Highland Orca watch ends with mind-blowing memories: 'It was absolutely incredible – one of the killer whales was literally within two metres of the rock...'
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Killer whale followers feared they would draw a blank during Orca Watch 2021 when thick fog lingered for days around the Caithness coastline – but they were rewarded for their perseverance with some unforgettable sightings when the weather improved.
Steve Truluck – one of a group of dedicated watchers who stayed up through the night on Friday as a pod made its way along the north coast – said it was "absolutely incredible" to encounter orcas as close as two metres from the shore at Holborn Head while they hunted seals.
He also described how the pod – identified as the 27s – killed a porpoise off Reay, then made another appearance near to the coast at St John's Point as the sun rose the following morning.
Orca Watch, organised by Sea Watch Foundation, usually takes place over 10 days in Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, with people encouraged to join in land watches, boat trips and talks. This year there was a focus on online activities with a small group of locally based volunteers collecting data while operating within Covid guidelines.
Steve, taking part in his fifth Orca Watch, had the role of local correspondent along with colleague Lucy Baldwin. “They decided to make it a virtual event and put a couple of people in position in Caithness,” he explained.
He highlighted the role played by sea watcher and wildlife photographer Karen Munro – calling her a "local legend" – and praised the team at John O'Groats Ferries who provided extra wildlife cruises.
Steve pointed out that on May 28, the Friday before Orca Watch began, there had been good sightings of another pod – the 19s, or Mousa’s pod – around the Trinkie at Wick and then at Noss.
“At Duncansby there were quite a few of us with our telescopes and we were able to track them," Steve said. "There’s a huge expanse of water that you can see from Duncansby, which is why it’s the prime Orca Watch site.
“Between Muckle Skerry and Swona they started breaching, jumping completely clear out of the water. That was absolutely mega, it was really amazing to see.
"Karen Munro got the first photos so that’s how we knew it was Mousa.”
By the time Orca Watch began, however, the haar had rolled in.
“It was awful weather for watching," Steve said. "We literally couldn’t see the sea from Duncansby Head for days.
“It was really unfortunate timing because we had that amazing orca sighting the day before Orca Watch started, and everyone was really excited knowing there were orcas around, and then the weather closed in.
“There were certain people there who had never seen killer whales and bless them they were sitting in the fog and freezing cold basically with no chance of seeing anything, let alone killer whales.”
The gloomy conditions eventually cleared and by last Friday there were sightings of minke whales, some porpoises and the occasional Risso’s dolphin.
"Karen got word of killer whales travelling along the north coast," Steve said. “She picked them up off Strathy Point. Once she was onto them that was good news, because obviously she knows what she’s doing.”
Karen identified them as the 27s.
Steve said: “The 27s are a pod that are known for coming right into shore. Mousa tends to stay offshore but the 27s are the ones that everyone wants to see because they come so close, and that’s what they did for the rest of the day. It was absolutely amazing.
“We watched them at Reay and they killed a porpoise. They carried on travelling east so we put the word out."
The watchers saw the orcas make their way past the rocks at Brims as the sun was setting. Steve then moved on to Scrabster.
“I took a punt and went to Holborn Head which proved to be an amazing gamble," he said.
“We were standing there and the orcas turned into the bay. I’m not exaggerating here – one of the orcas was literally within two metres of the rock, hunting.
“A seal was sitting in front of us and the orcas were all lined up with a male at each end. The male at our end, ID number 72, came right in, heading in straight at us, swirled round below us and then went off past the rocks.
“Another animal, I think one of the females, came shooting in after it as well trying to get the seal out of that little corner. I’m not going to lie, it was absolutely incredible.”
Rather than turn in for the night, the watchers continued east and by sunrise, shortly after 4am, were watching the pod close to St John’s Point.
Steve, who developed a passion for watching whales and dolphins after moving north to live at Hopeman on the Moray coast, is skipper and guide for Hebridean Whale Cruises at Gairloch.
“It was an amazing experience,” he said. “That is exactly the reason why I come up to Caithness every year. That doesn’t happen in Moray. I’ve been watching killer whales from the house but they’re distant."
He added: “I’m not really a scientific person. Orca Watch, from Sea Watch Foundation’s point of view, is about getting data and getting sightings, but my role at Orca Watch is to just kind of enthuse people and get people to see killer whales, and if they want to start taking an interest in data and everything then I can pass them on to Lucy who was doing all the scientific side."
Karen Munro, who lives at Scrabster, described how on Friday afternoon she heard about the pod making progress eastwards along the north Sutherland coast.
"I had driven to Groats and was in the queue to board the Pentland Venture to do a return trip to Burwick as part of the Orca Watch week when I received a message from my friend Dawn Mackay to tell me she had seen a post on Facebook by Rob Mackay reporting killer whales in Kirtomy Bay 45 minutes earlier," Karen said.
"I shouted to Steve, who was already on the ferry, to tell him the news and that I would head west and see what I could see.
"The Kirtomy sighting had been around 3.30pm and it was after 5pm by the time I got to Thurso so decided to check Portskerra first.
"I set up the telescope and got scanning. The conditions were great and straight away I could make out people on the end of Strathy Point. All of a sudden one of them put their hands in the air and started jumping up and down, so I thought 'they must be seeing the orcas' – and sure enough they were, as next I saw one of the males surface below the point.
"Forty-five minutes later they arrived in front of me at Portskerra where they were definitely in hunting mode, hugging the shore and staying down for long periods. I knew as soon as I saw the two males that it was my favourite pod of all, the 27s.
"Once they passed I was in touch with a few fellow watchers, put updates onto the Facebook group and made for Reay where we were treated to beautiful views of them under the water at Sandside Head, then saw them toss a porpoise into the air as we watched them from Reay harbour. I had mixed emotions seeing them hunt, especially harbour porpoise, as numbers have declined in Caithness quite considerably over the last 10 to 15 years.
"Brims was my next destination, by which time word was getting out and more people were hoping to catch a glimpse of these magnificent creatures and there was quite a convoy of vehicles into Thurso once they had passed.
"I made an error of judgement and went to Thurso harbour only for the orca to make a kill in front of our house at Scrabster and give great views – much to the amusement of my partner Kevin, who was enjoying it all from the front garden. They eventually came past Thurso harbour just before 11pm by which time it was getting dark.
"There isn’t much darkness at this time of year, so I decided I would head back out in a few hours to see if I could relocate them and was down at St John's Point by 2am. I was joined shortly afterwards by my friends Jackie and Steve along with Catherine, James and Matt.
"We were not disappointed – around 4.20am we saw them in the distance passing Scarfskerry, coming towards us. Once again the orcas were close into the shore – there were a number of seals in the water below us, one of which ended up as breakfast.
"Three of the animals branched off and went up the shore to Scotland's Haven, before coming back and joining the rest of the pod about 1km offshore where two of the females carried out a number of breaches – always incredible to see.
"At this point the haar started to come in and we lost sight of them. They were picked up briefly by Cath Bain who was at the John O'Groats camp site a wee while later, but again lost in the haar."
Karen added: "Seeing orcas is always special for me, but it is made even more special when you get to witness others seeing them for the first time – especially those who have waited a long time for that moment to happen.
"Steve Truluck has once again been a fantastic ambassador for Orca Watch, doing everything he can to ensure as many people get to see them as possible."
Steve acknowledged the support of John O’Groats Ferries, which began its summer season recently after missing out in 2020 because of the pandemic.
"Although there were plenty of minke whales, and some porpoises and lots of seals, we never saw any killer whales from the ferry, which was a real shame after all the effort the guys put in," he said.
“They put on extra wildlife trips every day for us as well. It was a phenomenal effort by the staff at John O’Groats Ferries. They are brilliant. They are amazing supporters of Orca Watch.”
Steve Truluck's Facebook page is SteveTruluckAtSea
