If anything is guaranteed to cheer us up on a driech November morning, it's the sight of the Clyde's resident dolphins putting on a display of marine acrobatics.
That was the case last Sunday when, despite frequent downpours, the wind was light and the sea calm - perfect conditions for spotting these intelligent, charismatic animals which have made the Clyde their home.
The day's first sighting, reported on the Clyde Cetaceans WhatsApp group, was made off Skelmorlie, confirming reports that the dolphins are more frequently seen downriver in winter and early spring.
In fact, a previous study of their movements found that Wemyss Bay was Inverclyde's top spot for dolphin-watching during the first three months of the year. Less frequent sightings were reported from the Greenock Esplanade during that time.
It is thought these seasonal movements are determined by the location of fish which provide nourishment for the dolphins' high-energy lives.
Earlier this month the cetaceans WhatsApp page included a report of a whale passing Blairmore on the Cowal shore; further evidence that these marine giants will turn up in our home waters from time to time.
That other species, the humpback, is also an occasional visitor. Probably the most famous was Clydey, a humpback which visited the Clyde in 1995, giving observers amazing views of its breaching displays.
George Munro's stunning image of a humpback whale breaching off the Esplanade in 1995. (Image: Greenock Telegraph)
However, whales have not always been welcomed to the Clyde with such benign intentions. Recently, the Telegraph ran a historical article which told how, back in 1897, residents had spotted 'one or two whales' in the river.
Ebenezer Ramsay, of Greenock, was said to have got together with a number of ladies and gentlemen and departed Albert Harbour aboard a steam whaler named Thrasher to hunt the creatures.
They caught up with the whale off Largs and lodged several harpoons in its body before it succumbed to blood loss. Its body was towed to Albert Harbour for display.
A similar fate had been suffered by a whale 14 years earlier when the unfortunate beast was sighted in the River Tay near Dundee.
Its arrival caused a sensation among the majority of the population who had never seen a whale before.
The ensuing events surrounding its capture and slaughter seem unimaginable given today's enlightened attitude towards these marine mammals.
Humpback whales are admired for their spectacular breaches. (Image: Pixabay.com)
For a start, the chase and harpooning of the whale created such a spectacle that a crowd of 20,000 people gathered onshore to watch the gory events.
Then, when the whale's body was eventually retrieved off the Stonehaven coast and brought to Dundee, entrepreneur Jonny Woods realised money could be made by charging people to come and see the creature.
No fewer than 12,000 people turned up to view the whale on the first Sunday of the exhibition.
Soon, the carcass was too badly decomposed for further viewings, and Woods then allowed anatomist Sir John Struthers to dissect the whale, knowing that money could be made by allowing the public to pay a fee to watch the dissection - all to the accompaniment of a military band!
Minke whales are occasional visitors to the Clyde. (Image: Pixabay.com)
And the story gets even more bizarre.
Woods had the whale stuffed and took it on tour throughout Scotland and England. Finally, several months later, it returned to Dundee where Struthers was able to complete the removal of the skull and finish the dissection. The skeleton was then reassembled.
Having made what must have been a considerable sum of money from the whale, Woods refused several offers from potential buyers and kept his earlier promise to give it to the city of Dundee.
It is now one of the star exhibits in the city's McManus Museum and Art Gallery.