Strumble diary 9th of March 2026 continued..."Surfy Porp Dudes!"

So as i arrived at Strumble, Greg Ellis was just leaving. He told be it had been quite quiet with just a few porp's...

 As i parked on the bus stop (seasonal no buses) and raised my bins, i was straight on a couple of small cetaceans. They were  just around from the lighthouse but it was a brief view and i was not sure whether they were Porp's or Dolphins There was another chap in a car a few yards away  looking with bins in a different direction and i almost shouted over to him but decided to make sure they were going to oblige if i told him. As it happened, as is often the case, they dissappeared and i left it at that!

Soon after he left  and i continued watching in the genersl area where i had first seen them and after a few more minutes i caught another glimpse of several within and among some choppy large waves but i still was not sure, There seemed to be quite a lot of them, at least around a dozen (12) maybe more, briefly showing in the chop. As the tide began to slow, the waves became longer and more defined and i soon saw they were Porpoises. 

They were then in "surfy porp dude" mode, which is always my favourite as you see them just beneath the wave before they surface riding the wave. At one point a mother with a small calf appeared, the small calf did an exhuberant full breach next to its  mum, don't tell me they were not actually having fun!This show went on for about another half hour, also attracting some spectator Gannets although the porpoises did not appear to be feeding and none of the gannets dived in as they would if that had been the case. 

I watched captivated, thinking i should have had a camera, snd that Ken would have been in his element. I see he did have some nice shots earlier but this was a bit special! As the sea state state changed, dying away with the low tide, the surfy porp action slowed down then stopped and the gannets flew off no doubt hungry and dissappointed! I was feeling a bit peckish but far from dissapointed and drove off home feeling rather lucky!

Strumble Diary 09/03/2026

 The morning started off a bit dreary but thankfully it brightened up early afternoon as I went out for my survey. On the road to Strumble I met Fran and Chris who had been doing the Monday volunteer survey 11am-1pm. There's was a quiet session really over the top of the tide mostly with just a few Porpoise seen and no Commons. By the time I set up it was getting on for 1.30pm just as the tide race was forming on the ebb tide. There were two or three porps off the point to start with and over the next hour and a half I sighted twelve or so animals in the tide race and off the point. I ended my session at 14.45 having not seen any action for the previous twenty minutes or so with the Porpoise having dropped back beyond the lighthouse.

 

Strumble Diary 07/03/2026

 Another excellent session today. The weather was bright this morning but clouded over toward lunchtime, but not so much as to affect the light. The wind was SE'ly 3-4 off the land so quite calm close in. I had a good mix of Commons and porps with the porps in first followed by about twenty or so Commons really dashing through at speed and passing within two minutes. A small break then before several more Porpoise came up the tide race. The Porpoise with the pointed tip on it's fin seems to have taken a shine to Strumble as it was there again today. That's three for three on sightings of it for me recently. An Oyster Catcher and a very colourfull Shag provided welcome distractions between cetacean sightings.

 

Strumble Diary 05/03/2026

 What a difference in two days. Bright and warm yesterday and today the dullest, greyest day I've had at strumble for a long while. The light was very flat and made focusing on the contrastless water very difficult indeed. I did manage to get some shots though, although some of the Porpoise were being very stealthy. With the strong flow the action soon moved downtide beyond the lighthouse so my session was shorter than usual. No Commons today sadly but that's the way it goes. We can't complain though as this winter has been the best for Commons in my experience. Bonus for me was the capture on camera of a few marked porps which I'm sure will please all back at the Ocean Lab.