Where else?

Photo: Steve rosser

I suppose somewhere in the UK, people are out there watching cetaceans year round and being rewarded with sightings even though conditions are far from easy... Possibly not and if they do they seem to keep pretty quiet about it. Its been a lo-0ng cold winter but on the first anniversary of the Whales in Wales blog, reports keep coming in and shows the persistence and dedication of cetacean watchers here in Wales!When we started the blog I wondered if there would be enough stuff to keep it interesting. I should not have worried! with 12,600 visits in the first year I guess we are doing fine. Many thanks to all contributors and especially Rich Crossen for setting the blog up!

Hi Cliff,

had a great afternoon watching porps in Ramsey Sound, Mon.22nd.Feb. Difficult to know how many were there but certainly more than I've seen for quite a while. I watched 5 moving down at the end of the flood tide but then they started moving back up. The same or different ones? Who knows! Porps were also active in the ebb tide where I also saw another 2 moving down. My sightings recently have been of only, at the most, 2 or 3 moving up or down depending on the tide with no long term presence in the Sound so it was really good to have continuous sightings for 3 hours today. All the best.....Alison

Stevo and Tony Lucas were also out and about today and copped 4-5 porpoises at Strumble although in the choppy conditions created by a northerly breeze, they were not easy to see.

Of course our Celtic cousins who are actually organised as a national cetacean group and supported by their government are in a totally different league! see: http://www.iwdg.ie/ShipSurveys/?id=68

Clever Cloggies!

Dear Cliff,
A good day of porpoise activity in the Ramsey Sound area yesterday. Scattered activity around the entire area, including Penllechwen, St. David's head, the north and south end of the Sound during the ebb tide. We recaptured the split fin porp at St. David's head. First sighted at Penllechwen two weeks ago. No feeding activity of gannets though.
Cheers,
Ernst & Aniek

These Dutch guys from Van Halle are really making a useful contribution, well done Aniek and Ernst. We will have to keep our eye out for this unfortunate animal and see if it remains in the area. A couple of brief visits to Strumble and lots of porp's after a few quiet weeks. For many years Strumble has consitently produced the goods but the past year both at Strumble and around Ramsey things have beneen much less predictable we will keep on watching and see what we see!

Cliff,

Again a lot of porp activity today at strumble half way through the outgoing tide. About twenty animals feeding in the tidal race near the lighthouse.

We have whitnessed an increase in gannet presence and activity too last week. At least 100 diving and feeding gannets at Carreg-trai, seen from Saint David's head on 11-02-2010. Divng gannets at strumble as well three days ago,during another porpoise feeding event.

Greetings from Ernst & Aniek

You guys are really doing a grand job!
I would not be too surprised if there were some Common Dolphins beneath that big gathering of Gannets!
allthingsgood, cliff

Unseasonal Gannets

Image: Rich Crossen

Math Davies and I had a brief look at Strumble this afternoon, and saw several porps dissapearing behind the lighthouse with the ebbing tide, ...also at least 3 gannets feeding, unusual for this time of the year. presumably this is due to palaegic fish (Sprat, Herring, Mackerel Gar' or WHY?) feeding close to surface...

Strumble again!

Cliff,

A lot of porpoise action at Strumble today at the end of the ebb tide. Approx 15-20 porps feeding in the tidal race of the lighthouse. Manic activity for about an hour before dissapearing into thin air together with the idal race.

Cheers,

Ernst

New Quay Harbour

Sunday 14th February

Beautiful, early Spring (?) day in New Quay - bright sun, calm seas: the dinghy sailers were really struggling. After an hour of watching, I was rewarded with the appearance of one Harbour porpoise about 500m north of Target Rock. Just a few, brief glimpses and then it was gone.

On passage!

Nick o' Sullivan on passage in a survey vessel from Liverpool bound for Harwich last Wednesday evening, sighted a small pod of Common Dolphins south of the Smalls in an area we refer to as "Shark Corner". Another indication of Commons being resident or at least present, year round in our waters these days.

February sea temperature 8C and Commons in Welsh waters

February and another Stena Europe/ Sea Trust Ferry Survey. Its cold out there and another unreliable forcast had us surveying in less than optimum conditions with sea state up between 3-5, although visibility good.

Elfyn Pugh took up my last minute offer of a place on the Stena Europes bridge wings and he opened the score with a porpoise just outside the harbour at Fishguard, I clocked another off Strumble and despite the intense cold we manged to keep the watch going, enjoying Fulmars and Auks until light stopped play about five miles outside of Rosslaire Harbour.

Coming back this morning thousands of sea birds were feeding in the inshore waters off Rosslaire but just too distant to make out whatever cetaceans were feeding beneath. I copped one porp and Elfyn another two, also one mid channel.

Elfyn really earned his place as one of Wales best cetacean observers, as I went into the warmth of the Stena Europes bridge to get us some tea. He waved and shouted recalling me to the bridge wings just in time to see a small pod of Common Dolphins racing into our bows.

A couple more porps near Strumble finished the score making the trip extremely worthwhile.

Interestingly Adrian Rogers who had been birding at Strumble earlier rang to say that he had seen some porps at Strumble earlier, which given their scarcity recently, was a bit of good news!

It seems we are learning more with each years succesive surveys, showing the value of long term regular monitoring. Thanks to Stena Line for allowing us to do so, and the support and friendship of all the ships crew shore staff, allthingsgood, cliff

Another Ramsay porp with damaged fin...

Hi Cliff, hope you're ok. Made an early start to catch part of the ebb tide in Ramsey Sound today, Mon. 8th.Feb. but had no porpoise sightings. At the start of the flood tide suddenly 2 appeared & I watched them travel up the Sound. One of them had a deep notch in the leading edge of the dorsal fin. Very similar to a sighting I had in Sept.2009.....All the best, Alison.
Alison rang me last night with news of a porp with calf at Ramsay Sound yesterday the first she had seen since November.

Porpoise with big damage to fin...

Cliff,

Could you please post this on the blog? It would mean a lot of us if someone has seen this animal at Strumble. This picture was taken at Penllechwen on the 6th of feb 2010 at slack tide.

Tomorrow, we will be observing at Strumble at 12:00 to 14:00 approx. Aniek will contact you tonight regarding a possible visit at sea lab.

Greetings,
Ernst

Van: Cliff at Sea Trust [mailto:frederike.sjacob@virgin.net]Verzonden: do 4-2-2010 10:14Aan: Berg, Aniek van denOnderwerp: RE: Data Records

We did look at porpoises with notches in their fins some time ago but I have never seen such horrific damage to a porpoise, though once or twice to a Common Dolphin. I dont think this animal has been seen before but If anyone is familiar with such an animal please let us know.

Also well done and thanks for your contribution Ernst and Aneike !

Sea Trust on the Telly

Sea Trust was featured in a piece towards the end of the first episode of Iolo's Wild Times shown on BBC2 Wales last night with some great footage from 2006. If you missed it click here to watch on BBC iPlayer.