Nature’s fleeting moments are imprinted on our hearts and minds
Northern Drift by Monique Sliedrecht
The other day, while scanning the cliffs at Duncansby, one of my American friends yelled out excitedly at the sighting of a puffin – the bright orange beak and feet a dead giveaway.
An English couple were out looking too. Having witnessed his enthusiasm, they started to point us toward other places these iconic birds may be hiding.
They also mentioned the passing of orca whales earlier in the day, to which my friend exclaimed “That’s next on my list!” From puffins to whales – we do live in a remarkable part of the world.
Many have marvelled at the sealife along our northern coasts and orcas are among those that add to the rich Caithness tapestry. A few years ago whale watcher Steve Truluck managed to photograph an orca in Freswick Bay while out on an adventure tour.
The bay is a safe haven for the seals, and a potential feasting ground for hungry whales, but I have never before seen an orca there in all the years I have been at Freswick.
Not long before, I embarked on one of the wildlife trips from John O’Groats in the hopes of spotting some cetaceans. It was a beautiful sunny day and the waters were fairly calm as we set off along the north coast in the Pentland Firth, making our way east.
Related articles:
• Orcas seen hunting just metres off shore at John O’Groats
As we slowly motored along, I recall turning a corner and the Duncansby Stacks came into full view, standing high and stately like sentinels at the gateway to the northern coast, battered by wind and waves. I had always seen these tall rock formations from the clifftops, but never from the sea.
Drifting through the stacks in the sunshine, sea birds flew all around us, hunting for fish in the deep waters. It was incredible to get so close to the nesting guillemots and razorbills – all in their black and white plumage, as though they were attending a banquet. I almost expected a clink of glasses and a formal speech!
Eventually the captain decided to venture further out into the sea towards the Pentland Skerries, as some minke whales had been spotted there not long before.
We floated around for a while, just beyond the riptide, and then I heard a fellow sailor call out “Breach!” A few moments later I saw the second breaching of a minke whale just below the lighthouse on the cliff. The large white underbelly of this giant mammal glistened bright in the sunlight, and before everyone’s shutters were released, it splashed down heavily into the abyss.
What a sight to see! No one was able to fully capture it on camera, but we decided that some of these images are best kept imprinted on our minds and our hearts. Nature can be fleeting in its appearances, that much is sure. To be present to the wonders, travelling alongside them, is nothing short of a miracle in itself.
I felt privileged to see that spectacular minke and those wonderful seabirds and cliffs up close.
In early May, articles were being published in major newspapers about the breakthrough in whale communication. A fresh frontier of exploration and learning is unfolding and aims to decipher the clicking sounds of the most enigmatic species, the sperm whale.
The results may not be profound! Their language might just translate to: “There’s some very nice fish over here”, but there is no question that this work may lead to further understanding of cetaceans and ignite a global movement to protect our ocean and planet.
Friday was World Oceans Day. On the UN website it states: “We don’t have time for ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Our relationship to the ocean needs to urgently change, and our efforts have only skimmed the surface to date. To motivate widespread momentum for the ocean, we need to awaken new depths.”
Yes, we need to plumb depths of knowledge and awareness and keep company with the whales. We are all a fragile part of this precious world.
