The Cartlett Lady skippered by Andy Rickard and crew Rob Riggs did our Sea Trust survey team and supporters proud yesterday, as we headed off out of Neyland on survey, motoring out to the Celtic Deep.
The sea was calm and the sun was shining as we made our way out past the Turbot Bank Bouy, where we encountered our first small pod of Common Dolphins. They did not really want to play, so we left them alone after recording them, continuing out and leaving the Pembrokeshire Coastline behind in our wake.
Several more pods were encountered giving our people some nice shots and Lloyd our survey recorder plenty of data to record.
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| Image Greg Ellis |
It's worth pointing out that these trips are not just jollies but the purpose is to record cetaceans and other marine wildlife so that we know what is out there year on year. We have contributed over 90% of the West Wales Biological Records Information Centre's offshore cetacean records, over the past 20 years. That's not to say it's not fun, but we do take it seriously!
Manx Shearwater image: Rich Crossen.
The trip continued and we enjoyed seeing rafts of Manx Shearwaters, adults feeding up, soon to begin their migration to the South Atlantic. Squadrons of Gannets were seen heading to and from their feeding grounds and their nests, with chicks to feed on Grassholm Island. Little groups of mainly Guillemots with their chicks pattered flightlessly out of our way with occasional Puffins also soon to leave our waters. Bright green Sargassum weeds and compass jellyfish drifted by as we picked up and recorded more Common Dolphins.
It all went a bit quiet when we were about twenty miles off St Annes Head. There often seemed to be belts of activity and then quiet areas, obviously, the dolphins and other wildlife do not populate the ocean evenly spread out. We traveled some distance before someone shouted " BLOW!... Over there!At first nothing and then yes, a great towering blow in the distance. The very thing we had been hoping for... a massive Fin Whale!
Image: Carrie Garner
Over the next three hours, we cruised about following blows. It was incredible how a whale about half a mile away in front of the boat could re-appear five minutes later, half a mile behind you! It took a while before we realized there was more than one whale, each of which seemed to be accompanied by dolphins and shearwater as they fed together. It will take a while working through and comparing images to estimate how many, but the consensus was at least five Fin Whales including what may have been a mother and calf or juvenile.
All too soon we, a very happy band of cetacean enthusiasts, had to head off back to Neyland leaving the gentle giants out there feeding peacefully with their dolphin and shearwater entourage in the Celtic Deep! Let's hope for more encounters with them over the next few weeks!
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