca pods are usually family groups, but you do get break aways of two and threes.
The very large pods you mention are when smaller pods come together and form large numbers for short periods.
It's been reported that apart from socialising there is no interaction between the individual pods, (sexual)
There have been sightings of these large pods to the West of Shetland near the oil platform.
Andy Foot  (Aberdeen Uni) also reported one well out to the East of Shetland during early Summer.
Andy is doing a survey on Orcas and is making ID records of the Orcas seen around Scotland.
He estimates the number seen around Scotland and the Islands at 60, most are being seen over and over again giving the impression that there are a lot more.
A friend of mine who does Mammal sighting and recording for oil companies has reported seeing groups of 80+.
I hope he brings me some pics taken with his new camera from his present trip. 
What a fantastic sight such a large group must be.

Colin

----------


## kas

5 seen at Strathy the day following the Portskerra sighting.

Re the 9 seen round Stroma in June, 4 of them were seen in Shetland yesterday, with reports of another 5 in the area. They know the 4 seen yesterday are 4 of the Stroma 9, by using photo ID. Going the composition of the 4 in this group, it looks likely to be the 4 I saw in Orkney during July whilst travelling back from Shetland on the Ferry.

----------


## Seabird

Just received a report of 2 Killer Whales seen breaching off the Wick Coast between
 11.00 - 12.00 on the 18-9-08.
The Whales were believed to be Adult females
These were observed by Michael Millar a Creel boat skipper.

It is also reported that Killer Whales were also observed from the Old Coast Guard House over looking the Wick Estuary on the 17th September.
No details given for this sighting.

Colin
Seawatch Foundation
coordinator
NE Scotland

----------


## Seabird

Message from Andy Foot Aberdeen university.

"So far the photo-identfication work on Shetland killer whales has shown that the same whales return each summer and are part of the Icelandic herring-eating population. Any photos collected this year will be used to estimate birth and mortality rates and the size of this population, and help set up a baseline for long-term monitoring of the population's health. We'd therefore greatly appreciate copies of any photographs of killer whales from Shetland, Orkney or Caithness this year. Andy Foote a.d.foote@abdn.ac.uk"

We in Caithness usually start getting Killer Whales migrating north through Caithness waters late May and through June into early July.
This period is not set in stone but based on sightings over the last few years.
The normal hot spots are Pentland Firth from Dunnet Head to Duncansby Head, Sinclair Bay near Kiess and Wick.
Other places are Sarclet, Lybster, Whaligoe and even Dunbeath.
The rising tide being best time to watch for these Trekers feeding on Caithness seals while heading North.

Colin

----------


## kas

Dare I say it.
Its coming to that time again. ::  :: 
Pointless post I know,  its just I am getting a bit impatient for the second half of May as the tend to be in the Firth at some point a day or two around the twentieth.

----------


## Seabird

A group of Killer Whales reported off John O' Groats at 10.50am on Friday the 8th May 2009
The Killer Whales were reported to be in 2 groups, Bull and Female in each group.
Report received via Kas and Ivor of the John O' Groats Ferry.

Colin

----------


## kas

5 Orca seen by Seabird from Duncansby Head on Thursday evening 21.05 around 1830hrs. They were between South Ronaldsay and Muckle Skerry, then on to Little Skerry.

----------


## ett23

> Dare I say it.
> Its coming to that time again.
> Pointless post I know, its just I am getting a bit impatient for the second half of May as the tend to be in the Firth at some point a day or two around the twentieth.


Wow that's quite an exact calculation, and looks like you were spot on!! Wish I'd seen them - must be amazing to watch!!  :Grin:

----------


## kas

Was more gutted as I had organised to meet Seabird at 1830 the time he saw them but was running late as I had no car. The 20th and 21st of May are dates in the last 3 years I have seen them in the Firth, certainly a good time to look for them . For me they are natures greatest sight.

----------

