THE HOOK Head may well challenge West Cork as one of Europe's premier 'whale watching' destinations following the latest arrival of 'Bingo'. That's according to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), which is closely following the movements of the humpback since his high profile arrival.

'Bingo', as he is known locally, has been at the centre of media focus after he breached clear of the water off Hook Head in spectacular style 11 times over a 45-minute period the weekend before last.

The magnificent humpback is still feeding in the waters off the Hook Peninsula and Pádraig Whooley, IWDG sightings coordinator, is advising whale watchers to head for Martello Tower near Baginbun Head to try to catch a glimpse of 'Bingo'.

'If the humpback remains in this area, our suggestion would be to watch this whale from there. You will need at least a decent pair of binoculars to watch it feeding on the last remaining herring shoals in the area,' explained Padraig.

'Our advice for anyone with an interest in wildlife and whale watching in particular is to head for the South East and Hook Head area. But don't wait too long, as we are informed that the herring, which attract the whales to this traditional winter spawning ground, have now spawned,' he explained.

'This will herald the dispersal of both prey and predators, and we'll almost certainly lose contact with these giants in the coming weeks, until their return in early summer,' added Pádraig, who may well be credited with christening the humpback 'Bingo'.

'When we took the photograph of the whale I shouted "bingo" and one of the men on the boat said "that's what we'll call him". I never realised the name stuck!' laughed Pádraig.

'Bingo', who is the newest humpback to arrive in Irish seas, was one of four species identified by a whalewatching team last week.

The group was not to be disappointed as over the three-day expedition, no less than four species of cetaceans were recorded relatively close to the Hook Peninsula – namely harbour porpoise, common dolphin, humpback and fin whales.

A wildlife filmmaker from Crossing The Line films, Ross Bartley had a bumper weekend as he was also on board the boat during the expedition and successfully captured the dramatic action in high definition.

This footage will be used in the upcoming 'Wild Journeys' series on RTÉ, which tells the story of humpback whale migration between Ireland and Cape Verde.

Analysis of the images obtained of the humpback whale's tail fluke show this to be a new humpback, not previously recorded in Irish waters.

This exciting discovery brings the number of humpback whales documented in Irish waters to 11, with many of these re-sighted on an annual basis.