We were so close to the dolphins that we probably could have touched them

We were so close to the dolphins that we probably could have touched them

13 September 2023

WHAT started off as a simple boat trip to Portaferry for fish and chips turned into a summer evening to remember for a Killyleagh man and his sons after they spotted a pod of dolphins on Strangford Lough.

Barry Bridges and his two young sons, Oliver (14) and Sam (11) were thrilled when they spotted around 50 dolphins last Wednesday.

“We were making our way home and coming up on the north side towards Green Island when Sam said he thought he could see dolphins,” Barry explained.

“I thought he was just seeing things in the water and he was getting excited with his imagination, but soon there was nearly 30 dolphins around our boat.

“It was so exciting, and my two lads were buzzing. We were completely surrounded by dolphins – you would look around the lough and see hives of dolphins of 10 or 12 further up the lough.”

Barry and his sons were aboard their RIB inflatable and were almost level with the dolphins.

“They were jumping in and out of the water and splashing it onto our boat – which soaked Sam,” said Barry.

“We followed the dolphins for about 20 minutes up the Quoile Estuary, and thought we might be leading them further against the tide.

“Eventually, we pulled away, but you could see about 50 of them making their way further in.”

Barry spoke about the reaction of his sons seeing the dolphins in the following days.

“It was really exciting – the boys were still buzzing the next day and couldn’t stop watching the video I’d taken,” said Barry.

“We were so close to the dolphins that we probably could have touched them.”

The dolphins are believed to be of the bottlenose variety and it is thought the recent good weather has enticed them to the lough.

Blair Bailie, conservation and education officer at Explores Aquarium in Portaferry, said: “Dolphins love the warmer weather and we find them up towards this region when it’s a wee bit warmer. 

“That’s almost certainly what’s brought them here and also the abundance of fish we have in the lough.

“Dolphins tend to do what they want, so they might just clear off somewhere else or stick around.”

Irish Whale and Dolphin Group sightings officer Pádraig Whooley said: “Twenty years ago very few people reported any dolphin species in Northern Ireland.

“In the last 10-15 years, we’ve seen bottlenose dolphins on these shores and that’s a big change.

He added: “It’ll be interesting now to see if bottlenose dolphins are joined by common dolphins.”