So there I was on Saturday, sitting on the driftwood seat that I've made down by the mouth of the North Esk, beer in one hand, sandwich in the other, when I noticed a large flock of Gannets diving in and fishing about 100m offshore. I put the beer down and grabbed my monocular. It was at that point that a dolphin leapt clean out of the water in a shower of spray!
What transpired over the next 30 minutes was that the dolphins were circling a shoal of fish and smashing into them to stun them. The Gannets were diving straight in immediately after them to pick up the left overs. There were about a dozen dolphins in the pod, heading and tailing or leaping out of the water and around thirty or so Gannets raining down.
I think it was probably mackerel they were after but it could have been salmon and sea trout ready to run up the Esk.
Anyhoo, it was a really cool show and one of those things that you just had to be there at that time and place.
Sorry there are no pictures but my wee Samsung's lens isn't long enough to capture the action. Just thought I'd share.
Cheers
What transpired over the next 30 minutes was that the dolphins were circling a shoal of fish and smashing into them to stun them. The Gannets were diving straight in immediately after them to pick up the left overs. There were about a dozen dolphins in the pod, heading and tailing or leaping out of the water and around thirty or so Gannets raining down.
I think it was probably mackerel they were after but it could have been salmon and sea trout ready to run up the Esk.
Anyhoo, it was a really cool show and one of those things that you just had to be there at that time and place.
Sorry there are no pictures but my wee Samsung's lens isn't long enough to capture the action. Just thought I'd share.
Cheers
