I was quite excited about going out this morning. Sunny forecast, tides were right so expectations were high. I arrived around 09.15 and set up the camera. Lots of bird action, especially off the Strumble Bank as the ebb flow stirred things up. Just after 10am a pod of some forty or so Commons moved across east to west giving me great views in the bright morning sun. Fifteen minutes later a more distant pod 20+ commons going NE-SW kept my attention until they were far off in the distance. Third sighting was a smaller but even more distant group of commons due north at about two miles. I didn't see them for long as they moved further out.
As the tide race picked up the porpoise started to move in but they were playing hard to get, just barely breaking surface as they sped up the tide race. Just after 11am the survey team arrived and we then spotted good numbers of porpoise, some travelling through and others feeding. The sightings continued all through the two hour session and the bonus for me was two marked animals one of which I recognised but hadn't seen for a few years. I'm sure it was "Chopper" but a match against the catalogue will confirm that, or not. It has a very distinctive gash between the dorsal fin and the tail, and although not fully visible I feel it's enough to confirm the ID.
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