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Let's start at the beginning
On 16th September 2019 Phoebe Amy Warren was walking by the coast at Gansey, in the south east of the island. She managed to capture on video a pod of three adult bottlenose dolphins and a tiny newborn dolphin behaving erratically and leaping out of the water, which you can see in the video at 01:10. The baby is so small that it appears to look like a little fish leaping up behind the mothers dorsal fin. The size of the calf and the behaviour of the adults, suggests this footage was taken very soon after the calf was born.
3 days later...
A pod of three adult bottlenose and one very small calf enter Peel Bay, on the west coast. It is important to note here just how unusual it is to see this species on the west of the island, they are almost exclusively east coast visitors. A pod of 10 adults were seen in Peel in August, perhaps this included the expectant mother and she wanted to see if the area was suitable for her calf?
The group go on to visit the bay every few days and the first good quality photographs were captured by Brian Liggins on 21st October and 1st November off Peel breakwater. We see for the first time that the mother has a very distinctive dorsal fin, with two small notches near the top. This allows us to recognise her over the coming months. The foetal folds on the calf are visible, these lines occur when the calf is curled up in the womb and disappear over time. We are interested to see how long this takes.
The group go on to visit the bay every few days and the first good quality photographs were captured by Brian Liggins on 21st October and 1st November off Peel breakwater. We see for the first time that the mother has a very distinctive dorsal fin, with two small notches near the top. This allows us to recognise her over the coming months. The foetal folds on the calf are visible, these lines occur when the calf is curled up in the womb and disappear over time. We are interested to see how long this takes.
by December the pod size FLUCTUATES
The pod size begins fluctuating between two and seven individuals. They are still seen frequently but have begun venturing to the south and north of Peel, but still remaining on the west. Most sightings occur within 50 metres of the coast. By 31st December our pair have been reported a total of 27 times. All sightings are collated on the Manx Whale and Dolphin Watch website database.
At the end of january the group dynamic changes
The other adults leave the pod and the mother and calf stay on their own. Some of the other adults could have perhaps been female relatives of the mother which have moved on now she has a new calf. In January the pair were reported a further 13 times, predominantly by Peel groyne, which we assume they are using to trap fish. Pictures 10th January by Bryony Manley.
Moving in to Spring
Through February and March they were spotted just six times. This was probably due to bad weather making spotting more difficult, as well as the start of the Isle of Man's covid lockdown.
Things really started kicking off in April with 20 sightings over the course of the month all seen from coastal locations between Peel and the Point of Ayre. The first time they were seen up at the Ayres was 7th April. Other key spots during this time were Jurby, the Lhen, and Kirk Michael. The following footage was filmed by Daniel Crowe at Jurby on 18th April on a mobile phone.
Things really started kicking off in April with 20 sightings over the course of the month all seen from coastal locations between Peel and the Point of Ayre. The first time they were seen up at the Ayres was 7th April. Other key spots during this time were Jurby, the Lhen, and Kirk Michael. The following footage was filmed by Daniel Crowe at Jurby on 18th April on a mobile phone.
a CLEAR SIGHTING BY mwdw in Peel bay
The calf is now nearly seven months old and the foetal folds are still clearly visible. He or she has grown considerably but still retains its much paler grey colouration compared to the mother's dark grey. Pictures 11th April by Bryony Manley.
in may they venture to ramsey for the first time
For the first time in seven months they venture round to the east to Ramsey Bay, which is a favourite spot for our visiting winter bottlenose dolphins. On the 24th May they spend five hours foraging close in at Ramsey beach. It is clear by now that the pair are using the shallow sandy beaches of the north west and around to Ramsey to hunt fish. Throughout May they are recorded on 12 occasions and are getting noticeably closer in to shore. Photos left to right; Chris Wormwell, Liza Fennell and Ian Sharples.
Also check out these wonderful drone clips taken of the pair in May. In this one you can see the calf nursing, or suckling, from its mother, and in this one they seem very relaxed with the mother swimming on her back. Footage taken by Kim Tastagh of Adventurous Experiences.
In june they are seen driving fish onto a sandbank
At the Dog Mills (2km north of Ramsey) there are a series of sandbanks just off the coast. On 20th June, according to observer Sue Corrin, the mother was seen driving fish onto the sandbank and beaching herself. She did this twice, thrashing her tail to slip back in to the water and the activity caught the attention of many herring gulls in the area. This type of foraging behaviour in wild bottlenose dolphins is documented in the tropics but is almost unheard of in this part of the world.
Through June they were spotted 17 times including some north westerly locations where they hadn't been recorded before; Blue Point and Rue Point. On 4th June they are photographed at the Point of Ayre by Kevin Kallow, which resulted in the most adorable set of images...
Through June they were spotted 17 times including some north westerly locations where they hadn't been recorded before; Blue Point and Rue Point. On 4th June they are photographed at the Point of Ayre by Kevin Kallow, which resulted in the most adorable set of images...
July at peel beach circling fish and trapping them in the shallow sandy shore
Seen over a few consecutive days using the same area, this fantastic video by Ruth Black on 14th July shows they have developed a unique hunting method using our shallow sandy shores to trap fish. This behaviour has never been documented before in Manx waters.
Below; aged 10 months, feotal folds still visible
Photo by Bryony Manley
more fun in peel
MWDW's Bryony captures the first photo's of a bottlenose dolphin with it's mouth open in Manx waters! Not sure what the mother was doing here, perhaps smiling for the camera.
News just in, 18th July, the pair venture back to gansey for the first time since calf was born
Seen in Gansey Bay in the morning and then Castletown a couple of hours later. The evening before they were in Peel at 8pm. We wonder what has made them decide to suddenly go south.
mother is a 'missing' moray firth dolphin!
On 22nd July we received some unbelievably exiting news. Following a post and link to this website on a marine mammal science mailing list, we heard from Barbara Cheney at the University of Aberdeen Lighthouse Field Station who told us she recognises the mother dolphin. She has two very distinct notches at the top of her dorsal fin which means she can be recognised in photo-ID catalogues. Upon sharing some high quality images Barbara and MWDW can confirm she is definitely the same dolphin known as Moonlight. She is part of the resident Moray Firth population of bottlenose dolphins and has been seen there each year since 1996! She, and a group of others left the Moray Firth in 2018 and were spotted off the top of Scotland, with some continuing to Ireland and even over to the Netherlands! Most of the dolphins returned to the Firth last year, excluding Moonlight and a few others. Deemed 'missing', it is terribly exciting to discover that she has actually been residing on the Isle of Man for at least the last 11 months. For more info on this Scottish connection see the 'meet the family' page.
July and august
The calf is given the name Starlight as voted by the Manx public. The pair become celebrities, appearing close in Peel Bay for the BBC. The piece is used on BBC NW Tonight and BBC One Breakfast. They also come in on Peel Carnival day for an hour and a half and are watched by hundreds of people.
In July, a large pod of at least 30 Bottlenose dolphins are seen off Peel for 3 consecutive days feeding on mackerel. The pair are not seen at this time and probably distanced themselves further up the coast away from the pod, especially if it contained adult males.
In July, a large pod of at least 30 Bottlenose dolphins are seen off Peel for 3 consecutive days feeding on mackerel. The pair are not seen at this time and probably distanced themselves further up the coast away from the pod, especially if it contained adult males.
31st August 2020
After a few weeks 'up north' with sightings around Ramsey and the Ayres, the pair return to Peel and the first good quality images for a month or so are obtained. Starlight still has very visible foetal folds, and is still quite a way off adult size. Thanks to Mann Photos for the images.
update 5th March 2021
Starlight is now approaching 18 months of age! The pair have stayed in Manx waters all through the winter, with 20 sightings between September and the end of January, including just two sightings per month in December and January. It is likely they spent the majority of this time between Peel and Point of Ayre, where the terrain is largely flat, making it difficult to spot dolphins due to observers' lack of elevation. Additionally, as the weather has been largely windy and cold, few people have been out walking the beach between these locations.
On 27th January, the pair came into Peel Bay beginning a series of sightings on almost consecutive days through the month of February. On each occasion they came incredibly close to shore, less than 10 meters off the rocks at the Bowling Green end of the promenade at high tide. On 22nd February they ventured round to Ramsey bay early morning, having been in Peel the evening before. On 28th Feb (a particularly calm day) they were spotted close inshore from the Lhen-Glen Wyllin-Peel which took them around 4 hours.
We have seen very few photographs of the pair since October so it is quite difficult to see just how much Starlight has grown and whether she/he still has visible feotal folds (folds that occur in the womb and can last on the skin up to 3 years in the Moray Firth population) We ask anyone reading this, if you have good quality images from the winter to please send them in to us, as they could prove extremely valuable to our research into this unique mother and juvenile Bottlenose dolphin.
Thank you to Andy Craine for these two photographs
On 27th January, the pair came into Peel Bay beginning a series of sightings on almost consecutive days through the month of February. On each occasion they came incredibly close to shore, less than 10 meters off the rocks at the Bowling Green end of the promenade at high tide. On 22nd February they ventured round to Ramsey bay early morning, having been in Peel the evening before. On 28th Feb (a particularly calm day) they were spotted close inshore from the Lhen-Glen Wyllin-Peel which took them around 4 hours.
We have seen very few photographs of the pair since October so it is quite difficult to see just how much Starlight has grown and whether she/he still has visible feotal folds (folds that occur in the womb and can last on the skin up to 3 years in the Moray Firth population) We ask anyone reading this, if you have good quality images from the winter to please send them in to us, as they could prove extremely valuable to our research into this unique mother and juvenile Bottlenose dolphin.
Thank you to Andy Craine for these two photographs
Photo update May 2021 - Ron strathdee- peel
Summer 2021 - update 30th June
Starlight is now almost 22 months of age. She/or he (we still don't know!) has been gaining confidence and feeding further away from Moonlight, but the pair are still typically seen very close together.
They continue to be seen on an almost daily basis either in Peel or somewhere along the north west coast, every now and then popping round to Ramsey bay.
We still haven't known them to interact with any other dolphins, for example there was a pod of 6 unknown bottlenose dolphins in Ramsey on 13th June, where Moonlight and Starlight were they day before, but they were nowhere to be seen when these other dolphins came through.
Our pair have been as active as ever; seen feeding on mackerel and sea trout in Peel, Moonlight laying on her stomach on shallow sand banks, and Starlight coming to check out rod and line fishermen. They even came in for a skeet during the Viking Longboat races - photo by Martyns Fotos
They continue to be seen on an almost daily basis either in Peel or somewhere along the north west coast, every now and then popping round to Ramsey bay.
We still haven't known them to interact with any other dolphins, for example there was a pod of 6 unknown bottlenose dolphins in Ramsey on 13th June, where Moonlight and Starlight were they day before, but they were nowhere to be seen when these other dolphins came through.
Our pair have been as active as ever; seen feeding on mackerel and sea trout in Peel, Moonlight laying on her stomach on shallow sand banks, and Starlight coming to check out rod and line fishermen. They even came in for a skeet during the Viking Longboat races - photo by Martyns Fotos
Moonlight and starlight by drone, June 21, Steven elkins
We love this drone footage as it gives us a really good idea of Starlight's growth rate. At 22 months, she is still considerably smaller than Moonlight and it may take her the best part of 10 years to reach adult size.
Starlight's sex is revealed!
After almost 2 years of studying *her*, we can finally reveal that Starlight is female! This is thanks to a superb series of photos by Dave Corkish on 2nd July, showing Starlight's underside for the first time. You can even see her belly button-we love this! According to Dave, Starlight leapt like this across the whole of Peel bay and it took her all of 8 minutes.
Permission obtained from the Marine Mammal Anatomy & Pathology Library for the use of this diagram. Take a look at their web page to read all about how to determine dolphin sex by looking at the genital slits. Females have one long slit with two small mammary slits either side (difficult to see in each photo), whereas males have two smaller slits.
Springing back into action. Update march 22
After an extremely windy winter with very few sightings, Moonlight and Starlight are beginning to reveal themselves frequently again. There have been numerous days during March that they have been spotted in Peel, including Sunday 6th when Alison Cowin took this fantastic video from Peel Castle. This is the first good footage we have seen of the pair since last summer, and it allows us to see how much Starlight has grown. She appears to have lost her feotal folds (which can remain for 3 years in Scottish dolphins), and has become darker in colour as she matures. Starlight is now two and a half years of age and the pair still have an incredibly close bond.
Look out for them from the coast near Peel on nice calm days at any time of day at high or mid-tide.
Over-winter, the pair remained in Manx waters, and were seen on the odd occasion when the weather was vaguely calm.
As we move closer to Spring people are reminded to watch dolphins from the coast. There is absolutely no need to be out on the water with Moonlight and Starlight as they come so close to shore (sometimes within metres of the promenade). We must do everything we can to ensure their safety, and this includes the safe operation of fast craft within the bay.
Look out for them from the coast near Peel on nice calm days at any time of day at high or mid-tide.
Over-winter, the pair remained in Manx waters, and were seen on the odd occasion when the weather was vaguely calm.
As we move closer to Spring people are reminded to watch dolphins from the coast. There is absolutely no need to be out on the water with Moonlight and Starlight as they come so close to shore (sometimes within metres of the promenade). We must do everything we can to ensure their safety, and this includes the safe operation of fast craft within the bay.
Update December 2022
Starlight had her third birthday in September which saw local children creating life-size sand dolphins, singing Happy Birthday Starlight in Manx Gaelic and making crafts. This proves just how well-known and well-loved our resident dolphin duo have become, with people finding peace and comfort through their encounters with them.
They were seen regularly throughout the summer, mainly in Peel, but expanded their range to include Laxey and Douglas, as well as Starlight's birthplace of Gansey. They spent more time in Port Erin than in previous years, especially on busy summer days when the bay was full of swimmers, paddleboarders and sailboats. They regularly interreacted with humans and piloted the tourists boats in and out of the bay.
They continue to be reported every now and then through the winter months, with less sightings owing to higher wind speed and fewer people out and about. The most recent sighting was in Peel on 29th November when they came in close to check out the bay. We still have no evidence of them associating with any other dolphins despite a large pod of bottlenose being in Manx waters since October.
Please remember to report all sightings of Moonlight and Starlight or any other cetacean to us at www.mwdw.net.
They were seen regularly throughout the summer, mainly in Peel, but expanded their range to include Laxey and Douglas, as well as Starlight's birthplace of Gansey. They spent more time in Port Erin than in previous years, especially on busy summer days when the bay was full of swimmers, paddleboarders and sailboats. They regularly interreacted with humans and piloted the tourists boats in and out of the bay.
They continue to be reported every now and then through the winter months, with less sightings owing to higher wind speed and fewer people out and about. The most recent sighting was in Peel on 29th November when they came in close to check out the bay. We still have no evidence of them associating with any other dolphins despite a large pod of bottlenose being in Manx waters since October.
Please remember to report all sightings of Moonlight and Starlight or any other cetacean to us at www.mwdw.net.
This summer saw the pair becoming even bolder- with Starlight approaching swimmers, paddleboarders and small fishing boats. With the dolphins so brazen, we must continue to educate the public on the correct ways to interact with them.
Our regular cetacean code of conduct doesn't always apply to Moonlight and Starlight as they behave so differently to other dolphins. No other dolphin will regularly enter our bays at such close proximity to shore (within metres of the beach). They are also the only dolphins that will actively approach swimmers.
Moonlight and Starlight are considered a 'solitary pair' owning to the fact they display the similar behavioural characteristics as true 'solitary' dolphins. Both dolphins are becoming increasingly habituated, in Lone Rangers, (Godwin and Dodds 2019 ,downloadable at end of this section), they outline the six stages of habituation, with Moonlight and Starlight now at a level 2. Read more in the Solitary Dolphins section of this site. Some solitary dolphins have displayed considerable aggression towards humans, pinning swimmers down on to the seabed or ramming into them- sounds scary right!? Well, these are highly intelligent sentient beings which have had the misfortune of being surrounded by people day-in day-out, swimming, boating and diving with them. If they consider the human behaviour to become too much they will strike back, and rightly so. These are WILD ANIMALS and must be treated as such. Interaction must be on their terms- if they want to approach you they will-it should not be the other way around.
In order to protect Moonlight and Starlight’s true wild nature we now need to advise the public on the following:
A Moonlight and Starlight code of conduct will be drawn up before the Spring.
Download the Lone Rangers report below:
Our regular cetacean code of conduct doesn't always apply to Moonlight and Starlight as they behave so differently to other dolphins. No other dolphin will regularly enter our bays at such close proximity to shore (within metres of the beach). They are also the only dolphins that will actively approach swimmers.
Moonlight and Starlight are considered a 'solitary pair' owning to the fact they display the similar behavioural characteristics as true 'solitary' dolphins. Both dolphins are becoming increasingly habituated, in Lone Rangers, (Godwin and Dodds 2019 ,downloadable at end of this section), they outline the six stages of habituation, with Moonlight and Starlight now at a level 2. Read more in the Solitary Dolphins section of this site. Some solitary dolphins have displayed considerable aggression towards humans, pinning swimmers down on to the seabed or ramming into them- sounds scary right!? Well, these are highly intelligent sentient beings which have had the misfortune of being surrounded by people day-in day-out, swimming, boating and diving with them. If they consider the human behaviour to become too much they will strike back, and rightly so. These are WILD ANIMALS and must be treated as such. Interaction must be on their terms- if they want to approach you they will-it should not be the other way around.
In order to protect Moonlight and Starlight’s true wild nature we now need to advise the public on the following:
- Do not deliberately get in the water if you see the dolphins.
- If they approach you whilst swimming do not touch them or attempt to grab their fin.
- Do not throw fish to them- they are perfectly good hunters themselves and this will only make them come closer to vessels.
A Moonlight and Starlight code of conduct will be drawn up before the Spring.
Download the Lone Rangers report below:
| Goodwin and Dodds 2019 - Lone rangers: a report on solitary dolphins |
Some images and footage from 2022
July 2022. Starlight in the foreground aged 2 years 10 months. Not yet fully grown but has gained her dark adult colouration. Photo credit- Adam Tansley-Scales
update september 2023
It's Starlight's birthday tomorrow (16th September 2023) and as she turns 4 we would like to tell you about some of her adventures this year...
Mixing with others: In May, the pair where seen associating with another dolphin for this first time. There was a pod of 8 bottlenose dolphins near to Peel, and one spotted Moonlight and Starlight and followed them into the bay. This was probably an adult male dolphin seeking out Moonlight who may have been giving off pheromones. They were not seen together for long, nor have they been seen with any other dolphin since.
Mixing with others: In May, the pair where seen associating with another dolphin for this first time. There was a pod of 8 bottlenose dolphins near to Peel, and one spotted Moonlight and Starlight and followed them into the bay. This was probably an adult male dolphin seeking out Moonlight who may have been giving off pheromones. They were not seen together for long, nor have they been seen with any other dolphin since.
Left: unknown dolphin, Middle: Moonlight, Right: Starlight. Dave Corkish 16/05/23
Playing dead: It seems like Moonlight is not only super clever but has a sense of humour too. She was seen playing dead!
I must say, she gave us all a fright.
It happened on 27th July 2023 off the back of Peel breakwater when Moonlight was seen floating motionless upside down. She remained this way for at least 20 minutes, with Starlight nudging her mum's body with her beak and breaching a few times creating quite a lot of attention. MWDW were watching, convinced that she was dead or very badly injured and were all set to inform the marine mammal medic group. As her body floated further away from the breakwater, the Casey J Charter boat were just heading out with a group of kids, we telephoned to warn them, but as they answered they said Moonlight and Starlight had just appeared and were riding the bow of the vessel! Moonlight was not dead at all, nor was she injured, as she enthusiastically played around the boat and entertained the children on board!
This encounter raises a lot of questions- have dolphins ever been documented to play dead before? Why was she doing this?
All photos in this sequence taken by Peter Killey on 27/07/23
I must say, she gave us all a fright.
It happened on 27th July 2023 off the back of Peel breakwater when Moonlight was seen floating motionless upside down. She remained this way for at least 20 minutes, with Starlight nudging her mum's body with her beak and breaching a few times creating quite a lot of attention. MWDW were watching, convinced that she was dead or very badly injured and were all set to inform the marine mammal medic group. As her body floated further away from the breakwater, the Casey J Charter boat were just heading out with a group of kids, we telephoned to warn them, but as they answered they said Moonlight and Starlight had just appeared and were riding the bow of the vessel! Moonlight was not dead at all, nor was she injured, as she enthusiastically played around the boat and entertained the children on board!
This encounter raises a lot of questions- have dolphins ever been documented to play dead before? Why was she doing this?
All photos in this sequence taken by Peter Killey on 27/07/23
Through August, the pair have upped their travelling speed and are regularly covering huge distances, one particular example is a day which started with the pair bow riding a boat at 9am in Port Erin, before being seen in Castletown around midday, Marine drive at 5pm and Laxey at 6pm. The following day they were back in Gansey at 08:00!
We issued a code of conduct early in the summer to instruct people what to do if appproached by Moonlight and Starlight, not just in a boat, but kayaking, paddleboarding, jet skiing and swimming. You can view this code of conduct by following the menu at the top.
Video of the pair holding fins in September 23, a sign of affection, by Daniel Pyle. You can see from this video that Starlight is not far off adult length.
We issued a code of conduct early in the summer to instruct people what to do if appproached by Moonlight and Starlight, not just in a boat, but kayaking, paddleboarding, jet skiing and swimming. You can view this code of conduct by following the menu at the top.
Video of the pair holding fins in September 23, a sign of affection, by Daniel Pyle. You can see from this video that Starlight is not far off adult length.
