Posts tagged join us on board
Dolphins and seals dominated fourtheenth research survey…

The team on our fourteenth survey encountered minke whales, common dolphins, white-beaked dolphins and Atlantic blue-fin tuna on their nine day expedition out of Tobermory. Read all about their experiences here…

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Go west! Survey team 13 find their sense of adventure aboard Silurian

As reports of the wettest summer on record spread, the team aboard the 13th expedition this field season battled through to survey around the west of Mull, rewarded with dolphins and porpoises.

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Porpoise, seals and seabirds outshone the high seas on our latest survey

Wow - we’ve completed out twelfth survey of the season! Although the challenging weather keeps on coming, our latest bunch of intrepid sailors found an abundance of porpoise, seals and seabirds.

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Wind and rain didn't dampen spirits during our second teen expedition

The second of our teen trips this year experienced some challenging conditions. However, off Scotland’s west coast there are many sounds (channels of water) and sea lochs to hide from the worst of the weather. During this expedition, we managed to survey some local sea lochs for the first time this ‘summer’ field season.

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Plankton parties, sea dips, BBQ’s and minke whales on our first teen trip of the year

The teens from our first teen research trip this year recount their experience surveying Hebridean Seas and the fun times they had joining us onboard our research vessel, Silurian.

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Minke madness, basking shark and humpback whales on our ninth survey...

The team on our ninth survey encountered minke whales, common dolphins, basking shark and humpback whales on their nine day expedition out of Ullapool. Read all about their experiences here…

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A trio of whales in a day on our eight survey of the season!

The team who joined our seventh expedition encountered minke whales and dolphin calves galore while battling through large swells in the Minch. Read all about their expedition here…

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Dolphin calves galore on HWDT 7…

The team who joined our seventh expedition encountered minke whales and dolphin calves galore while battling through large swells in the Minch. Read all about their expedition here…

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Close encounters of the whale kind…

The team who joined the sixth expedition of the 2024 summer field season encountered ten minke whales while circumnavigating Islay and Jura.

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Plankton party, poems and …pigs during fifth expedition of the 'summer' season

The fifth expedition of the year presented some challenging weather conditions, but the hardy souls aboard Silurian provided equal measures of fun and laughter with food. A plankton party and pass the pigs providing a memorable week for all.

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Whales, dolphins and sunshine during third expedition

The team of the season's third expedition enjoyed sightings of whales, dolphins, and sunny weather! They recorded over 200 marine mammals in the week-long live-aboard expedition surveying the Hebridean seas.

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Join a Teen Team expedition for free!

Thanks to generous sponsorship, HWDT are delighted to offer two free spaces to young adults living on the west coast of Scotland. If you are aged 16 or 17 and have an interest in the marine environment, apply today to join us for free on an expedition running 04 - 10 August 2024.

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Second expedition encounters porpoises, dolphins...and strong winds

The second survey of the season kicked off amidst April showers and strong winds. Our intrepid team of volunteers were trained in Silurian’s scientific protocols and battled the waves to collect valuable data. Read all about their experiences here…

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First expedition brings whales, dolphins, porpoises...and Storm Kathleen!

The first expedition marked the start of the 2024 summer field season and despite some challenging weather - namely Storm Kathleen - the crew and team of citizen scientists monitored areas of the Southern Hebrides and recorded five species of marine mammal.

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Telling the tale of the west coast killer whale

Killer whales hold a special wonder for many people and in recent years, John Coe and Aquarius of the West Coast Community have become local celebrities. Morven, our Communications Manager, has followed the story of the plight of these killer whales for many years. Here she shares what has been uncovered about the group since she began working at the Trust…

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Surprise sighting during second winter survey!

Our winter survey programme on board Silurian, our research vessel, has been running since 2019 and aims to understand more about the year-round presence of whales, dolphins and porpoises in Hebridean seas.

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Not one, but two species of dolphin encountered on our first winter survey of 2024!

Our winter survey programme on board Silurian has been running since 2019, trying to understand more about the year-round presence of marine vertebrates within the Hebridean seas. these surveys are important given that before the start of the programme, little winter data existed for the region. below, the team onboard the first winter survey of this year, give an update…

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Dolphins galore on sixteenth survey of the year!

The Crew of our sixteenth research expedition surveyed The Minch and Sound of Rasaay, encountering four species of cetacean in their week-long trip. Unfortunately, the trip was cut short due to a mechanical issue but not before the team were inundated with dolphins! Read all about their time on board Silurian

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Whaley wet weather for the fifteenth research expedition!

The crew of our fifteenth research expedition of the year left Mallaig and monitored water east of the Isle of Skye. Despite challenging weather, the fantastic team of citizen scientists who joined the crew onboard encountered six species of marine mammals across the seven days.

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Killer whales kick-start fourteenth research expedition

The crew of our fourteenth research expedition surveyed the Sea of the Hebrides, encountering four species of cetacean in their week-long trip. One the first afternoon the team were surprised to sight the West Coast Community killer whales travelling past Ardnamurchan Point. Read all about their time on board Silurian here…

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