Dolphin watching in Scotland
Scotland is Europe’s wildlife destination and beside the animals and birds seen on land you can enjoy an excursion off the coast to catch a glimpse of sea animals, particularly cetaceans of all shapes and sizes. A renowned area in Scotland for this is the Moray Firth, though bottlenose dolphins may be seen all around the coast of Scotland. Common dolphins are seen around the Hebrides and the west coast is popular whale-watching territory; you are likely to spot minke whale around the Small Isles, and if you are really lucky, the orca in the Minches. There are plenty of sharks on the west coast too.
A good place to begin your Scotland adventure is The Moray Firth Wildlife Centre from where one can participate in dolphin watching from the shore or from a boat. The excursion also takes you whale and dolphin watching around the Isle of Mull. A visit to the WDCS Wildlife Centre in Spey Bay and adjacent wildlife reserve is rewarding where you can go on a full day wildlife land safari with ‘Discover Mull’ and several scenic walks and tours.
An attractive excursion that takes you to two beautiful regions of Scotland to observe wildlife there begins at Moray Firth, a beautiful and unspoiled part of Northern Scotland. The bottlenose dolphins of the Moray Firth are the only resident population in the North Sea and the WDCS has an ongoing Adopt a Dolphin project to preserve this vital part of Scotland’s natural heritage.
The latter part of the excursion is based in a quaint little town Tobermory in Mull and this is the starting point for a number of land and boat-based wildlife trips. The Isle of Mull offers wonderful opportunities to observe minke whales, harbour porpoises, Risso’s dolphins, common dolphins and on a lucky day, the orca. You will also see other water creatures like basking sharks, seals and otters in the bays and inlets.
The land safari through the wild life reserve is a fantastic chance to spot deer, polecats, lizards, otters, ospreys, seals and many species of birds, such as buzzards, sparrow hawks, sea eagles, golden eagles, puffins, owls, divers and grebes.
