Bournemouth man spots pod of dolphins near Abbotsbury

Never in all his life has Richard Owen seen a dolphin in the wild.

The 42-year-old from Bournemouth runs a social media account, with the handle @ShelbyTries, where he makes ‘silly videos’ of his pet tortoise.

But on Friday night, he went on a mackerel fishing trip to Abbotsbury and decided to take his drone along.

However, shortly after arriving the father of two saw the pod making a splash off the Dorset coast.

Dolphins off Abbotsbury (Image: @ShelbyTries)

Richard said: “I make little silly videos with my tortoise, and I thought I’ll take the drone there and do something there.

“We got there, set up and then we saw this pod and then I got the drone out and followed them around.

“It was amazing.

“In all my life I’ve never seen one in the wild or locally like that. And then to see that many, all in one, was an amazing sight. Really good.

“I’ve never seen that many so close. I was just so lucky to have that drone out at that time.”

His video shows calm waters off Abbotsbury, west of Weymouth, and a beautiful sky.

Around 10 dolphins can be seen breaching the surface as the sun sets.

So this was a nice surprise last night @BBCSpringwatch @BBCEarth @ChrisGPackham @CountryfileMag @HannahStitfall @Mammal_Society @MeganMcCubbin @michaelastracha @Natures_Voice @Bournemouthecho @Dorsetecho @Leaveonlyfootp2 pic.twitter.com/FZRwgy481K

— Shelby Tries... (@ShelbyTries) June 17, 2023

Despite capturing spectacular footage, Richard and others fishing that night went away with empty nets. 

He added: “I think that’s why no one caught any fish that day. I think they were chasing the mackerel. Nobody on that night caught anything.

“They pushed the maceral out a little bit further.

Dolphins leaping out of the water near Abbotsbury, Dorset (Image: @ShelbyTries)

In May, Gee Findley snapped a ‘massive pod’ of dolphins as the sun rose over Branksome Chine beach.

The 24-year-old had been visiting her family in Poole when she saw one of the marine mammals jump out of the water.

Her and her partner counted ‘at least 20 in the pod before it swam towards Old Harry Rocks.

According to the Dorset and Wildlife Trust, there around 10 different cetacean species recorded in local waters. Just some live sightings have included bottlenose, common, striped and white-beaked dolphins.

The trust urges anyone who finds a beached or stranded cetacean to report it to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue by calling 01825 765546 or 07787 433412.