A Minke Whale in the Sound

This picture, sent to The Diary by Ewan Miles who works as a guide for Sea Life Surveys, shows a minke whale against the backdrop of the Ormsaigbeg coastline - Trevor Potts' Ardnamurchan Campsite is to the left.

We don't often see minke so close to shore, and having one in so early in the season may be explained by reports that the mackerel have arrived in large numbers both on Ardnamurchan's north and south coasts - one person reported seeing the surface around his boat boil with good-sized mackerel feeding off sand eels, and substantial catches have been reported. Both sand eels and mackerel are on the minke's menu.

There's more about minke whales here, Sea Life Surveys website is here, and Ewan keeps a wildlife enthusiast's blog here. And the Craigard blog tells of the continued work on the Cuvier's Beaked Whale display at the Ardnamurchan Campsite - here.

This photo taken earlier in the month shows a boat sailing serenely into Kilchoan Bay. In fact, the entrance to Kilchoan Bay is deceptive because....

....there's a nasty shoal right in the place where an unwary seaman would least expect it. For years there has been a marker pole - a 'perch' - on the shoal, but it was destroyed during last winter's bad weather.

Fortunately, keen sailors on West Ardnamurchan, led by Alasdair MacColl of Portuairk, have made it their business to maintain the perch. The damage was inspected recently and a replacement ordered. All being well, it should be in place shortly.

West Ardnamurchan is fortunate that it doesn't suffer too badly from washed-up flotsam and, where our beaches are concerned, an annual clean-up led by stalwarts like Geoff Campbell and Chris Gane does much to keep them pristine. Inevitably, however, there are places along the coast which collect rubbish. This is a deep gully to the west of Ormsaigbeg which is a natural trap for it. One item found there was a Croc in almost mint condition.

Many thanks to Ewan Miles for the minke picture.