Sea life

The photos above were taken by Cuttles aboard the Stronsay Maid

The photos below were taken by Sue Scott, marine biologist and underwater photographer, near the southern shore of Little Loch Broom

A skua frequently follows the boat we share to cross to the carpark on the other side, hoping to intimidate us into disgorging fish. Two people in that boat in summer 2009 were surrounded by dolphins. A young man alone in the boat three summers ago watched a humpback whale breach about 20 metres ahead of the boat, about twice the boat's size. Porpoise are a more common sight from the boat in summer ; not so common as jellyfish. The dolphin when they come into Little Loch Broom often come in squadrons, sometimes fifty or more. Sea trout go up the loch in spring to the Dundonnell river, and the clear ocean awards crab, lobster, prawn, mackerel and pollock to those who will go get them. Along the shorelines we gather mussels and winkles, and in spring last year a dead minke whale washed up on a beach out towards Cailleach Head, and could be seen for weeks usually surrounded by birds too fat to fly. To see a basking shark you just need to wait a while ; most years see a handful of sightings. To see an orca, a killer whale, you might need to go out beyond Cailleach Head, and wait a long while. Loch Broom is the better side to meet otters and seals, although close to the jetty across from Scoraig on Little Loch Broom every autumn one seal comes to spend time through the winter laying with head and rear flippers arched upwards balancing on one particular rock. The rock is a lot shorter than the seal, so it involves some teetering when high tide comes up to wash over the top of the rock. Such are the things we do for excitement here in the far north.