Monday 29 July 2019

Recent Loch Ness Webcam Clip

Let us look at the latest webcam clip from Eoin O' Faodhagain who recorded what looked like two objects in the water estimated by him as 20 feet in length and about five feet out of the water. The clip was recorded on the 10th of July at 12.53 pm. A cruise boat can be seen making its way north at the top of the picture complete with wash.

Looking at the two objects throughout the two minute clip one can make out that they slightly move further apart and then closer together which gives the impression that they are merging into one larger object. As with Eoin's video of a long, shadow like object back in November 2018, I brought in a shot of a cruise boat from the same webcam and did some overlay measurements.


 

Once the two pictures were overlaid and the two objects dragged over to be underneath the boat image, some estimate of size could be attempted, though with a degree of error for the fuzziness of the objects. I low balled the numbers with this boat last time but one commenter said it was the 80 foot Jacobite Cruiser. If that is the case, then the objects are about three to six feet wide and six to nine feet from each other.

That gives a total extent across the water of twelve to twenty one feet, so Eoin was in the ballpark with the estimates. Since the objects look near spherical, the height of each object is roughly the same as its width. It is not possible from this clip to ascertain whether it is one single object or two separate ones. What could it or they be? Well, too big to be birds is an obvious interpretation or how about two kayakers moving with not so visible paddles?

Beyond that there is nothing that could be conclusively deduced from the images, though others are free to comment. I asked Eoin how the event panned out after the clip ended and he said the objects remained in view for at least another four minutes, but as the objects drew further away, one disappeared and then the other one or two minutes later. One question that was on my mind was how visible this webcam vista is from the busy Urquhart Castle area? Are the objects often brought up for discussion clearly visible to tourists at the castle? That is an important question, but one I do not have a ready answer to.

The Daily Mail article is below (link here), note the reporter erroneously states both objects are twenty feet long, when it is rather the total length of the objects and the space between them that is correct.

A veteran Nessie hunter claims to have filmed two 20ft monsters swimming together in the legendary Scottish loch. Eoin O' Faodhagain, 54, was watching a live stream of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands when he saw the beasts on Wednesday, July 10. He immediately started his own recording of the live stream, run by researcher Mikko Takala, to show the world what he had seen. The footage shows two dark objects moving closely together close to the shore in Urquhart Bay - which Mr O' Faodhagain believes are two Nessies.

He said: 'The day of the sighting was extremely windy, as you can notice from the trees moving over and back. When I noticed the two strange shapes first they were either side of each other and not behind each other, going in the same general direction. Never did I think it was two humps from the one animal, the sighting did not give me that impression.'

Mr O' Faodhagain, from Co Donegal, Republic of Ireland, added: 'The two strange shapes were identical to each other, and that also gave me the impression it was two separate objects. 'I was quite startled to see two possible Nessies on the webcam. I think it's a bit of a rarity to view this.'

Mr O' Faodhagain estimates the objects were both in the region of 20ft long and reaching about 5ft out of the water. He said: 'I have never seen two objects so close to each other on the webcam before and I have been watching for years. Their shape in the water is very strange.

Mr O' Faodhagain, from Co Donegal, Republic of Ireland, saw two dark objects moving closely together close to the shore in Urquhart Bay 'What are they, I don't know. They could be two Nessies.' Mr O' Faodhagain has now spotted the Loch Ness Monster four times altogether, and three times in 2019 alone. 


While we are on this article, the Mail quotes the owner of  the webcam, Mikko Takala: 

Mikko Takala, a computer scientist who has been researching Loch Ness for over 20 years, believes climate change may have effected the increase in sightings of the legendary creature. He said: 'There has been a slight increase in surface temperatures in Loch Ness due to climate change and it is possible that a cold blooded creature like Nessie may be encouraged to return and/or stay longer in the warming waters of Loch Ness.

'We believe that the recent winter was milder and less road salt was spread as a result (the previous winter saw thousands of tonnes spread locally during a long cold treacherous spell). 'It all finds its way down water courses and into the loch raising saline content and that may deter the monster(s) to the point at which they leave it until levels normalise again.' On the possibility of there being more than one Loch Ness monster, he added: 'I've always believed there has to be a family of unknown creatures in the loch, albeit a small one.

'It's too much of a stretch to believe that a single creature can live for hundreds, if not thousands of years or more. Also, there are cave like formations near Urquhart Castle, known as Edwards Deep and no attempt has ever been made to see if these are navigable.' 

Are Nessie sightings on the increase due to climate change? In a recent article I penned, I argued the exact opposite, sightings are down historically due to climate change. The problem here is relative, I am looking over the decades as there is a real drop since the 1960s where Mikko is looking at the recent uptick in reports. The problem for me is that a lot of the claimed sightings made in recent years do not come up to standard of older reports and I doubt would have made it past older researchers. It seems today any report that comes with a picture or video is automatically hyped by the media and gets logged as the genuine article.

UPDATE:

I had a look at the satellite images over Urquhart Castle to guess where this webcam might be. Based on the topography of the immediate area in front of the webcam, I have included this map to circle the area and the line of general sight (though that depends on the orientation of the camera). It looks like the camera is pointing over the busy area of the Castle. Why is the castle not visible? This is because the area in question is high above the castle and the main road which will be out of sight.



I could be wrong, but draw your own conclusions. This location is several hundered metres from the loch.
 


The author can be contacted at lochnesskelpie@gmail.com


21 comments:

  1. These “objects” always appear in that area only to be seen as blobs by the camera. One would think that Mr. Takala would move the camera setup closer? How about you GB, any chance of staking out one of your game cameras there in the oft change of getting that elusive game changing pic?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mikko's camera is low resolution by modern standards, 360p (360 pixels horizontally). 1080p and 4K webcams start at about £60. Is there any way to crowdfund an upgrade or a second camera for him?

      Delete
    2. Game changing pictures have to be right on the shoreline, not up a hill. But as i said before, the clsoer you get the less area covered.

      Delete
    3. That's what I meant, closer to the shoreline, somehow.

      Delete
  2. That is why I am curious about the proximity of the castle grounds. the area covered by the webcam may be visible to the daily hordes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have updated the article to include a map of where I think the webcam is in relation to the castle area.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting how many sightings occur in the Urquhart Bay area...is this possibly a territorial thing? Perhaps a battery of underwater/overwater cameras in the bay could solve the mystery once and for all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think more likely to be the higher concentration of people in the castle area.

      Delete
  5. Hi Roland, you have the wrong angle for the webcam, its not looking over the castle. Its actually looking to the left of the pier at which they collect and let off tourists visiting the castle. The webcam is looking north to the opposite side of the loch towards Dores. You would need to use an 18ft kayak to paddle safely in open or rough waters.The day of the sighting was extremely windy. So my size dimensions were not too much in the ballpark if you do think they are kayaks.You also said 3-6ft height, I said 5ft height.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the angle was a guess. The pier you mention is presumably the one W by NW of the castle in the photo?

      Delete
  6. I can spend some money for a new webcam, i think other people would spent some money too. So why is there such a bad 360 p webcam, thats one of the most recent webcam hotspots.

    Why is there no new webcam possible? Please could someone talk to the owner and tell him about our plans to get soon a new and better Webcam with 4K Highresolution Images? I think there will be some Companys take a sponsorship if it will be appear a sign on the page or good visible link to the company.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Would not a 4K camera mandate a 4K video feed? More cost.
    1080p would be a lot better, but the primary problem is distance not resolution.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The distance should be not the real big problem if we get a real good webcam or zoom webcam

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGEekP1102g

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a 480p image and who would be doing the zooming in?

      Delete
  9. its 2160 p, and the zoom should be work automatic, the technic is still available.

    I think all the sightings that occure on the webcam would be easy solved. its horrible that we cant get better clips or pictures because there is such a bad cam working.

    ReplyDelete
  10. There's a boat fairly close. I'm sure if there was a creature 5 feet out the water (or two of them) it would have been spotted. Twin canoes maybe? Whatever it is it's a completely moot point given the low quality of the camera which is a shame.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes getting the webcam closer is a must if we are to use it for the mystery! Nice to see a couple of new fotos emerging lately and a large sonar image off the nessie hunter in June... Nicely in time for my upcoming visit! Just off topic ... We spoke about Ted holidays book the great orm so if anyone is interested there is currently a copy on sale on eBay for a bargain £4.99!! Great addition to anyone's collection... Cheers . ROY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Roy,
      I have just been on eBay and purchased Ted Holiday's book The Great Orm of Loch ness for £3.99. The condition is described as very good and looking at the photos provided it seems to be OK. But whatever the condition for the price of a pint I don't think I can complain.
      Thanks for the tip,
      Jack.

      Delete
  12. Nice one Jack...There is a couple on there plus I saw monsters of Loch Ness by Roy mackal hardback version . Think it was a tenner.. I've had some bargains over the years including constance whyte's for 20 quid! Enjoy... Cheers Roy

    ReplyDelete
  13. I had a quick look and there is some good books on there.I noticed Tony Harmsworths book is now half the original price,is it any good? Roland's 'photographs of the loch ness monster' book is also on there, i might just as well purchase a copy.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Read if briefly in a shop in Loch Ness once...not my cup of tea to be honest! Not bought GB s book on fotos yet..though the best foto of an unusual biggish creature in the loch in my humble opinion ironically won't be in it lol.. Worth addin to the collection though.. Cheers

    ReplyDelete