VIDEO: Edinburgh woman captures footage of dolphins swimming off Portobello coast

There were sightings of dolphins in the Forth last year. Pic: Dougie Kemp

Annette Richardson was walking her dog at the Seafield end of Portobello Beach today at about 1pm when the cetaceans caught her attention.

She said she saw two of the marine mammals, which are thought to be of the bottlenose variety, jumping out of the water at various times over a five minute period.

Annette, who lives in Gorgie, said she walks her dog along the beach every day but had never seen dolphins there before.

She added: "It was incredible actually. I was just getting the dog back in the van and I turned round and saw at least two dolphins and they were jumping out of the water.

"They came in really close. You could have paddled out to almost waist deep they were that close. They just disappeared for 10 to 20 seconds and reappeared.

"I've never seen them here before and have been going down there for 13 years."

Bottlenose dolphins normally inhabit temperate and tropical waters though a small population of around 200 is known to call the North Sea home.

The dolphins were seen off the coast of Portobello.

More than half of the North Sea’s bottlenose dolphin population can be found in the Moray Firth.

The animals typically measure around 2.5-3 metres in length and can weigh up to 275kg.

North Sea bottlenose dolphins face a number of modern threats. Among the more serious are pollution, collisions with vessels, sound disturbance from pleasure craft and accidental capture in fishing nets.

Dolphin species can be found in many major rivers and all of the planet’s oceans, including near the polar regions.

In August last year, the Evening News reported sightings of a pod of dolphins swimming in the Forth.