A pod of around 10 dolphins has put on an unexpected show for early-morning kayakers in Sydney Harbour, with the animals spotted west of the Harbour Bridge — a stretch of water where such sightings are considered highly unusual.
The dolphins were seen off Birchgrove during a kayak tour this morning, swimming in the direction of Cockatoo Island up the Parramatta River. A separate tour group also reported spotting dolphins off Blues Point around the same time.
A sight rarely seen on this side of the bridge
Tim Griffiths, who operates Cockatoo Kayak Tours, said the sighting stopped him in his tracks. "I've never encountered a dolphin that side of the bridge," he said, describing the moment his tour came across the pod making its way upriver.
Dolphins are far more commonly reported in the eastern reaches of the harbour, making this morning's encounter all the more striking for those lucky enough to witness it.
What the dolphins' presence tells us about the harbour's health
Macquarie University marine scientist Dr Vanessa Pirotta said the animals had most likely ventured into that part of the harbour in search of food. She described it as a rare but meaningful event.
"It's a rare sighting to see the dolphins going past the bridge," Dr Pirotta said. "The presence of dolphins and other marine creatures in our harbour highlights our local biodiversity but also the marine environment's health. They're very much serving as a reminder of the environmental conditions at present."
She noted that dolphins have previously been reported as far inland as Breakfast Point along the Parramatta River, suggesting the animals are not entirely strangers to these upper reaches of Sydney's waterways.
Returning visitors? Citizen science project builds the picture
Dr Pirotta leads Wild Sydney Harbour, a citizen science initiative that invites Sydneysiders to report marine animal sightings — including seals, dolphins and whales — via social media. The project has already yielded some remarkable findings.
Working alongside the Botany Bay-based Gamay Rangers, the project identified that the same dolphin had been spotted in Sydney's waterways on two occasions four years apart — a discovery that has led Dr Pirotta to believe some of these animals may be regulars.
"I'm assuming that they're residents, or at least they love the Sydney surrounds," she said. "Maybe the animals enjoy this area."
Contributors to the Wild Sydney Harbour project have previously recorded other notable marine visitors, including a humpback whale sighted in the harbour last year.
For those on the water this morning, it was an encounter that served as a vivid reminder of the wildlife thriving beneath the surface of one of the world's most iconic city harbours.
