Shark!! She called

Today's session gave me one of the surprises of the year. It started very quietly with not much moving in the water or in the air. A short while in Holly and Ruby arrived and we set to for our survey dodging the odd shower as they moved over. Not a single fin for the first hour and a half and it didn't look likely that we would see any porpoise as the tide race was a very weak affair. Holly was scanning with the binos and said "I think there's a couple of Rissos over there" only in the next breath to shout "Shark, it's a Basking Shark!! I've not seen Holly so excited for a long time. 

While Holly was taking stills I  reached for my second camera that I keep set up for video and mounted it on the big lens. I think a sighting as rare as this deserves a bit of motion as in my seven or so years doing Sea Trust surveys this is the first time I've seen a Basker at Strumble and in general my first in some twenty years. Many years ago through the 60's to the 90's they were common visitors to southern Cardigan Bay but as the waters have warmed their migration tracks seem to have changed and they favour going up the west coast of Ireland, but they do come up the Irish Sea I would guess, sticking to the more favourable waters of the central channel and can be seen in good numbers off the Isle Of Man.  So very happy today and yet again Strumble delivers.