Dear MARMAM colleagues, We are pleased to announce our new open access publication: O'Neil, K.E., Cunningham, E.G. and Moore, D.M., 2019. Sudden seasonal occurrence of humpback whales *Megaptera novaeangliae* in the Firth of Forth, Scotland and first confirmed movement between high-latitude feeding grounds and United Kingdom waters. *Marine Biodiversity Records*, 12(12). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41200-019-0172-7 Plain English Summary In this publication, we report on the first confirmed record of a UK-sighted humpback whale in their Arctic feeding grounds (Svalbard-Scotland) and suggest that UK seas act as a migratory stopover or alternative destination for eastern North Atlantic humpback whales on their southbound migration. With all data collected by volunteer whale watchers, our new publication is a strong example of the power of citizen science and of science-community collaboration. Abstract Here we report on the sudden seasonal occurrence of humpback whales *Megaptera novaeangliae* within the Firth of Forth, Scotland, UK over the winter months of 2017 and 2018. Sightings and photographs collected by citizen scientists of the Forth Marine Mammal Project were inspected and a fluke photograph compared to existing catalogues from all known feeding and breeding grounds across the North Atlantic. No matches to breeding grounds were found but a fluke match to a non-catalogued individual in Svalbard (Norway) constitutes the first confirmed movement of a UK-recorded humpback whale from high-latitude feeding grounds. A different individual was photographed in the Firth of Forth in both 2017 and 2018, providing evidence of a whale returning to the Firth of Forth in consecutive years. Despite year-round observation, the discrete seasonality of sightings suggests that the Firth of Forth may represent a migratory stopover or alternative destination for humpback whales on their southbound migration. Overall, these findings constitute a formalised baseline of information regarding the occurrence of humpback whales in the Firth of Forth and contribute to our understanding of the migration habits of humpback whales in the eastern North Atlantic. The open access article can be found at the following link: https://mbr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41200-019-0172-7 A plain English summary (for popular science audiences) can be found at: www.emilycunningham.co.uk/news/ All questions to me at emily@emilycunningham.co.uk Best wishes, Emily *Emily Cunningham* Marine Conservation Research & Consultancy England, UK LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilygcunningham/> | Twitter <https://twitter.com/EG_Cunningham> www.emilycunningham.co.uk