They say variety is the spice of life. If so I've had a spicy day today. It was Bottlenose this morning at the breakwater about 3/4hr after high water. First two then a further two half an hour later and these I haven't seen before, so that's more using the bay for hunting prey, and the bay gave up the goods with another very large fish providing a lot of calories for one lucky dolphin. There were several boat movements in the time I was there and I have to say all that came close behaved with the utmost respect for the feeding Bottlenose. I suppose if me being there almost daily pointing a very large lens around has an effect on boaters behaviour then that can only be a good thing. Whether it does or not I can but applaud them today.
After they moved off around half tide, I still had time to catch the tide at Strumble, so that's where I headed next. Gone was the North wind of the past few days and instead a moderate South Westerly breeze with a touch of warmth moved the air. When I got to the lookout a family from Worcester were eagerly scanning the sea for activity. I immediately engaged with them (as I do) and explained what I was doing there and what they might see. On my first scan around I spotted a single porpoise and beyond the point a small pod of Common Dolphin which they had missed. As a bonus some ten minutes later the Commons came right accross in front of us giving them the perfect view. They stayed with me for an hour or so and I was very happy to pass on my knowledge of all things Strumble and cetacean related. To them I say "Thank you for your company and I hope it made your day that bit more interesting".
Just when I thought that would be it, a small family group of Porpoise appeared in the tide race in front of me. One adult and a mother and calf. The mother is a marked returning animal which I've seen several times before, so that's another tick for the ID catalogue + we now know this one is female.
Well I enjoyed my day. I hope you all have too.
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| Not a sharp image sadly but I wanted to show you the size of the fish it was about to devour. |
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Thank you to these boaters who behaved so well around the dolphins.
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