Lost & Found Sei whale, Firth of Forth
Britain and ireland are both geographically well placed for a range of unusual cetacean sightings – typically deep-water species that have wandered from the whale migration routes running along the continental shelf in the north-east Atlantic.
Several such sightings were made this year from the Firth of Forth, where the star attraction was a sei whale seen over much of the spring and summer after it was first filmed at close range near to the Forth Road Bridge. The third largest whale on the planet, following the blue and the similar, but more regularly seen, fin whale, this poorly studied and globally rare species is also one of the fastest cetaceans.
Sei whales are rare in British waters, particularly near the coast, but may also be under-recorded due to their similarity to the fin whale. The two can be separated by the dorsal fin shape, but this can be difficult to determine at sea.
The Scottish visitor could be surprisingly unpredictable and elusive, to the frustration of many onlookers, some of whom waited days for a sighting. Its conspicuous 3m-high blow allowed it to be tracked distantly from shore at times, but the whale covered a large area, often swimming 2-3km between breaths and keeping a generally low profile, with no breaching reported and characteristic minimal surface disturbance when feeding.
After spending about four months in the Firth of Forth, the whale – believed to be healthy and well fed – seems to have swum back out and followed the coastline north, with two subsequent sightings made from St Andrews and near Montrose.