Minke whale at safe distance while I have a telescopic view
IT DOES not seem too long ago that my only chance of seeing – never mind identifying – a marine mammal on Yorkshire’s coast was the occasional ghastly spectacle of an unfortunate whale, dolphin or porpoise stranded on a beach or washed ashore.
Nowadays, high- powered telescopes and an increasing knowledge of the mammals’ profiles and behaviour has permitted a profusion of sightings from coastal headlands like Ravenscar, Filey Brigg, Bempton and Flamborough. And it was from the grassy clifftop of Carr Naze at Filey last week that I managed to identify a common minke whale whitening an otherwise calm sea as it arched gracefully from south to north.
I cannot take full credit for its identification.
A significant role was played by a website loaded onto my smartphone, which I used to compare what I was seeing through by telescope lens with the characteristics of what I suppose are the usual whale suspects in the North Sea.
And once I had satisfied myself that this one had a fairly pointed head and a large curved dorsal fin towards the end of its back, and managed to glimpse its light-grey underparts I was certain it was a minke. Identification was complete when I glimpsed a white- banded flipper. Apparently the minke found in southern hemisphere oceans doesn’t have this, and so in the North Sea it was final piece of the identikit picture.
The minke is the smallest whale found in British waters, and the one that seems to be seen most often in summer off the Yorkshire coast. In fact, they have become a popular feature of whale watching cruises from July to September.
They are known for being sociable and frequently come right up to boats to take a look at their occupants. This has led to them receiving a pretty unflattering nickname, however, for when cruise passengers get a whiff of the whale’s fishy breath they understand why it is called the “stinky minke”.
One whale watching operator says he logged more than 200 sightings on each trip during the summer before last.
There are definitely years when more are in evidence, and their numbers seem to increase when shoals of herrings are spawning offshore.
Often they are seen alone, but sometimes they appear in small family groups. A couple of days after I saw the minke from Filey Brigg a party of three was sighted from Flamborough Bird Observatory.
At the weekend, I was concerned to hear that one minke was in danger of becoming stranded on Fish Sands near the mouth of the Tees. Fortunately, though, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue organisation was alerted. With help from local coastguards, a team of trained marine mammal medics reached the whale and managed to keep it off the sand and begin the process of manoeuvring it onto rescue pontoons.
Happily, there was a rising tide and the whale made a sudden movement. Then to everyone’s delight it swam off into deeper water, apparently none the worse for its experience.