Video footage shows dolphins in harbour

Beautiful footage showing dolphins rising to the surface of the water in Sunderland harbour as the sun began to rise over Roker Pier was captured this week.

James Mole caught on camera the dolphins swimming in front of the vessel early on Tuesday, as the sun rises in the background.

He spotted the dolphins at around 5am and says they’re ‘pretty common’ at this time of year due to the mackerel being closer to the shore.

The stunning footage, which can be viewed on the Sunderland Echo website at www.sunderlandecho.com, follows a possible sighting of orcas, also known as killer whales, just down the coastline at Seaham on Monday.

Resident Tim Ward, who captured the picture, believed the animals to be orcas and took photographs when he spotted them in the water between 3.30pm and 4pm.

A wildlife expert then confirmed the pictures, which can also be seen on the Echo website, do show three of the whales.

Dorinda Kealoha, engagement officer at Durham Wildlife Trust who previously worked for the National Marine Aquarium, said: “It is definitely an orca – based on the colouring and markings are different and the size of the dorsal fin.” Earlier this month, there was a confirmed sighting of a group of killer whales off the Northumberland coast at Seahouses. Experts believe that it could be the same pod returning to the North East area.

It’s not uncommon for dolphins, porpoise and minke whales to venture into English shores during the warmer weather.