Dolphins at Berry Head

by Alex White

The highlight of every visit we make as a family to Devon is a morning on Berry Head, looking out to sea for dolphins.

Berry Head is a National Nature Reserve in South Devon. A short walk from the carpark ends on a headland with stunning views across the bay.

Sitting up on the headland we were all hoping to see some dolphins, or maybe a return of the Humpback whale that briefly appeared back in 2017.

It wasn’t long before a couple of porpoises swam through the deep water, a few 100 metres out, and as everyone either wandering past or walking their dogs headed towards the edge to watch more porpoises started to appear.

A knowledgeable gentleman told us that it was probably 2 families, we counted 8 individuals in total.

Just as the last porpoise was passing, a pod of 15 Common dolphins arrived heading straight towards the bottom of the headland before swinging around and heading back out to sea.

It was just amazing to be able to see both dolphins and porpoises from the land without binoculars.

The differences between dolphins and porpoises when watching from the coast or boat at a distance are, porpoises have a triangular dorsal fin whereas dolphins have a curved dorsal fin. Dolphins tend to have elongated beaks or faces, while porpoises have smaller beaks/faces.

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© Alex White 2019