Forth whale to feature on BBC TV show

Awhale nicknamed Barney often seen in the waters of the Firth of Forth will make his debut appearance on TV this week.

The huge humpback whale has been a regular visitor to the Firth of Forth in recent years and is popular among local wildlife watchers.

Lyndsay Mcneill is one of hundreds of volunteers who help to track Barney and other humpback whales spotted in Scotland.

And she has shared that Barney will make his TV debut this week on the BBC Landward series.

Airing tomorrow at 8.30pm, the show will feature people from Fife reconnecting with nature during lockdown.

Barney was seen recently off the coast at Kinghorn, and other sightings have taken place around Burntisland.

Fishermen have also reported sightings of the huge mammal, who is easily spotted thanks to a distinctive dorsal fin, and locals are confident in identifying Barney whenever he appears in the Forth.

He was even spotted on the other side of Scotland recently, and locals enjoy tracking him down from pictures shared online.

Humpback whales can grow as large as 60ft and primarily feed in cold waters after they breed in warm sub-tropical waters, but repeated visits like Barney’s are thought to be unusual.

Lyndsay, who runs a Facebook group to help track the mammals, explained that the animals in the Forth are suited to the humpback whale’s normal diet.

“We have a lot of sand eels, sprat and herring in

the Forth, which is what their diet is here,” she told the BBC previously.

Lyndsay was recently left delighted after Barney appeared to say hello to her, with a video she shared showing the whale blowing water from his blowhole as

he briefly appears on the surface of the water before diving back under.

No one yet knows whether the whale is male or female.

Landward airs on the BBC Scotland channel tomorrow at 8.30pm.

WELCOME BACK: The huge humpback whale is a regular visitor to the Firth of Forth.