Strumble Diary 16/09/2026

 The rising tide would have been inviting early this morning except for the, as it turned out, stiff North wind, although the forecast said Nw'ly. I arrived just before 8.am only to see large swells and turbulence off the lookout which was fine for the sixteen or so birders inside the lookout but not for what I was looking for. I decided to try the afternoon dropping tide instead as the wind was due to drop and be more Westerly.

Two, pm then and the tide race  was yet to form. Simon, the one birder still there told of a good mornings birding and Rissos spotted earlier,(drat). So I settled in and started my watch. As it turned out a quiet one at that with just three sightings total, all brief and no images. A lone very close in Sunfish saved the day and after my watch a quick look down by the Lighthouse turned up two Seal pups and a few adult seals as well.

 

 

 

A couple of small flocks of Scoter passing.

 

Strumble Diary 12/09/2026

 Despite the dreary weather and forecast this morning, the thought of possibly seeing Rissos was too much of a draw to resist. I last saw them nearly a week ago but hope lives on. A stiffening W.S.W. wind greeted my arrival and after taking Leo for a quick walk we headed for the lookout. It was about an hour and a half into the dropping tide so a while before the tide race would get going. The light was poor but improving. Sadly no Rissos and I had to wait until the tide race started before seeing my first Porpoise.

Three, very distant and brief sightings at first followed by the odd well separated dash through the swells. It was a big tide so the action didn't last very long and it was nearly at the bottom of the tide that I got my first and only chance of a few images. A late pair of porpoise charging through the swells and that was it.

Plenty of gulls feeding close in on sprat, etc, one of which caught my attention due to the wonderful feather pattern on it's wings.  We mostly take gulls for granted but when you look closely at the younger ones they can be quite stunning. There are so may types with all having different stages of moult and I'm no expert, so identification is very hit and miss for me. Perhaps Cliff could help out and if he does I'll amend the post to include identity.

I've included some wider views of these shots to show conditions and context context.

 

Various at Strumble 11/09/2026

 A variety bag for you all today. The wind was WNW 4-5 pushing up a good swell as the tide race was forming with a slightly overcast sky. I was early so ventured to the lighthouse to see the seal pup and get some images for our seal project. I was very happy to see that as well as the pup, there were three females on the beach, one of which looked as if it would pup at any moment. Not so happy to see a large male hanging around on the waterline though. He was set to make his way up the beach but the pregnant female got his attention and lured him back into the water. It was off to the lookout then for a cetacean watch over the next few hours. We had a lovely sighting of a long tail Skua passing by and worrying the gulls as it did so. I had very distant Commons well out beyond outer tide race and six or so porpoise, but only managed to capture one at the edge of the frame, so not the best of shots but as it was a full breach I've put it in anyway.

                                                   Great Skua (Bonxie) from last Monday 7th.

 

Strumble Diary 7/9/26. Missed Minke...

An hour at Strumble but i just I missed a Minke whale, which showed three times, just before i got there according to a visitor who seemed reliable. Otherwise i had no cetaceans!

Strumble Diary 03/09/2026

 A S'ly wind offshore gave relatively calm conditions off the lookout. I arrived just over half way into the rising tide with the tide race well formed and speeding NE. The session turned out to be long periods of inactivity with short bursts of activity. Commons first, well out to the North then a second small pod to the NE a half hour later. A distant Risso off to the East followed by two very distant porpoise moving east to West. Much later and two Rissos also distant showed for five minutes or so before submerging not to be seen again. Lastly it was a very fast moving small pod of Commons moving against the last remnants of the flood tide tide race. So a session where one had to keep alert scanning all around for any action. Most of my session coincided with the Thursday Sea Trust team's survey with Fran, Maddie, Dawn and later Andy enjoying these sightings as well.

 

Strumble Diary 01/09/2026

 Well, the first day of meteorological Autumn today and the weather gods were smiling on us. A SW'ly breeze against the tide brought a slight swell in the tide race with a calm sea otherwise. Reasonably bright at first with cloud building through the morning. The action was slow to start so we amused ourselves with the first of what would end up being nine Sunfish throughout the session, two of which fully breached. An unusual sight given their size and means of propulsion. A Gannet caught and struggled to swallow a Garfish which was fun to watch, and then the action proper started. I spotted a Rissos reasonably close in NW of the lookout which got everybody's attention and set the tone for the rest of the session. Two Rissos to start which stayed around for thirty minutes or so then a few more singles sporadically over the next hour or so. Porpoise started showing off Pencaer point with a group of four moving through shortly after giving good views with the bonus of a marked animal amongst them. All the while the Sunfish kept coming through close in with the tide. A pod of forty or so Commons brought an end to an excellent session. It was what I'd call a creche pod with as many calves as adults. All in all a great session.