By Paul McElwee

A DAY out sailing on Donegal Bay turned into an unforgettable wildlife encounter for local man, Brian Hegarty when a humpback whale suddenly appeared near St John’s Point.
The Sion Mills man was enjoying a day sailing on the bay with a group of people, including his 14-year-old son Jarlath, when they spotted something unusual in the water.

Brian said, “There was a group of ten on the boat just out enjoying the lovely day. We didn’t expect to see anything at all, there’s usually a 50/50 chance, but we got lucky when John, one of the boatmen, spied the blow of the whale through his binoculars and so we sailed in that direction.”

Upon reaching their destination, the group was amazed to encounter the huge humpback whale. Better still, the waters of Donegal Bay seemed alive with sea creatures that day, as Brian remarked that they were also lucky enough to see around a hundred dolphins and two bluefin whales, the second largest animal on the planet after the blue whale.

Brian continued, “It truly was an amazing sight to behold; it’s not something I’ve ever seen before. The humpback whales have been seen around the bay in the past few years and they’ve also been sighted in Cork, but it would be accurate to say that the humpback whale isn’t ‘native’ to these shores, so this sighting was something special.”
When asked if he plans to keep an eye on the whales in the future, Brian said, “Maybe, it all depends on the weather conditions. That said, with the weather turning colder it’s likely the whales will disappear to warmer climes, but they’ll be back next year — and so will I.”