Hot Spots.
(Links are blue or red and underlined click on to follow.)
These are areas where the most sightings occur.
Some Hotspots are short lived and others last for years.
In Caithness there are 3 regular Hotspots.
These are Thurso and Gills Bay on the North Coast, Lybster on the East Coast.
The town of Thurso sits on the Thurso River which is very popular with salmon fishermen.
The river feeds out into a large Bay with the Scrabster Ferry terminal on the West side with Holborn Head jutting out into the approach to the Pentand Firth.
On the East side you have Dunnet Bay and the Furthest point North on the mainland of the U.K. Dunnet Head.
In the distance you can see the Orkney Islands, if you look carefully to the West side of Orkney you can just see the Old Man of Hoy.
Thurso Bay during Spring and Summer months receives various species of cetaceans.
Minke Whales, Risso's Dolphins, White-beaked Dolphins, Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, Common Dolphins and large numbers of Harbour Porpoise.
Basking Sharks, Common and Grey Seals are also seen in the Bay.
Best Places to Observe From:
Victoria Walk - near the Caravan Park. This will give you a good view of the Bay, but you
may find some cetaceans may be a little to far out for the smaller powered optical instruments.
Holborn Head- accessed by a gate on the left just before the Lighthouse at Scrabster.
The headland gives a good view of the Bay and puts you much closer to the migration Route of
cetaceans through the Pentland Firth.
Karen reported seeing Dolphins very close in at this location.
Certainly a good spot for a photo opportunity.
........................................
Gills Bay.
The Best Place To Observe From - Car Lay By.
Gills Bay is where the Pentland Ferry terminal is situated.
Just to the East of the turning for the terminal is a large Lay By.
Just below the Lay by groups of Common and Grey Seals Haul out for long periods.
From here you have a good view of the Island of Stroma and the Stroma Sound.
Harbour Porpoise gather here in numbers in excess of 60 every year from late July through to October.
Minkes, Dolphins and Killer Whales have also been seen from here.
If you want to get close to the Harbour Porpoise, the John O'Groats Ferry does wild life trips
that will take you close to the gathered Porpoise so you can get that close up picture.
...................................
The Best Place to Observe From;
The Old Look Out Swiney Hill
There are two ways to get to the look out.
The way I go is through the gate on the Harbour side of the bridge spanning the stream and gully, then it's a stiff climb to the top of the hill, you can stop half way up at the bench which gives a fantastic view of the Harbour.
When you get to the top turn left and follow the fence to the second stile, then it's over the stile and follow the left hand fence to the view point.
There you will find the old concrete base of the look out hut.
The other side of the fence is a bench to make yourself comfortable while you wait for something to happen.
The other route takes you South past Lybster on the A99 and then take the second turn on the left, follow this until you see a stile on the left (parking may be difficult but not impossible).
Go over the stile, go over the second stile then turn right and follow the fence to the next stile, over this then follow the left fence to the view point.
During the Summer Harbour Porpoise feed on the far side of the Bay to your left, I have seen Minkes feeding just outside Lybster Harbour on several occasions.
Sperm Whales and Humback Whales have on rare occasions been seen feeding in the Bay to the right.
Risso's Dolphins sightings have increased in number and have been seen no more than 100 feet from the cliff directly in front of the bench.
Killer Whales are not uncommon, but are inclined to stay well off shore, I have been lucky and have tracked a pod North along the A99 coast road, got ahead of them and found them within 50 feet of the cliffs at Sarclet by Thrumster.
I've also seen White-beaked Dolphins, Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Common Dolphins and the odd Basking Shark.
Common and Grey Seals are also a common sight.
As a matter of interest;
The oil rigs you can see from this location are 12 miles out and sitting on the Smith Bank.
The oil field is called the Beatrice Field.
After a watch you can always stop at the Heritage centre at the Harbour for refreshments.
..............................................................................................................................................................
Two other locations outside Caithness that derserve a mention are Chanonry Point and Strathy Point.
Chanonry Point
Near Fortrose on the Black Isle is the place to go if you want to get close to the Moray Firth Dolphins.
Come off the A9 at Tore and follow the A832 to Fortrose, there is a sign directing you to the point after you have passed through the main part of the town.
Once you have driven through the golf club you will come to a car park, the car park does fill very quickly during the Summer months.
If you can't park, back track and turn right and go through the caravan park and you can park on the edge of the Bay.
It's a fair walk along the beach to the Point.
During the Summer Months these dolphins come very close to the beach where large crowds gather to take pictures and watch in the hope the dolphins will start leaping and splashing.
The best time to go is when the tide starts to rise, it's at this time the dolphins come in to feed in the narrows between Fort George and the Lighthouse point.
The web site below will give you tide times in GMT for Inverness, add 1 hour for BST.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast/tides/scotland_01.shtml
..........................
Strathy Point
Is on the North Coast of Sutherland about 40 miles West of Thurso on the A836.
Park in the car park then walk through the gate to the headland.
White-beaked Dolphins and passing whales are a common sight from this location.
Large number of Harbour Porpoise are also seen.
Last time i was there, the sea was calm but the day was spoilt by fog, i still managed to see a Sperm Whale.
Remember cliffs can be dangerous, best place to observe from is the old concrete look out.
You can get to the end of the point but what can be gained is not worth the risk of a fall.
Colin