by Hamish Morrison<br /><br />This incredible drone footage shows a humpback whale coming up for air in the Firth of Forth.<br /><br />The whale was filmed from a boat which left Granton Harbour, Edinburgh on Sunday, December 12.<br /><br />It came up for air a number of times and scared members of the crew when it ‘popped up’ just 30 feet from the boat by surprise.<br /><br />Dan Casey, 30, from Lundin Links, Fife, has been trying to film the whale for three years.<br /><br />He said he hoped his quest to find the whale had a ‘happier ending’ than Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby Dick hich ends with the obsessive Captain Ahab being dragged into the ocean.<br /><br />Dan, a freelance TV assistant producer, had previously tried to film the whale by flying his drone over the river while he stood on the banks but was unsuccessful.<br /><br />He tracked it with the help of online enthusiasts, and the excursion lasted around four hours with the whale visible for most of that time because of ‘perfect’ conditions.<br /><br />Whale watchers are attempting to determine whether it is the same one that has been spotted in the Forth in previous years.<br /><br />Dan said: “I’ve been going along the coast the last three years trying to get this whale, following all the sightings that are uploaded online.
