Whale fans flock for once-in-a-lifetime view
‘It’s young but it seems to be feeding well and swimming against the tide so there’s a lot of hope for it’
On a bank of the Thames, a motley band has gathered, staring out into the muddy water.
“Thar she blows,” cries one, as a flash of white emerges from the water, adding: “I’ve always wanted to say that, ever since I saw Moby Dick.”
The twitchers in camouflage, office workers in suits and children who have skipped school have come to to see the white beluga whale that swam into the Thames Estuary on Tuesday and was spotted near Coalhouse Fort in Tilbury, Essex, some 2,000 miles south of its normal Arctic home.
When it wasn’t spotted at first light, there were fears it had perished – bringing back memories of the northern bottlenose that caused a sensation when it swam up the Thames and ultimately beached and died at Battersea in 2006.
Ecologists feared for the fate of the “very lost” marine mammal, and a possible sighting on the Gravesend side of the estuary was initially dismissed as a porpoise. But onlookers let out a collective yelp as the creature rose from the Thames and swam further in and started frolicking in the waves. An RSPCA inspector on the scene confirmed it was the beluga and said that although she was worried that it was still not out at sea, it appeared to be swimming normally.
Philip Palmer, a tour guide with Bird Holidays, which organises nature viewing trips abroad, has seen more than 100 beluga whales on his trips. But to see one in the UK is so exciting, he says (only 19 have ever been seen in our waters). He woke up at 6am at his Notts home and watched for news that it was still in the Thames.
At 9.30am, word came of a sighting and he got in the car in camouflage trousers, a black T-shirt and wellies and drove four hours south.
“It’s exceptional to see something like this here,” he says. Approaching the river, he is confident the whale is healthy. “They live in estuaries such as this in places like Quebec and they love muddy river water,” he says.
“It probably can’t be happier than it is right here.”
By the time Mr Palmer arrived, the whale was “happily feeding” on crabs and other crustaceans. Dozens of bird watchers, locals and ecologists had gathered on the banks on either side. It swam in between some barges undisturbed after the Port of London Authority urged boats to avoid the area.
Beluga whales can grow up to 20ft long and are usually at home in the icy waters around Greenland, Svalbard or the Barents Sea. As they are a social species, some had concerns that it was alone, and rescue teams were on standby in case it got into danger.
Mr Palmer skirts past a dozen watchers who are gazing into the sun and complaining about the visibility.
He knows the light will be better further up and, true enough, he sees the whale nine times in less than an hour. “You can see it blowing spit into the air,” he says. “I lent a passing cyclist my binoculars. He was just as excited as me.”
Word of the good view soon travels and more whale watchers appear. “Find the pylon to the left of the barge and it’s coming up there,” says one watcher to the newcomers.
Water laps the shore and a gentle hum of cars and machinery carries on the wind. The shore sparkles as the warm autumn sun catches on broken pieces of glass and china.
The whale watchers peer through binoculars in silent awe, tensely awaiting the chance to see the beluga.
Some have been waiting since dawn, others have come from east London in their lunch break and will have less than half an hour watching. The former wear khakis and the latter suits and sunglasses.
“I’m a happy man,” says Steve Arnold, 54, a local, as he catches his first sight of the beluga. Mr Arnold, a gardener and caretaker, arrived at lunch time after heading for the river when he saw news of sightings on Twitter. “I thought, this is a once-in-alifetime experience, so b----- work,” he says. “You can’t beat days like this.”
Nick Lay, 45, a lorry driver, who is interested in water voles, has been here since 6.30am. “I booked work off, I wouldn’t miss this,” he says.
Silhouetted against the sun, the whale looks grey rather than dazzling white and is sticking closer to the Gravesend side of the bank. Mr Palmer decides to brave the Dartford tunnel in order to get better photos.
Mr Lay says: “It’s young but it seems to be feeding well and swimming against the tide so there’s a lot of hope for it.” As the sun drops, it slowly moves downstream, raising hopes that it will find its way back to the sea overnight.
But if it sticks around, its audience is set to stick around as well.