Cetaceans and birds at Strumble this morning!

Wind SSW 3-4 overcast: Arrived at Strumble about 09.30 to see a steady stream of swallows and House partins passing byfollowing the coast heading towards the Lighthouse. A small passerine flying parallel to the coast but further out had a red tail but on it to late for more conclusive ID than Redstart sp. Around 60 Common Dolphins crossed the bay R to L, giving nice views inclusing mothers with small caalves,for over half an hour before dissappearing beyond the light'. A while later four or five commons came in close to us and were seen feeding which attracted a dozen or so Gannets. At one point four Gannets plunged in and remained down for some time all with Mackrel /Herring sized fish in their beaks which they then swallowed! Interesting was an obvious subadult, feeding close to what was presumably its much larger mother. As the small tide gathered porpoises arrived on the scene one group of maybe five or six just beyond feeding common dolphins, both visible at the same time in my bins. The porpoises were less obvious and also seemed to be surface feeding although around twenty metres apart from the dolphins. The flow of swallows and Martins had eased off but a few spots of rain brought down more hirundines. A nice single fulmar swept past just as we left!

Pen Anglas Point 08/04/2026

 It was such a nice morning and with the survey team covering Strumble I decided to take a slow amble out to Pen Anglas. A beautiful clear blue sky with a gentle haze covering the distant view to Dinas Hd. I settled on a spot roughly half way between Pen Anglas Point and Crincoed Point which allowed me to see anything coming into either location. First sighting shortly after setting up was of three Porpoise coming in from the North and they quickly turned and headed toward Crincoed Point. This started some steady sightings at fairly regular intervals over the next three hours or so interspersed with sightings of a few pods of Commons passing East to West heading out of Fishguard bay toward Strumble, with one single Common bucking the trend and passing in toward the bay. One marked animal of note with a distinctive scar on it's right flank (highlighted below).

 

Easter Monday Public Porpoise Watch 06/04/2026

 The weeks and months seem to be shooting by as we hit Easter already. A lovely sunny day for our Easter egg roll and egg hunt at Strumble today. Not as well attended as in past years but those that did turn up (20 or so) had a great time. From the off there were porpoise and Commons out in the tide race at times sharing the same space with some realtively close sightings. Visitors from London, Shrewsbury and Hereford, staying From St Davids to the south of the county made the trip to Strumble and both adults and children were amazed by our local marine wildlife. Earlier in the day there was also an unconfirmed report of a Minke Whale to the NW of the lookout. Thanks to all those that attended, to Anna for organising and to Cliff for his input and expertise. 

 

A brief watch at the lookout, WNW breeze, 2/4/26.

 Circa 30-40 well spread out  Common Dolphins  feeding in small groups some calves.  Manxies coming out of the bay in dribs and drabs 5-10 at a time, where on recent visits just odd singletons.

Yesterdays Sea Trust Porpoise photo ID volunteers visited Point Anglas/Crin Coed where several Porpoises gave good views with photos taken. 

Strumble Diary 22/03/2026

 A cloudier day today and still chilled with a NE'ly wind. Cetacean wise it was very quiet today. I saw five porpoise in total but only managed to capture two. The session was livened up somewhat by a half dozen or so Commons moving through East to West, turning by the lighthouse and coming a short way back up against the tide before moving on. We always think of Cormorants as black in colour but when you see them close up in good light they are anything but. A few pics at the end shows the array of colours that reflect off their feathers.

Mating? I think so.