Monday 15 July 2019

Oh! What a circus! Oh! What a show!

The title, a line taken from an old David Essex hit sums up very nicely the action off the north breakwater this morning. Eight bottlenose consisting of three adults and five juveniles moved in just after 9am. The adults split and went off toward Pen Anglas while the five naughty teenagers played and fed just outside at end of the breakwater. There was lots of dash and splash as they rolled and leaped around each other and several full breaches much to the delight of my better half who had joined myself and Leo today. In all the commotion I spotted one with a fish as I busily fired off the shots. Looking at it later I couldn't believe the size of the fish it had caught. A grey mullet by the looks of it but what a breakfast being easily 8-10lb in weight.
      This had developed into another good session just like Saturday but with better weather conditions but sadly and suddenly they were off. Not just calmly swimming off but speeding off at full tilt. Like five naughty boys who were late for dinner and who had been called by their mother they sped off to the NW where about a quarter mile out the three adults were waiting. Obviously those clicks and squeaks carry a long distance as this was obviously a round up call. I lost sight of them then and had to leave the breakwater for a while. On returning a short while after they were nowhere to be seen so when Holly, the Tuesday crew and the three new interns turned up it was sad news for them I'm afraid. However the consolation was a couple of porpoise which came in close for a short while which we observed before heading off, me for home and the rest to Strumble for a survey. The hardest part of today was choosing which images to post. I hope you enjoy this bunch.