Goody twoshoes!

While working as a Voluntary Assistant Warden on Skomer Island last week I observed a boat approaching the nesting colonies on the Wick. Suspecting that the vessel would stray into the prohibited zone I checked it out with my binoculars. It was the Sea Trust cetacean survey enjoying the puffins and other auks and... no they were very well behaved and kept well outside the prohibited area. While I was envious of the boat trip I feel that a week on Skomer in good weather more than compensates.

Steve Rosser.

Yep Steve,
Skomer is special anytime and especially on a sunny day in late April. Yep we stick by the rules. Anyone who cares about our wildlife should!

Good morning. I was walking round LLanbedrog Headland on the Llyn Peninsula on Thursday 22nd April 2011 at about 8 am and saw this in the water on its own close to the shore. It continued to hug the coastline disappearing for a while below the surface before coming back up again and once or twice seemed to leap out of the water. It continued along what I call quarry beach (the one before Abersoch with the Warren on it) and was seen by some people on the beach. Unfortunate a 3x zoom on a basic camera makes my pictures quite limited. Is it a whale as it seemed quite large in the water?
Thanks Simon Dean

Hi Simon,
Thanks for this, its definitely a cetacean but from your pictures its difficult to get enough information to be sure of what! We can rule out porpoise on size and fin shape. After that it gets tricky. Our bottlenose dolphins are big and the fin shape is right, on the other hand minke whales can have a similar shaped fin. Its difficult to get any scale from your pic's. Bottlenose dolphin would be favourite from the second shot.

Our interest in marine life often poses more questions than answers but either way I bet it was a great sight!

allthingsgood, cliff

Strumble Porps putting on a show!

Passed on from Pembrokeshire Bird Blog!9 (many thanks)
Dear Richard C / Richard D, just a brief email to let you know about my visit to pembs. Went to look for the Woodchat Shrike at Whitesands but no sign, although a lot of swallows feeding in the area and drinking from the two ponds was nice to see. At Strumble Head we found 4 Whimbrel on the rocks (viewed from the steps to the lighthouse). Also of note, a large school (30 minimum) of porpoise feeding close inshore at 8:00pm this evening.> > Many thanks,> > Tom Coyne> > Sent from my iPhone

Pembrokeshire islands cetacean survey!

Yesterday, ten Sea Trust Supporters and our survey team enjoyed a fantastic day out on Nick o' Sullivan's "Celtic Wildcat"

The Weather window opened up for us as we passed through Jack Sound and crossed St Brides Bay en route for Ramsay Sound. A large log with an upstanding branch set our hearts beating but as the angle changed, the "Orca" resolved itself back into a piece of driftwood...

Several real Porpoises popped up as we entered Ramsay Sound and nosed our way gently through and out of the northern end, swinging around to the Bishops and Clerks, where more porpoises were sighted.

Nick then turned the Wildcat west, out towards the Celtic Deep and The Smalls Lighthouse. Here we encountered a pod of circa 25 Common dolphins who at first came in to meet us then muddled around a bit nervously. As we cautiously approached, they shot onto our bows revealing several calves before leaving just as suddenly, heading back towards where we first encountered them.

We left them to it and made for the perpendicular lighthouse breaking the otherwise flat horizon.

Few places I know emit such an eerie haunted feeling as the Smalls Rock with its towering grey lighthouse even on a relatively bright calm day. A gaggle of resting Shags atop the rock and one snoozing Grey Seal seemed completely unaffected, as did other seals playing in the surf.
Hundreds of Manx Shearwaters were hanging around the tidal race that pulls offf the Smalls Reef, although not yet the thousands we encounter later in the season, but still an impressive sight.

Grassholm looks snow covered from a distance, with a blizzard of snowflakes above. They resolve themselves into nearly a hundred thousand gannets as we get closer.

Puffins, Razorbills, Guillimots and Kittiwakes completed the tour on Skomer and Skokholm as we headed back into the Haven After an eight hour odyssey around oour beautiful Islands.

Thanks to Rich Crossen for his organisation, Nick for his cooperaton and the rest of the gang for their support!

Pics, Rich Crossen. More pics here

Pwllheli Dolphins

More sightings from Alan Gray on the Shearwater of a total of 8 Bottlenose Dolphins seen near Pwllheli this morning including one which did 3 spectacular jumps before disappearing.

Bottlenose Dolphins off Aberystwyth Harbour.

At 9.30am on Sunday 24th April a group of us watched 3 bottlenose dolphins about 150-200 metres offshore from Aberystwyth harbour they appeared to be actively foraging. Sea conditions were excellent. A yacht, a speedboat and a couple of fishing vessels cruised out of the harbour and all these vessels acted responsibly near these animals. A couple in an open Canadian canoe paddled out to the area where the dolphins were foraging but the animals kept their distance.
I can see why it is necessary to conduct a proper scientific study of these animals in this area as the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre are planning to do in collaboration with the Ceredigion County Council.

Observers:- Elfyn Pugh, Adrian Sheppard, Thomas Fisher, Sue Lakeman, Sian Borley.

Pwllheli Sightings

Recent sightings and photos sent in from Alan Gray of Shearwater Cruises who operates from Pwllheli Marina-
20 April 11:40 3 botlenose dolphins 52deg 49.02N 04deg26.50W Bow riding
20 April 12:10 2 bottlenose dolphins 52deg 47.16N 04deg27.28W Bow riding
20 April 12:55 2 bottlenose dolphins 52deg47.25N 04deg29.16W Static - feeding
21 April 12:43 7 harbour porpoises 52deg47.26N 04deg34.53W Heading West
22 April 12:11 9 bottlenose dolphins 52deg47.56N 28deg17.20W Jumping/playing and eventually bow riding.
Many thanks Alan

More from up North!

Hi, Out on our boat yesterday and sighted a pod of about 12 dolphins . I have attached some photo’s as I can’t identify them. Hope this helps. Also some links to the same pod on video’s:Kind regardsIan Greenwood

Reply Sea Trust to Peninsula show details 9:24 AM (15 minutes ago)
Hi Ian , these are Bottlenose Dolphins, some of which seem to have interesting dorsal fins which I will send on to collegues who will try and see if they have a match for the fins in their Photo ID catalogue, where were you? I am slightly worried about the vicinity of the yellow boat pictured. Its best not to have two boats close to these animals at the same time or to chase them as it can cause them to panic and potentially damage themselves. Its worth a look at the Pembrokeshire Marine Code that we link to on the LHS of the "Whales in Wales" blog for advice on how to avoid potential problematic scenario's around cetaceans etc. I am sure you meant no harm but its best to know what to do around these animals so as not to harrass them which is against the law. Of course many boat owners are unaware of this, so its worth me mentioning it here.

We are based in Pembrokeshire and most of our work is in Pembrokeshire allthough we willl also be covering the major part of the UK Irish Sea and Bristol Channel coasts with our Brigg's Marine inshore Surveys. Whales in Whales is set up mainly so that we can let everyone know what is happening in Welsh Waters and therefore the need to protect our incredible marine Wildlife, so great when we get sightings like yours.

Cliff, Thanks for the info. We were off St.Tudwal’s Island West in Cardigan Bay, and between this and the mainland. The yellow boat and we were en route to Abersoch when they appeared in amongst us. We stopped to photograph and video them and then when they moved off we followed at a distance. Two more boats arrived and they also stayed away from the pod. The dolphins swam around and in between us so we all chose neutral on the engines. We informed another speedboat about the dolphins and asked him to slow down as he passed which he did.Most boats respect the code and enjoy watching the dolphins and porpoises we get in the area. RegardsIan

Thats good to hear, thanks Ian!

It looks like its going to be a great holiday weekend for messing about on boats so boat owners please, please, please - respect our marine wildlife, follow the Marine Codes. Don't chase animals, keep a reasonable distance between you and them. If they approach, steer a steady course and slow down. If the animals move off let them go and don't surround them.

Pembrokeshire Porps.

Wednesday 20th April
From about 7: 30pm until 8:20pm. My dad and I were spotting porpoises at Strumble Head we never saw any more than 2 or 3 at any one time , but there were many - maybe as many as 25/ 30.There was a strong flood tide coming in , and they were scattered over the whole race.It was a beautiful evening with calm seas ( except in the race)
Cheers Stevo
Nice one lads, as you know I was there earlier and had only seen a couple. Just goes to show you have to catch the tide at the rifght time! I had a day on Skomer yesterday andd also saw a couple of Porpoises off the Garland Stone. Some others were seen of the Mew Stone by other visiting WTSWW staff . It was a glorious day, thanks to Warden Chris, and his people. Totally recommend anyone who can, goes there. Acres of beautifully scented Bluebells Great Birds and the chance of seeing cetaceans - marvellous!

Strumble Porps.

I filmed these porpoises at Strumble with a camera that cost less than £100. Its the first time I have managed to film porpoises so far away. It is a bit of a breakthrough because it means we will be able to film them acting naturallly and perhaps get some insights into their habits and behaviour. there is obviously some interaction going on in this short clip. The technology keeps improving, lets hope it gets cheaper still! Shame its unlikely we will ever be able to afford a new camera like the professionals use!

more from Phil...

Philip Lees 12:49 PM (10 hours ago) Thanks Cliff - just to add we saw a solitary porp from the coast path at Swyn y Don, Trefin yesterday about 4.15ish heading south about a kilometre of shore but it was showing well in a very calm sea - lots of gannets out there too. All the best Phil

Wales or not, sightings still welcome. Lets help keep them all safe

Favourably warm temperatures and calm seas have brought out observers and rewarded them with views of cetaceans in the Irish Sea. As Ian Hughes remarks The Mersey Estuary is not in Wales but to be strictly fair half of our ferry surveys are in Irish Waters. So far as we know cetaceans show little regard for such boundaries and its good to hear that the Mersey (once considered to be so polluted that anyone falling in would be poisoned before they drowned) is now supporting enough fish to attract apex predators such as Porpoises. Thanks Ian! IAN HUGHES 8:47 PM (13 hours ago) Even though, I live a few miles from North Wales, I was excited about spotting 2 porpoises in the Mersey estuary over high tide on 15th April. I was watching some of the high number of Sandwich Terns that have recently returned to the area when the calm water was broken by the dorsal fins of the cetaceans as they swam into the river. I just felt that I had to tell somebody. Regards, Ian. Another last minute survey aboard the Stena Europe Friday /Saturday was reasonably successful though both legs were fog affected for up to half an hour on either leg. Porpoise were seen as were a couple of pods of common dolphins and a distant minke whale but large parts of the crossing were devoid of life despite excellent calm viewing conditions, thanks to survey team, Josh , Dan, Lynn and Aaron for coming along. Also best wishes and thanks to Senior Master, and Ships Officers; Captain David Farrell, Bob Allen and Tony Cook on their imminent retirement. Philip Lees Apr 15 (2 days ago) Hi Cliff My first visit to Pen Pedol for a couple of months but I was well rewarded with great views of 6 - 8 porps foraging in calm water between Shoe Rock and Ynys Eilun. Looked like 2 pairs - mum and juvenile? and 2 - 4 other adults - they were busy for over an hour and showing really well. Nice view of a bull seal and a cow basking by the Copper Mines too. All the best. Phil Lees Reports of Porpoises in Ramsay Sound and especially with young (thanks Phil) are also of real value as the decision to allow TEL to test a tidal turbine in the sound has been taken. With increased pressure from so many potential disturbances in the sound we all need to try and make sure the wildlife is protected. It is of course in the interests of the tour boat operators using the sound and making a living raising awareness of its wildlife, that they create as little disturbance as possible. This is why the Pembrokeshire Marine Code Group was set up. It has been devised by local experts both commercial boat operators and conservation groups, to try and safeguard this delicate balance. As the new tourist season commences, Sea Trust strongly recommends that any potential customers of these wildlife tour boats check that the boats they use are members of the PMC and support the code. Copies of the code should be available from operators or at the St Justinians embarkation point. There may be some confusion as to boats displaying other stickers. WiSE is a national code of conduct for wildlife tour boats. Operators gets a WiSE sticker/pennant by attending a day course on navigating safely around wildlife. There is no monitoring of this code or guarantee of compliance. It is basically a sign of good intent. WiSE expects its members to abide by local codes. The Pembrokeshire Marine Code Group members are monitored within the group and on odd occasions when code breakage occurs and is proven, the operators recieve a friendly visit from Tom Luddington the PBC coordinator and hopefully the issue is discussed and resolved. This protects both the responsible boat operators and the porpoises, seals and other wildlife from cowboys who put their own interest before those of the wildlife they pretend to care for. See link to Pembrokeshire Marine Code opposite...

Harbor Porpoise, very nearly!

Some will know that I intensely dislike the new american trend of replacing the old name of Common Porpoise or Common Seal for Harbor Porpoise or Seal... What next, Harbor Dolphin? Either way, our current work experience volunteer Dan managed to spot a porpoise at the mouth of Fishguard Harbour today as we had a look from the outer breakwater so I suppose in this individuals case its not entirely inapropriate. On the other hand, as soon as a boat approached it vamoosed! There were also a couple off Pen Anglas...

Boat disturbance in Newquay?

From : Winnie Courtene-Jones 9:30 PM (11 hours ago) 8 bottlenose dolphins (group of 3 and another of 5) seen from New Quay harbour wall, on 10th April, 10am seemed to be travelling around the bay, but quickly headed off, appearing to move Winnie Courtene-Jones to me show details 4:50 PM (6 hours ago) (I asked Winnie if she had any more info about the boat, thankfully it was none of the wildlife trip boats) not really, it was a white (nice) power boat, man and woman on board, unfortunately no more info than that, sorry i can't be more helpful.it was stationary in the bay, but moved towards the dolphins when they popped up, then when they went it also left (back in the dirction it had come from, and moved up the coast, in the Abberaeron direction) i know enforcing the code is difficult, so thought this was worthy of a mention.out to sea when a motor boat approached them! (not fitting in with the code of conduct law) Well then, a new season, plenty of dophins, hopefully people will take notice of the codes of conduct and everyone can enjoy our fantastic marine wildlife without harrassing it. With somthing like 100 people visiting this blog every day we hope they will keep us up to date and like Winnie let us know if they see stuff that should not be happening!

More Bottlenose film from Gaynor!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCSte9bg-9w Put a fuller video from the March trip on Youtube. xGaynor

Four Hours 11/60/1/1...

People do seem to get tied up by numbers a bit so heres a few: Four hours of survey, 11 porpoises in 9 seperate sightings, circa 60 common dolphins in one sighting, one unidentified cetacean, one minke whale which surfaced in front of the ship a further four times giving five splendid views. Its not really something I should complain about, but two further hours were spent staring into thick fog as we sailed over a glassy sea wondering what we were missing! Elfyn Pugh, Dave Cunniffe, and the Walrus= 3 happy observers just got off the Stena Europe after yet another great survey! Can't wait to see Elfyns pic's... Just managed to down load this from Flicker, http://www.flickr.com/photos/wild-about-whales/5603220099 well done Elfyn.

Pembrokeshire porps on view

Martin's Haven & Wooltack Point from Sach T. off Pembs wildlife... Lovely views of two porpoises in the very calm water off the Point this weekend. Easily spottable under the circling Gannets, at one stage one porpoise came within 30m of the point itself. Several porpoises around Strumble today including what appeared to be a mother and calf with a male looking to become extremely friendly... so much for Porpoises breeding/calving in the summer...

Porps around Pembs!

I have spent a couple of hours today and yesterday trying to film porp's at Strumble Head without much luck although there have been plenty there, if too distant for filming! Nice to get a report in from Dave (Libman) yep lots of swallows and martins, today at Strumble! This report below of a porpoise actually well into the Haven is a nice record... From Pembs Wildlife Blog http://pembrokeshirewildlife.blogspot.com/ Saturday, 2 April 2011 Porpoise at Hobbs Point At 8pm this evening I was very pleased to see a porpoise breaking the surface of the water around 30 metres off Hobbs Point in Pembroke Dock. It did this for ten minutes or so before disappearing. Very unexpected but very welcome. Posted by Grant Jones at 21:08

Bird's Rock - New Quay

Saturday afternoon, good visibility but the water was a little lumpy, perhaps a 3. On setting up the tripod I instantly had a small group of BND at about 500 metres; while watching them, another small group appeared, about 100 metres closer in and then another two groups popped up further forward. In total there were four discrete groups with at least two animals in each. They were all slowly heading in the same easterly direction towards New Quay. After five minutes or so they did the usual disappearing act.

It was also nice to see lots of Swallows and what I thought were a couple of Sand Martins.