Weather clown's don't you just love 'em and yet still a few reports coming in from north and south.
from Merfyn Jones...
I live in Colwyn Bay, North Wales.
Returning home along the promenade earlier this week, we noticed many people looking out to sea near the Pier.
We stopped and were surprised to see dorsal fins appearing near the pier and close to an orange boat with a couple of people in it.
Whether the boat had anything to do with what we were to see, I don't know, but suddenly repeatedly fins broke the water and all the people watching using mobile phones were trying to take pictures.
Really, all I am asking you is...................might they have been Dolphins?
Sounds good to me Merfyn, might be worh investing in a pair of binoculars!
meanwhile...
Local Fishermen Titch and Gethyn Rees reported an early morning sighting of at least five Bottlenose Dolphins off Fishguard Harbour on tuesday morning....
Lucy from Lockley Lodge reported that two sunfish had been seen passing by Wooltack point this morning near Marloes Pembrokeshire...
On a sadder note Wendy Innes saw a seal with fishing net wrapped around its neck at Carregwasted near Fishguard. It seemed to be basking on a rock and lets hope its not causing it too many problems as ther is little that can be done for it. If anyone else sees it and there looks like some chance it could be caught , eg lying quietly on a beach we will let Terry Leadbetter know but whilst its mobile there's little can be done.
Friday, 31 July 2009
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Stormy weather!
Thursdays boat trip on Celtic Wilcat cancelled due to yukky weather, Ferry Trip on Stena Europe on Friday marred by stronger winds and rain than forecasted. Saturday better but only a few porps seen.
Stevo Locas and Dad Tony had better luck at Mwnt where they had the lovely experience of a Bottlenose mother teaching her calf to dive and feed, just below them for over an hour. The Mother and calf were joined by two more adults and a calf to finish a really rewarding watch.
From Alison Ross;
Hi Cliff. I hope you're well, and dodging all this rain!!! Only one or two porps sighted at Ramsey Sound on Sat.25th July. A few more seen today Mon.27th July, probably about half a dozen, including a calf. Sightings of porps there over the last couple of months are generally down on the equivalent months last year. Hopefully it's a temporary trend and the numbers will pick up again. There is quite intense boat activity now in the Sound which is frustrating for a porpoise-watcher! Some behave in a wildlife-friendly way and some do not,(in my opinion!) All the best...
Stevo Locas and Dad Tony had better luck at Mwnt where they had the lovely experience of a Bottlenose mother teaching her calf to dive and feed, just below them for over an hour. The Mother and calf were joined by two more adults and a calf to finish a really rewarding watch.
From Alison Ross;
Hi Cliff. I hope you're well, and dodging all this rain!!! Only one or two porps sighted at Ramsey Sound on Sat.25th July. A few more seen today Mon.27th July, probably about half a dozen, including a calf. Sightings of porps there over the last couple of months are generally down on the equivalent months last year. Hopefully it's a temporary trend and the numbers will pick up again. There is quite intense boat activity now in the Sound which is frustrating for a porpoise-watcher! Some behave in a wildlife-friendly way and some do not,(in my opinion!) All the best...
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Sister act!
from Paula and Yvonne;
Hi Cliff,
How are you? Well, I hope.
Thought you might like to know that Yvonne & I had a great sighting of a Risso's dolphin at Strumble Head this evening (Wednesday 22nd July at 20.50 hours). It was not more than 200m offshore right in front of the car parking area (i.e. just west of the lookout). Yvonne spotted and identified it while I had my head in a bird book! But then it came out again a great leap clear of the water. Magnificent.
A magnificent moment that I am entirely envious of , well done ladies
Hi Cliff,
How are you? Well, I hope.
Thought you might like to know that Yvonne & I had a great sighting of a Risso's dolphin at Strumble Head this evening (Wednesday 22nd July at 20.50 hours). It was not more than 200m offshore right in front of the car parking area (i.e. just west of the lookout). Yvonne spotted and identified it while I had my head in a bird book! But then it came out again a great leap clear of the water. Magnificent.
A magnificent moment that I am entirely envious of , well done ladies
Monday, 20 July 2009
Porp stuff
Monday 20th. July 2009. Alison Ross spent another rewarding time today watching the porps at Ramsey Sound. There were'nt as many as were there last saturday, probably only about 8 to 10 and that did include a small calf again, but the important thing is that porps are there.
Porpoises also seen off Pen Anglas from Fishguard Harbour in a brief early morning visit, weather not helping this week but bit by bit we build pictures!
Porpoises also seen off Pen Anglas from Fishguard Harbour in a brief early morning visit, weather not helping this week but bit by bit we build pictures!
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Ramsey porp's
Image: Rich Crossen
From Alison Ross
Hi Cliff.
Just sending you something for the blog. The sun came out at Ramsey Sound today and so did the porps. There were more there than I've been seeing over the last couple of months, I would think there were 15 to 20, including a small calf which was really exciting. Lots of gannet activity which helped in spotting the porps.
(I have used one of Richard Crossens images to illustrate Alison's report, there are three porpoises in the group if you look carefully!)
Saturday, 18 July 2009
Mums the word...
Sighting of Bottles by Ian Hotchin (via Stevo Lucas) : Three or four including a mother and calf seen Saturday afternoon near Dinas Head, Pembrokeshire, (Erwgoch) Porpoises including mother and calf also seen off Fishguard Harbour, lunchtime by Sarah Jones & self with brief sightings at Strumble just afterFriday, 17 July 2009
Here comes the sun, but wet wet wet and porpoise revival continues at Strumble
A couple of Sunfish sightings from Nick o' Sullivan whilst Shark fishing in the Celtic Deep earlier in the week along with another report from Richard Dobbins and Adrian Rodger from Strumble yesterday. At the same location David Britain had a pleasant afternoon watching " good numbers" of Porpoises yesterday and I had seen a good few at Strumble earlier in the week. A short wet day out on the Celtic Wildcat still managed to produce a few dolphins off the "Smalls" as well as a couple of porpoise sightings off the Deer Park/Jack Sound and off Grassholm.
Friday, 10 July 2009
Stena Ferry Survey
Disapointingly a Sea Trust small boat survey had to be cancelled on Thursday due to a very choppy sea after several days of strong winds. An alternative was a survey across the Irish Sea from Fishguard to Rosslare on Stena Europe with Cliff, Rich and Miguel. Sea conditions on Thursday afternoon were still pretty choppy at times (sea state 4) and spotting any cetaceans was not easy. We did, however, manage a few Porpoises not long out of Fishguard and brief views around halfway across of a couple of young Rissos Dolphins which just stayed put on the surface as we passed. Both seemed to be immature animals.Friday morning started off very quiet as we sailed out of Rosslare. The sea had, however, died right down and for most of the crossing it was glassy calm with a thin veil of cloud removing any glare - ideal ceacean spotting conditions. We were not to be disapointed and a couple of hours into the trip we saw some Porpoises and then a family group of 10 Rissos Dolphins. They passed us a little way off keeping a low profile but showed their tall, raked, fins well. Photo shows one individual - shame they didn't come closer! As the ferry moved on well past them they became more energetic and could be seen splashing and leaping in the distance behind us.
On towards Fishguard we encountered three pods of Common Dolphins - perhaps 40 animals in all , including one pod quite close into Strumble. Numerous Porpoises were also seen between Strumble and Dinas Head.
Few Gannets were seen on the way but numerous Manx Shearwaters and Puffins including two Pufflings. A Great trip!
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Ramsay Porps
Alison Ross, Malcolm Barradell and Cliff Benson spent a confusing time trying to work out what the porp's were doing today. We still dont know but we had fun trying to find out...
Alison reckoned 4-6 I thought maybe3 more but the good thing was they were there!
Alison reckoned 4-6 I thought maybe3 more but the good thing was they were there!
Porpoises - Wooltack Point
Info from the Pembrokeshire Birds Blog of sighting at Wooltack Point , by Martin's Haven, posted by Sash T - (7 July) The porpoises are also back after an absence of at least 2 months, with a maximum of at least a dozen last night in the tidal race. All adults, as far as we could see.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
From Sue,
Cliff,
We have a mutual friend/colleague, Shirley Matthews and in the course of conversation she described her interest in wildlife both via work on skomer and with the Sea trust. I am a keen sailor and canoeist and to which Shirley said that you would appreciate any sightings of dolphins etc whilst I was on holiday on my boat over last couple of weeks in June. So here they are
22.6.9 – whilst making passage from Dale to Dunmore East in S Ireland
16.30 – 51 39.76 N and 5 43.95 W – two common dolphins travelling west – played in bows of boat briefly before moving on
17.42 – 52 41.7 N and 5 43.51 W – one seal apparently snoozing basking in the sun
18.30 – 51 44.39 N and 5 50.2 W pod of maybe 5 or 6 common dolphins travelling east – they did not stop to play in the bows
19.27 – 51 47.23 N and 5 56.8 W – one porpoise (I think) travelling west – did not stop to play
19.53 – 51 48.54 N and 6 00.3 W – pod of 3common dolphins travelling west – they stopped to play in the bows for about 10 minutes
There are two other sightings which I put in the boats log and can retrieve the precise details when I am next aboard the boat but from memory
Monday 29.6.9 making passage to Kinsale from Crosshaven – apparently two large animals with tall fins behaviour unlike anything seen with dolphins – sort of circling and snuggling one another (sorry for the anthromorphic description) – they were not particularly interested in the boat dived once and came up again maybe 20 feet further on east of initial position.- I immediately looked them up on a handout kept on board about animals in the area and thought that the only thing they could be were Orcas because of their colour size and shape of fin it was early afternoon and we were a couple of miles east of entrance to Kinsale and about half a mile of the coast.
On Saturday 4 July 2009 south of the Smalls on way back to the haven within 10 minutes or so two very large pods of common dolphins passed the boat travelling east/south east about midnight and not clear whether they stayed to play in the bows as dark, heavy seas and windy so did not want to go forward to see! On each occasion there were more than I had ever seen in a pod with waves of them surfacing together – difficult to say how many but at least tens if not hundreds – it was certainly so many to be in my experience exceptional.
If it is of interest the boat is a 29’ yacht - her hull below the waterline is painted black and I think that all sightings were whilst sailing rather than motor sailing with the engine on. I do not ever approach animals whilst at sea – I would like to say this is because of consideration for the animals but really it is because there is little point – their attention is in their gift rather than any possibility of me being able to pursue them in my boat – they are much more capable in/on the water than me….
Hope this info is of use to you
Sue
Perfect Sue, just what we need and great attitude, looks like you may have relocated our superpod! Re Orca's see last posting! allthingsgood, cliff
Cliff,
We have a mutual friend/colleague, Shirley Matthews and in the course of conversation she described her interest in wildlife both via work on skomer and with the Sea trust. I am a keen sailor and canoeist and to which Shirley said that you would appreciate any sightings of dolphins etc whilst I was on holiday on my boat over last couple of weeks in June. So here they are
22.6.9 – whilst making passage from Dale to Dunmore East in S Ireland
16.30 – 51 39.76 N and 5 43.95 W – two common dolphins travelling west – played in bows of boat briefly before moving on
17.42 – 52 41.7 N and 5 43.51 W – one seal apparently snoozing basking in the sun
18.30 – 51 44.39 N and 5 50.2 W pod of maybe 5 or 6 common dolphins travelling east – they did not stop to play in the bows
19.27 – 51 47.23 N and 5 56.8 W – one porpoise (I think) travelling west – did not stop to play
19.53 – 51 48.54 N and 6 00.3 W – pod of 3common dolphins travelling west – they stopped to play in the bows for about 10 minutes
There are two other sightings which I put in the boats log and can retrieve the precise details when I am next aboard the boat but from memory
Monday 29.6.9 making passage to Kinsale from Crosshaven – apparently two large animals with tall fins behaviour unlike anything seen with dolphins – sort of circling and snuggling one another (sorry for the anthromorphic description) – they were not particularly interested in the boat dived once and came up again maybe 20 feet further on east of initial position.- I immediately looked them up on a handout kept on board about animals in the area and thought that the only thing they could be were Orcas because of their colour size and shape of fin it was early afternoon and we were a couple of miles east of entrance to Kinsale and about half a mile of the coast.
On Saturday 4 July 2009 south of the Smalls on way back to the haven within 10 minutes or so two very large pods of common dolphins passed the boat travelling east/south east about midnight and not clear whether they stayed to play in the bows as dark, heavy seas and windy so did not want to go forward to see! On each occasion there were more than I had ever seen in a pod with waves of them surfacing together – difficult to say how many but at least tens if not hundreds – it was certainly so many to be in my experience exceptional.
If it is of interest the boat is a 29’ yacht - her hull below the waterline is painted black and I think that all sightings were whilst sailing rather than motor sailing with the engine on. I do not ever approach animals whilst at sea – I would like to say this is because of consideration for the animals but really it is because there is little point – their attention is in their gift rather than any possibility of me being able to pursue them in my boat – they are much more capable in/on the water than me….
Hope this info is of use to you
Sue
Perfect Sue, just what we need and great attitude, looks like you may have relocated our superpod! Re Orca's see last posting! allthingsgood, cliff
Friday, 3 July 2009
From Mark W...
Hi
The killer whales were seen about an hour this side of Tuskar, & I understand they will appear on the IWDG website soon. They were seen on a Cetacean monitoring trip.
http://www.iwdg.ie/ShipSurveys/?id=55
The minke was about the same I guess, as an hour & a half from this side is about there too. I imagine the killer whales will appear with a proper gps position when published.
I also saw several small pods of common dolphins on Monday, but far fewer on my return trip on Wednesday.
The trip back on Wednesday was very calm to glassy, & that makes the amount of rubbish floating about very obvious; we are a right mucky lot!
best wishes
Mark
Great stuff Mark , the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group website www.iwdg.ie is always worth a look at. Interestingly we saw a Minke with a calf thereabouts last year, allthingsgood, cliff
The killer whales were seen about an hour this side of Tuskar, & I understand they will appear on the IWDG website soon. They were seen on a Cetacean monitoring trip.
http://www.iwdg.ie/ShipSurveys/?id=55
The minke was about the same I guess, as an hour & a half from this side is about there too. I imagine the killer whales will appear with a proper gps position when published.
I also saw several small pods of common dolphins on Monday, but far fewer on my return trip on Wednesday.
The trip back on Wednesday was very calm to glassy, & that makes the amount of rubbish floating about very obvious; we are a right mucky lot!
best wishes
Mark
Great stuff Mark , the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group website www.iwdg.ie is always worth a look at. Interestingly we saw a Minke with a calf thereabouts last year, allthingsgood, cliff
Who knows what?
orcas/killer whales
I see that the sea trust people saw a super-pod of dolphins the other day, but I have not seen a mention of the 3 killer whales seen from the Pembroke ferry on the 27th. (sorry if they are mentioned elsewhere).I unfortunately missed them, but saw a minke from the Stena ferry on 29th.Mind, I was watching killer whales somewhat further north the week before!
// posted by Mark W on Pembs Bird Blog...
Hi Mark, we dont get to hear about everything but we do our best to report what we do hear!Any Idea who saw the Orca's and where did you see your Minke, all info gratefully recieved...
I see that the sea trust people saw a super-pod of dolphins the other day, but I have not seen a mention of the 3 killer whales seen from the Pembroke ferry on the 27th. (sorry if they are mentioned elsewhere).I unfortunately missed them, but saw a minke from the Stena ferry on 29th.Mind, I was watching killer whales somewhat further north the week before!
// posted by Mark W on Pembs Bird Blog...
Hi Mark, we dont get to hear about everything but we do our best to report what we do hear!Any Idea who saw the Orca's and where did you see your Minke, all info gratefully recieved...
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Sea Trust Pelagics
Just a reminder that Sea Trust is running a number of Pelagic Boat trips from Neyland this summer and the first ones are this month. There are a few places left on the trips on 9 and 23 July. Cost is £50 per person payable on the day. This is a great opportunity to see Dolphins and, possibly, other Cetaceans as well as close views of our breeding seabirds. Photos from a trip out to the Smalls Lighthouse last Sunday when we encountered a "Superpod" of 1500+ Dolphins can be seen here
Full details with info on how to book a place can be found by clicking here
Full details with info on how to book a place can be found by clicking here
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Superpod on the Telly
Part of the superpod , Photo : Rich Crossen
I was just getting into eating my crunchy nut cornflakes when I heard Bill Turnbull (anchorman of BBC Breakfast News) mention our Superpod. The film was a bit flakey and I had hoped they might have edited it into some shape, but I was only expecting BBC Wales, so its something of a bonus. I am not sure everyone including myself is really understanding the relevence of this, in that it may be a regularly occuring phenomena. The first time we saw a superpod seven or eight years ago we were pretty inexperienced and we just took it as a one off. The second time the media got hold of my film and it got world wide coverage. Its just happened again so on the basis we only manage to get out a few times per summer 3 superpods recorded in seven years begins to look more than just coincidental!
Looks like it was a stopgap until they could edit! there is now a much improved version on the BBC Website:
'Wall of dolphins' caught on film
'Wall of dolphins' caught on film
It will also be on the News this evening...
The superpod has now caught the medias attention with articles and video on many of the national papers websites etc.
I have just recieved a call from Phill Davies who was on his yacht (Broganza III) coming across from Lundy on Friday/Saturday and had dolphins with him for over four hour as he made his way across the Bristol Channel and into Milford Haven. It seems there are literally thousands out there at the moment God knows what carnage the round Britain powerboat race would have wreaked if it had been taking place now!!!
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