Record numbers have popped by Aberdeen’s pod of dolphins for the third annual RSPB Dolphinwatch this year.
The number of visitors in the first six weeks of the project has already exceeded last year’s total for the whole 18 weeks with more than 1,700 people turning out to view the bottlenose dolphins from Torry Battery.
RSPB Scotland’s Dolphinwatch team will be at the landmark with binoculars and telescopes to hand between 11am-6pm, Thursday to Sunday, every week from now until August 16.
Helen Hiley, Dolphinwatch engagement officer, said: “Aberdeen is such an amazing place for dolphins and it’s so lovely that so many people are coming to see them.”
Steve Harris, chief executive of Visit Aberdeen, said: “The dolphins are putting Aberdeen on the map as a place to see wildlife and the people are coming. Add in seals and puffins, both of which can be seen locally, and it is part of changing the way that the rest of the world sees Aberdeen.”
Aberdeen City Council communities, housing and infrastructure committee convener Neil Cooney said: “It’s great that so many people have taken part in this year’s Dolphinwatch already and we’re just barely into summer with many more weeks to come.
“To have one of the best places in Scotland to see dolphins just a short distance away from the city-centre is amazing and we hope many more locals and visitors will take up the opportunity.”