Minke Whales in the Hebrides

There are some wildlife encounters that stop everyone on deck. Seeing a minke whale breach clear of the water is certainly one of them.

We’ve had some fantastic minke whale sightings this season, including two particularly memorable encounters captured by our wildlife guides.

Minke whales in Hebridean waters

Minke whales are the smallest baleen whale found in UK waters, although an adult can still measure between 7 and 10 metres long. They have long, streamlined bodies, a pointed head and a relatively small, curved dorsal fin. One of their most distinctive features is the white band across each pectoral fin.

They are one of the whales most frequently encountered around the west coast of Scotland, particularly during the warmer months. Minke whales are frequently recorded in Hebridean waters between April and October, feeding in these productive seas.

Their diet includes small schooling fish such as sandeels, herring and whiting, along with some plankton. Like other baleen whales, they don’t have teeth. Instead, they use plates of baleen to filter their food from the seawater.

Minke whales are often seen alone, although several animals can gather where food is plentiful. Feeding seabirds can sometimes be the first clue that something is happening below the surface, with birds and whales drawn to the same concentrations of fish.

Nine Breaches south of Eigg

One of our standout encounters came in August, just south of Eigg, when a minke whale breached an incredible nine times.

Our guest Wildlife Guide Chris Gomersall was on board Hjalmar Bjørge and captured the sequence in these photographs.

Breaching is when a whale propels much or all of its body clear of the water before crashing back down onto the surface. Scientists don’t have one definitive explanation for the behaviour, with a number of possible functions suggested, including communication.

Whatever was behind it on this particular day, nine breaches gave everyone on board quite a sight … and Chris a fantastic opportunity to capture it on camera.

Breaching Minke photography credit to @chrisgomersallwildlife

A feeding frenzy on the way down from Raasay

And August wasn’t the end of our minke encounters.

During our Hebridean Whisky Festival Cruise, our guide Molly captured another brilliant sequence as Hjalmar Bjørge steamed south from Raasay.

Those on board saw at least eight minke whales, with around six actively lunge feeding and breaching. Lunge feeding is an impressive sight: the whale accelerates into a concentration of prey, opening its mouth wide to take in a huge volume of fish-filled seawater before filtering out its food through its baleen.

Where there’s a feeding frenzy, there are often plenty of seabirds taking advantage too – although it doesn’t always go entirely to plan. Pay particular attention to the poor gannet in the photograph below, which found itself rather too close to a surfacing minke!

Photography credits for these images to @molza_photography