Today it was an early 07:15 start in a biting north wind and a very turbulent sea. The tide was in full flood and it seemed the whole of the Atlantic was trying to pass Strumble. It was a quiet two hours though with only a single group of about five animals passing east to west at about 07:45. The lead animal was tail slapping all the way through which seemed to be a signal to the others to follow the sound. In the maelstrom I doubt that the usual clicks and squeeks would travel far, but the low frequency of the tail slap would in theory travel further. two seals also ate a hearty breakfast this morning. One with a large dogfish (below) but I couldn't make out the others meal only that it was large.
The three images above show the sequence of the tail slap |