'Thar she blows!' – Humpback breaks the waves near Achastle coastline close to Lybster

A Latheronwheel-based conservationist and professional photographer talked of his delight at seeing a humpback whale pass "within touching distance" off the coast at Achastle this week.

Andy Knight is a volunteer shorewatcher for Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and on Tuesday (September 13) he had his first sighting of what he believed to be a humpback whale travelling north about 1500m off the Latheronwheel shoreline.

"The following day (Wednesday, September 14), anticipating that the whale may still be in the area I had my binoculars and camera bag at the ready," said Andy. "At 4.45pm a neighbour banged on my door, excitedly telling me she had seen [an] 'orca' passing very close to shore."

Andy said he was quickly able to identify that it was actually a large baleen whale and not an orca. "I saw blows that resembled those of a humpback whale within 10 metres of the shore just north of Latheronwheel."

In June last year, a dead humpback whale calf was sighted in the same area by an ocean advocate undertaking a charity paddleboard trip around the Scottish coast. Cal Major said that the year-old animal had become severely entangled in fishing gear hanging from its fluke [tail] and around a pectoral fin. "It's a tragic accident that happened with live fishing gear rather than ghost gear [discarded fishing equipment lost at sea]," she told the paper.

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Andy knew that the sighting of a live humpback near the Caithness coast had to be rare so drove a few miles along the road to Achastle shore, just south of Lybster, where he hoped to catch up with the creature to properly identify it

"I arrived just as it had passed within touching distance – I was able to confirm that it was a humpback whale and took photographs.

"I've never heard of a humpback so close in off Caithness and in discussing it with local expert Karen Munro neither has she. The photos have been submitted to the Scottish Humpback ID catalogue to see if they can be matched with a known individual."

Andy says he has photographed orcas, dolphins and minke whales before but never a humpback. "In fact, I hadn't seen a humpback before this week and never expected to see one so close to shore – it was exhilarating to see such a huge powerful whale so close."

The WDC welcomes volunteers and is the leading global charity dedicated to the conservation and protection of all whales, dolphins and porpoises. It can be found at: uk.whales.org/

Andy has an Instagram profile with various images which can be seen at @caithnessandy

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