Over the weekend I popped down to the Cumbria Wildlife Trust headquarters to attend a training course held by MARINElife.

MARINElife is a leading charity conserving marine wildlife through research and education. Their focus species include whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and seabirds in European waters. I went on their Marine Mammal and Seabird Survey training course. They do a number of these training courses across the country and if you are interested in learning how to identify marine mammals and seabirds, then I would highly recommend it.

I had no previous knowledge of marine mammals and a only basic knowledge of seabirds. We talked through all the species most commonly sighted around the United Kingdom and although you are unlikely to see a whale from the shoreline there are opportunities to see dolphins and porpoises off the Scottish coast.

One of the really interesting things I learnt was about their behaviours. For example ‘porpoising’ is when a dolphin jump/leaps out of the water, often alongside a ship (oddly enough, a porpoise does not porpoise). ‘Spy hopping’ is when a whale pokes its head out of the water and ‘logging’ is when a whale is resting on the surface of the water and looks like a floating log!

There are lots of ways to get involved with MarineLIFE. Check out their website for more information.

Laura Preston – Scottish Wildlife Trust, Falls of Clyde Ranger