Friday, December 12, 2025
Greger clicked on Ullapool Craic's Facebook on his iPad and announced "A humpback whale in Loch Broom"! Trouble was, we were in Edinburgh, visiting the Christmas market, the National Museum of Scotland, and Ikea. We arrived home as the storm began on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday the weather was impossible. On Thursday I didn't get out until midday, but I did manage to see the whale from West Terrace. It was far out near a fishing boat, and impossible to photograph. But through the bins I could see the long, slow roll forwards; it seemed to go on forever - must be huge!
At least one kittiwake was seen among the throng of gulls, and just before I gave up for the day a white-winger came flying steadily up the loch in worsening light and a shower of rain.
The extreme arching of the back as the whale dives again intrigues me; I always think it looks impossible for such a large animal to scrunch itself up. I suppose it doesn't - but just pushes its back up beneath the dorsal fin. Or something. I'll look it up.
The boat, being dark and stationary, was useful to focus on before panning sideways in hopes of catching the whale; the whale helped by surfacing very close to the boat!
Expert whale-watchers were aboard, and some excellent photos were taken.
