Big Skye Country

In the summer, you can you usually find Rob, Wishart (the dog) and me doing field work in our little boat with whales and dolphins in British Columbia, Canada.  This year’s different.

We’re in a new country.  Scotland.  I’m finishing my PhD on dolphin ecology and Rob is in the middle of his Marie Curie Research Fellowship (researching ocean noise), both at the University of St Andrews.

This is the first time in over a decade that we are away from the Pacific Northwest and sitting a summer out.  There’s no denying it:  we are homesick.  Wishart’s actually homestick (there is way less driftwood on these beaches than at home!).

We find ourselves fighting the urge to pack our camera equipment, binoculars, field notes and dog biscuits into the boat.  We’re restless.  We are constantly gazing out into the waves, hoping for a marine mammal to emerge.

Wilderness was required.  We needed to increase the probability of a dolphin sighting.  A road trip was in order.  So, we packed up and headed to the Highlands, to the stunning Isle of Skye to visit a friend, Deirdre.  (Truth is, we needed a doctor’s signature on a form, but any excuse for a road trip.  We also miss long Canadian drives.)  So we did what you do before any pilot field study:  we asked around for traditional ecological knowledge.  Fortunately, here at the world renowned Sea Mammal Research Unit, you don’t need to go far to find an expert on sea mammals.  Our good friend and colleague, Lindsay Wilson, conducts amazing research on seals and their diet all over Scotland.  Lindsay handed us a map, pointed out some hotspots, and away we went!

Wishart is an incredible dolphin-spotter.  But this trip was going to be exclusively shore-based.  However, he did mange to spot some wildlife for us along the way.

When we reached our destination the first night, we spotted a pod of about 20 common dolphins swimming past our hotel as we parked the car!  Mission accomplished.   Unless we start seeing bottlenose dolphins in St Andrews Bay, that glimpse may have to tide us over until the fall, when Rob and I will be presenting our work at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Vancouver.  Rob will present his work on ocean noise, killer whales and salmon.  I’ll present on dolphins.  We will travel to the conference thanks to generous donations of frequent flyer miles to our charitable pooling account with Aeroplan.  If we can raise enough cash to put fuel in our boat, we will also be able to spend two weeks conducting conservation-minded research on Pacific white-sided dolphins.  Learn more about our dolphin study here, and if you’re interested, you can help support our dolphin field work here.  Thanks very much!

Happy summer,

Erin +Rob