Strumble Diary Photo ID volunteers April update

 As Ken mentioned in an earlier post not a great month weather-wise, But the Photo ID volunteers had sightings!

1st - At Strumble Head we had 2 sightings of harbour porpoises with many common dolphins and gannets everywhere, we were

glad to see some dolphins out there for our Easter porpoise picnic

2nd - 6 sightings of harbour porpoises at Strumble Head with many common dolphins spotted.

3rd - Our survey team at Strumble Head had 2 sightings of harbour porpoises and saw a few common dolphins.

8th - At Strumble Head we only had 1 sighting of harbour porpoises and sightings of European Shags

11th - We had 6 sightings of harbour porpoises at Strumble Head and saw many gannets feeding and a grey seal was spotted. The

survey team even saw the porpoise’s tail slap and many bird species.

15th - Our survey team had 5 sightings of harbour porpoises seeing a total of 15 porpoises and even a few common dolphins.

Unfortunately due to rough seas and poor visibility.

16th - At Strumble we were lucky enough to see 8 porpoises however due to choppy water conditions and big swells we were unable to take any pictures.

18th - Our survey team were excited to see 7 sightings of porpoises with 25 individuals spotted, at Strumble head they even saw a grey seal feeding (we think it’s a skate) and they had some fun taking pictures of our local gulls

22nd - At Strumble head we had 3 sightings of porpoises, unfortunately with no pictures taken

23rd - At Strumble head we had 3 sightings of porpoises, unfortunately with no pictures taken

24th - Our survey team saw 18 individual porpoises with 6 sightings at Strumble Head.

25th - We had a super lucky day with 8 sightings of porpoises and 43 individual porpoises at Strumble head, the team even saw and took pictures of a whimbrel

Strumble Diary 15/4/24.

 Fran and the Monday Photo ID  Team braved near gale force Nw winds to try and get some Porpoises in the camera lens. Although the Porpoises were there, the huge seas made life difficult and no pics, but you have to admire their tenacity!

Strumble diary 14/4/24.

As Ken mentioned in his post, Dan Abbot was using his drone to video our Strumble porpoises yesterday here is a link to some of that video: https://www.facebook.com/dan.abbott.9/videos/2292077411184255?idorvanity=545573509378069

 Dan is a pro' and has the necessary licenses The sheer concentration, dedication and skill it takes to get a few seconds of brilliant footage, has to be seen to be believed. Drones have become a menace in the wrong hands but when used like this, they can greatly add to our research on our Strumble Porpoises that we have been recording from the land for over twenty years. 

From watching other drone video. we can get a more accurate idea of how many dolphins or porpoises we are looking at as the gannet's eye view shows animals below the surface. Unless an animal surfaces we cannot see it, from the land, also if animals surface in the same area, we cannot be sure as to if it is the same animal surfacing or another nearby animal. Nice one Dan, many thanks for your support!

Strumble Diary 14/04/2024

 Two dry days in a row WOW!! Make the most of it I thought to myself. So I made my way out to Strumble with a clear blue sky above. Today's was a small tide so I wasn't expecting much action. The tide race was late forming at about four hours into the rising tide and was a weak but visible affair. The first porpoise spotted was coming in from the direction of Fishguard bay.  A brief sighting but signs at least that there were porps about. As things progressed more showed up, with several feeding some 600Mtrs out. Vidiographer Dan Abbot arrived as did Cliff and we spotted for Dan as he attempted to put his drone over the feeding porpoise. We observed the porpoise until just before high water and as the tide eased the porpoise got less and were further out. I left shortly after that happy with what I'd got in this session.

Strumble Diary 12/04/2024

 At last, a chance to get out again after almost two months of constant rain and gales with only a few previous sessions in that time. Not only that, it's coincided with favourable tides too. So on a dropping tide I ventured out and arrived before the tide race had got going. Things were very quiet at first but it was good to see the Swallows, Martins and manx Sheerwaters back again. A sure sign of spring if not by the weather.

The porpoise soon turned up once the tide race got going and for an hour or so there were steady sightings, some more stealthy than others but I did manage to get some decent images, so I was happy overall with the way the session delivered.

Let's hope for more spring like weather going forward and more decent sessions to come.

PS. No dolphins sighted today

Strumble Diary Easter Porp Watch People!

 

Thank you to everyone who attended our Easter Porpoise Watch!

With a great turnout, some sunshine, and lots of Common dolphins even some porpoises - it was a great survey!

Easter Monday Watch

 Always a landmark day in the calendar when we reach Easter and host members of the public on one of our surveys. With a fair weather forecast and calm seas we were hopefull of a good watch. 

I arrived early as normal to scope out what was about and to provide direction to any early arrivals. Carrie and son Jackson arrived at the same time and we soon spotted Commons feeding out in the tide race. Shortly after, Nadia and the survey crew arrived and set up ready for the event. A steady stream of visitors started to arrive and binoculars were provided giving them a much better view. Lovely to see several families all enjoying the dolphins and the odd seal looking up at us from just below the lookout. 

An hour or so in and during a lull in the sightings I gave a talk on the origins and aims of Sea Trust Wales followed by information on the tidal flows at Strumble and it's importance to the Porpoise and other mamals that inhabit this area. I counted just short of fifty visitors plus the survey team so as you can imagine it was an impressive sight to see so many people enjoying our local marine wildlife. They ranged from Haverfordwest to Hereford and beyond and I think they all went away happy and now more aware of Sea Trust Wales and what we do. 

Sightings were mostly Common Dolphins  but later as they moved off several porpoise were observed at distance moving up the tide race. Rain stopped play just short of our 13.00 ending so we all left shortly after, having enjoyed a rewarding couple of hours with our wildlife and visitors.