ShetlandEnvironment

Pictures In Shetland => Animals => Topic started by: George on September 02, 2011, 06:21:53 am


Title: Sei Whale.
Post by: George on September 02, 2011, 06:21:53 am
Yesterday I got a call from my son.. there is a large Basking Shark in Firths Voe, well that news got my interest going, so I hopped in my car and made my way to Firth Voe,

When I got there, there was no sign of the Shark, instead there was the Sei Whale it was just below me.

So I phoned my mate Mark and told him, he lives overlooking the voe, he opened his window and saw it right away.

So I put it on F/Book and Twitter to alert others.

I returned to the Voe and it was much nearer to me, so I made my way down to the sea until I was right over the Whale..

The Whale was feeding by cruising with its mouth wide open, you can see by my pictures its mouth filtering its food..

Sometimes the Sei would cruise on its side, as shown on my pictures..

I took 740 pics of it, they are all good, but i'll show twenty on two posts..  Enjoy .. PS.. there was a Basking Shark in the voe, which I missed..

Sei Whale. Thursday 1st September 2011..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-2.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-1.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-3.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-4.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-5.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-6.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-7.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-8.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-9.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-10.jpg)

first post. more to come.

george..
Title: Re: Sei Whale.
Post by: George on September 02, 2011, 06:28:23 am
Second post of the Sei Whale..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-whale-11.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-12.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-13.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-14.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-15.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-16.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-17.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-18.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-19.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Minke-Whale-20.jpg)

Hope you all enjoyed them as much as I did taking them..

george..
Title: Re: Sei Whale.
Post by: tracy on September 02, 2011, 06:57:12 am
your pictures are just getting better and better george  ;D
Title: Re: Sei Whale.
Post by: George on September 02, 2011, 07:24:59 am
Thanks Tracy, i'm starting to blush again. lol .

george..
Title: Re: Sei Whale.
Post by: Motheroftheshire on September 02, 2011, 08:58:48 am
George, these are stunning. So well captured and very professional. Great for those of us who didn't see the whale.
Title: Re: Sei Whale.
Post by: George on September 02, 2011, 10:10:27 am
Thank you Anne, thats the first Sei Whale i've taken pics of, glad i could get close to it..

george..
Title: Re: Sei Whale.
Post by: George on September 06, 2011, 10:40:25 am
 Sei Whale..

I gave a whale expert a memory stick wae 30 pictures of what I thought was a Minke Whale..

He phoned me back last night and said it was more looking like a Sei Whale, he also told me there was a harpoon stuck in its head, not the metal ones but a hand thrown spear, i'll show two pics of it..

If it turns out to be a Sei Whale... Sei Whale has been reported in Shetland waters in 1993

Pictures..

Dorsal fin.

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Dorsal-fin-1.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Dorsal-fin-4.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Sei-Whale-2.jpg)

Pectorial fin. It was lunging upsidedown..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Sei-Whale-3.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Pectorial-fin-3.jpg)

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Pectorial-fin-4.jpg)

Harpoon.

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Harpoon-1.jpg)

Harpoon..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Harpoon-2.jpg)

Dorsal fin..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Dorsal-fin-3.jpg)

I'll let you know what the experts tell me when I find out..

george..
Title: Re: Sei Whale..
Post by: George on September 08, 2011, 06:37:39 am
I got confirmation yesterday that it is a Sei Whale.

I was told by an administrator of a wildlife forum that the harpoon in its head should be all right..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Harpoon-2.jpg)

Eye contact..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/eye-eye-1.jpg)

Dorsal fin..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Dorsal-fin-3.jpg)

Pectorial fin.. No banding which the Minke has..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Pectorial-fin-3.jpg)

From the road before i got down the field..

(http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz193/georgeg_photo2/Head-shot-1.jpg)

george..