The start of the
season is upon us, and the new Sea Watch volunteers are in training!
Luckily (for this time of year!) the
weather has been good so far, with minimal rain meaning Cardigan
Bay is looking rather beautiful in the spring sunshine. Training
has been underway; learning how the office works, about surveying techniques,
and of course the all important land watches, where Sea Watch volunteers perch
on the harbour wall scanning the bay for marine mammals, in particular the
bottlenose dolphin. My first land watch, I have to say was a little chilly and
sadly unsuccessful in spotting any marine mammals. However, second time round the
volunteers spotted 4 bottlenose dolphins, including one calf! The volunteers
held out in the last 5 minutes of the watch, despite the rain to ensure the
data was viable. Fingers crossed they appear on my next land watch!
So what’s planned for the rest of
the season I hear you ask….? Well hopefully this summer will see some sunshine
and bring lots of dolphins to Cardigan Bay!
Sea Watch volunteers will be hanging around on New Quay’s sea wall marine
mammal watching and answering any questions you might have, as well as
participating in boat surveys collecting bottlenose dolphin data. This years
National Whale and Dolphin Watch Campaign will be the 27-29th July,
as part of this, Sea Watch will be providing lots of information, games and
activities on the New Quay pier!
Sea Watch Team
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