To raise awareness for the event, we were busy entertaining the media last week and were featured on several programmes:
We kicked off the events in New Quay on Thursday night with a Sea Watch sponsored Pub Quiz at the Dolau Inn. We were pleased to see a lot of locals and visitors come in to join the fun. Also, thanks to the kind donations of prizes from several local businesses, we raised £100 selling raffle tickets! A huge thank-you goes out to all who participated and donated.
Friday saw the beginning of our photo exhibition at the New Quay Yacht Club. This exciting new event was part of our special celebration of 10 successful years of NWDW.
In an effort to showcase the amazing diversity of wildlife in the UK – and hopefully sell some prints! – we chose photos from the Sea Watch photo library, which is made up of many amazing contributions from Sea Watch photographers throughout the years. Narrowing down our favourites to 50 images proved to be harder than anticipated! In the end we settled for a balance of eye-catching photos and a good representation of species that can be seen around the UK. All of the photos were accompanied by interesting facts researched and written by the Sea Watch volunteers.
Did you know that a sperm whale's click is the loudest noise produced by any animal? It is thought that these clicks may help it stun prey during deep dives.
Throughout the weekend we welcomed over 100 visitors to our exhibition! We hope that the locals and visitors in New Quay enjoyed learning about the various marine mammals, seabirds, and other species that can be found right in our backyard.
Saturday was when the real watching fun began. We held regular land watches on the New Quay pier from 7 AM to 9 PM all weekend and invited members of the public to join and try their hand at spotting wildlife. Because of the local music festival taking place the same weekend, New Quay was packed with visitors and many wandered out to the pier in hopes of spotting dolphins.
Sunday proved to be our most eventful day with consistent sightings all morning and afternoon. All three marine mammal species regularly spotted around New Quay – bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise, and grey seal – were visible from the pier.
The unusual presence of both dolphin and porpoise in such close proximity was interesting and even slightly concerning, as two of our volunteers witnessed a suspected attack on a porpoise by a group of dolphins. Although thrashing and other movements were seen from a distance – indicating a possible attack – no porpoise body was found and we cannot know for sure what happened. Rarely witnessed, and not fully understood, these attacks are believed to be a significant cause of porpoise mortality around the UK. (Check out our news item from May 2010.)
Fortunately, there was plenty of playful action for the public to enjoy as well. Two of our most frequently seen dolphins, Moneypenny and her calf Tuppence, drew crowds with their antics around the pier for several hours. Although rain sent us inside a bit early on Sunday evening, we were glad that the weather cooperated just long enough for people to enjoy dolphin watching on the pier before retreating to the music festival marquee for the main event.
Back on land, the rest of our volunteers were busy at the stand all weekend painting faces, selling dolphin toys, and talking with the public about the important work that Sea Watch does. Our “guess the marine animal” interactive display proved popular with children and adults alike; many were stumped by the whale baleen, sea urchin, and harbour porpoise skull!
Outside New Quay, our volunteers and regional coordinators were also busy conducting land and boat watches throughout the UK. Three of our volunteers hosted a watch at Aberystwyth Castle on Friday, and four more travelled down to Strumble Head near Fishguard on Monday.
So far, we have received nearly 200 sightings from across the UK, including the following six species: bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise, minke whale, Risso’s dolphin, white-beaked dolphin, and short beaked common dolphin. These sightings help improve our scientific understanding of the distribution, behaviour, and habitat use of cetacean species around the UK.
Watch for a NWDW 2011 report to be released after all our sightings are in. Until next year – thank you to everybody who helped make this year’s event a success!
By Cara (Education & Awareness Assistant)
