Caithness couple 'beyond excited' at seeing humpback whales from their house
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A local sea-watcher who witnessed a group of humpback whales passing the north coast of Caithness has described it as an "extra-special" experience.
Jackie Osborn said she and husband Barry were "beyond excited" as it was the first time they had spotted humpbacks from their house at Gills.
As the three whales continued west, the couple drove to Dunnet Head where they saw the group again about half a mile offshore. Fellow sea-watcher Karen Munro was there too, and she managed to take a series of photographs showing the humpbacks' distinctive dorsal fins.
The sighting happened on Friday afternoon.
From their home, Jackie and Barry have an uninterrupted view to Stroma and this has allowed them to see species such as orca, harbour porpoise, Risso's dolphins and minke whales.
"As well as regularly watching from our house, we drive to various other lookouts around the Caithness coast," Jackie explained. "We never leave the house without our binoculars."
They sometimes take their campervan to the west coast and to Moray, choosing camp sites that allow them to keep an eye out for passing cetaceans.
"We were watching the sea on Friday and had earlier spotted our first harbour porpoise of the year just along from Gills harbour," Jackie said. "A short time later, at 1.10pm, we saw the blows of the humpbacks heading in the direction of St John's Point.
"They were about a mile out, coming closer to about half a mile off the coast.
"As they disappeared from our view at St John's, we jumped in the car and drove to a lay-by at the Crofter's Snug [glamping and motorhome site] where we met up with Karen Munro as well as husband and wife Owen and Katie Jones.
"We spotted them here still heading west. At this stage I thought there were only two, but my husband said he saw three.
"We then drove up to Dunnet Head while Karen stopped at Brough, giving us the update at 3.09pm that they were still a mile out from Brough and heading our way.
"Karen joined us at Dunnet Head where we met up with another regular watcher, Jane Wallace, and we spent an hour trying to get sight of them. Just as we were about to give up and were walking back to our cars, Karen, who was talking to a couple of tourists, shouted: 'Blows, there they are!'
"We turned around and they were right in front of us, about half a mile out. We ran back down to the viewing area.
"At this point we saw that there were definitely three. We watched them for another half an hour and left as they were heading further out into open sea in a north-westerly direction.
"We have seen humpbacks from the Trinkie about six years ago, which was another spectacular sighting as they were breaching so often, and on that occasion we followed them to Keiss.
"This encounter was extra-special as it is the first time we have spotted them from our house in Gills. We were beyond excited as it is so rare to get a sighting, especially so close in."
Karen said: "It was a superb sighting by Jackie and Barry, and only my second ever Caithness sighting of this species, the first having been 10 years ago this month in Thurso Bay.
"However, it's the second Caithness sighting of humpback whales this month after two were spotted travelling up the east coast on March 10, seen by Colin Bird from Lybster and then photographed later that morning by Mhari Ann Plowman as they passed Papigoe."
Jackie and Barry regularly see otters at St John's Point. Jackie said: "It is a fantastic place to spend a couple of hours sea-watching, one of our favourite places in the county."
Earlier this year, thanks to a shout from Colin Bird, the couple had a "dream sighting" of John Coe and Aquarius – two adult males belonging to the west coast community of killer whales that had never been reported in Caithness waters before.
