By Tim Binnall
A diligent webcam watcher has laid claim to what he believes to be the year's first sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. Ireland's Eoin O’Faodhagain reportedly captured the curious moment by way of a livestream located at the Shoreland Lodges. While watching the feed last week, he was surprised to see what he describes as an "unexplained disturbance" on the water as the webcam pans across Loch Ness. A few minutes later, O’Faodhagain noticed another "unusual surface agitation" which he also believes was caused by the legendary creature. "I couldn't believe what I was viewing," he marveled, "and it all happened so fast."
Fortunately, the seasoned virtual monster hunter was able to capture both incidents for posterity. At around 18 seconds into the clip seen above, O’Faodhagain notes that "something moves on the surface for a couple of seconds then you see two shadowy wakes moving in two lines under the surface." The second possible sighting (seen below) features, at the nine second mark, "a large white round disturbance" on the water which he argues is too large to have been caused by a jumping fish. "You may not see a body," O’Faodhagain mused, "but there’s definite movement in the water that cannot be explained by natural occurrences."
By virtue of the two curious clips, O’Faodhagain believes that the first Nessie sighting of 2023 is in the books, though not everyone will agree with his assertion. As of now, the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register has yet to recognize either of the videos and it is unlikely to do so following a 2022 change in policy wherein they now only accept webcam reports if they contain "footage of clear facial features of an unknown creature." Due to this schism in the Nessie-hunting community, one might say that O’Faodhagain's sighting is the first of the virtual variety this year, while we wait for someone actually at Loch Ness to be credited with the first on-site report in 2023.