Since 1999 Risso’s dolphins have been reported in the Wicklow area, namely by BirdWatch Ireland field-volunteers at the “Breaches”, Little Tern project and local IWDG members. Since then IWDG have been encouraging local members to keep a watchful eye on this stretch of coastline for this poorly understood species.

Over the past three years, since 2003, Risso’s dolphins have been first observed very close inshore in May, with no sightings made in August. The peak in sightings appears to be between late May and June. The hotspots seem to be the stretch of coastline between Wicklow Head and Bray Head, with fairly regular sightings off the Murrough, the Breaches, Kilcoole and Greystones seafront as far north as Bray Head.
It’s great to see them return in the same areas, at the same time each year, and their spatial and temporal fidelity raises interesting questions as to what conditions are attracting this deep-water species so close inshore.

Please visit the species profile section of www.iwdg.ie if you’d like to learn more about this species. But they should appear as follows: Very large at 9-12ft, very pale in colour, with adults appearing almost white. They have unique scarring throughout their bodies and dorsal fin. They have no beak and a bulbous forehead and an impressive dorsal fin, which will be clearly seen even in choppy waters. They tend to be quite slow moving most of the time and may approach boats, but will not bow-ride or interact with swimmers.