Strumble Diary 21/03/2017

I didn't expect to get a session in today but the gods and my darling wife were smiling on me. I arrived around 9.30ish to find a stiffening westerly with a moderate swell and scattered heavy showers. As we are on small tides there wasn't mush of a tide race but the porps were active all the same and thankfully quite close in too which makes seeing identifying marks much easier. Although most were unscathed one individual had a large scar on it's left flank and will be added to the fin/marked porp ID Database for future reference. If I had any doubts before as to the use of tail slapping as a comunication method they were dispelled today. Two individuals who had been feeding off to my right together had then gone their seperate ways. Later I observed one animal vigourously tail slapping in the same area and was watching as the other animal returned to it and they both then headed off with the tide toward Fishguard bay. It would seem the lower frequency of the sound made by slapping travels well under water in certain consitions and that they are able to home in on it.

Tail Slapping sequence.