A number of “unusual” and “exciting” sightings of white-beaked dolphins have been made off the coast of Suffolk.

A number of “unusual” and “exciting” sightings of white-beaked dolphins have been made off the coast of Suffolk.

It has come to the attention of the Sea Watch Foundation that the short-beaked oceanic dolphins – which have a tell-tale white tip on their beak – have become a common feature off our coastlines since April.

The foundation, a UK conservation research charity, said UK sightings include six off Corton, near Lowestoft, as well as one near Southwold.

A Sea Watch Foundation spokesman said: “Although white-beaked dolphins can be seen around the UK, as they inhabit North Atlantic temperate to sub-polar waters, they are more regularly spotted offshore in the southern North Sea.

“However, from April this year we at Sea Watch have received a number of unusual and exciting sightings from coastal areas spanning from Devon on the South coast all the way to Caithness at the top of Scotland.”

This week, the foundation is calling for thousands of observers to participate in the largest ever survey of whales and dolphins around the British Isles.

The National Whale & Dolphin Watch has already seen sightings pouring in from around the isles from the Shetland Isles in the north to the Channel Islands and Isles of Scilly in the south.

For more information visit www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/nwdw-2015-watch-list