Sea Watch Foundation

Reluctant Goodbyes

2011-10-07T15:31:00.000+01:00

When the phrase“6 weeks” was mentioned the time seemed to stretch before us, but as all goodthings must come to an end it has crept upon us and soon our goodbyes must besaid. Those first few days seemed a very daunting prospect to the five newvolunteers due to the sheer number of tasks ahead. However, we couldn’t haveasked for a better start as during our first week the weather was fantasticallycalm so our first few days consisted of learning the ropes on two boat trips aswell as office training. Being thrown in at the deep end did have its advantagesthough – the sightings of bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises wereabsolutely worth the hours spent surveying Cardigan Bay. To be honest, thatoriginal excitement of a cetacean sighting hasn’t decreased one iota!

After theexciting first week, it settled down into regular routines of importantoffice-based tasks (sightings, data recording and entry, photo ID matching, andpublic awareness responsibilities), land-watches and boat-based surveys whenthe weather was calm. With all of these jobs to keep us busy it really is nowonder that the time has gone so swiftly. The age-old saying “Time flies whenyou’re having fun” is definitely true in this case.

With the end ofseason tasks beginning in earnest one can’t help feeling that the normallycheeky office atmosphere has gradually developed an edge of sadness. However,the office is still as busy as ever as all of the jobs are being completed andthe office is undergoing a frenzied cleaning operation which will leave itsparkling for the next group of lucky Sea Watch volunteers.

The last 6 weeksworking as a research volunteer have been one of the best experiences for allof us. Favourite parts include the friendly and helpful atmosphere in theoffice, learning all about the work Sea Watch undertakes and becoming part of it,spending time with the other volunteers and of course spotting the cetaceans(especially the calves and newborns) on survey.

If theseexperiences sound like something that you would be interested in then pleasevisit our research volunteer page to find out more details!

By Ollie (volunteer)

Boats, behave! A review of the Marine Code of Conduct

2011-10-05T15:44:00.001+01:00

Sea Watch seeks to educate and inform the public about various aspects of marine mammal conservation in the UK. Read on for an explanation of one of these topics, the Marine Code of Conduct.

Because of the magnificent wildlife that is found within the UK waters, an increasing number of wildlife boat tours are being offered and the public is taking advantage of these opportunities. This may not seem like a big problem, for why shouldn’t we go and watch the wildlife that is on our door step? However, boats can cause disturbances to marine mammals in addition to other threats they face, like water pollution and accidental capture in fishing nets.

Injures that are caused by boats can be fatal to marine mammals. Boats can cause trauma to marine mammals by accidentally bumping into them, causing head injuries, which can lead to internal bleeding. Any boat that is powered by a propeller can cause serious injuries to marine mammals by causing deep cuts that are unlikely to heal, like the one seen in the photo below.

Over the years there has been an increase in the number of marine mammal strandings on beaches in the UK and one of the main reasons for the strandings is trauma, usually caused by boats.

Noise from boats can also cause stress to the animals as well as disturb the frequencies that they use to carry out daily activities. Dolphins, porpoises, and whales use sound for locating and communicating with one other as well as for finding food and detecting predators. When the noise of a propeller blade interrupts this frequency then it can cause stress to the animals, especially pregnant mothers or those with young calves.

So, is there a way to stop harm or disturbance to marine mammals? Fortunately there is a Marine Code of Conduct in place, which is there to inform people about the safest and best way to watch or interact with marine wildlife and hopefully help minimise any disturbances.

Some of the rules included in the code are:

If you sight dolphins at a distance, continue forward at a steady speed, slowing to 6 knots or less when they are within 1km
Do not approach or steer directly towards dolphins; let them approach you
If you see dolphins, do not make sudden changes in speed or course
Do not attempt to touch, feed or swim with them
Take extra care to avoid disturbing animals with young
Avoid any unnecessary noise near the animals
Do not stay longer than 15 minutes within 300m of the animals

For more information please see the Marine Code of Conduct page on our website. The code of conduct applies to all vessels including motorboats, yachts and even kayaks and canoes.

Signs like this help educate the public and boat operators about the code of conduct.

If you go on a wildlife boat tour, you can look out for the WiSe Scheme sticker to make sure that your tour is sticking to the code. This means that the crew on the boat are aware of the code and have been given training in how best to interact with the marine wildlife.

There is no reason why boats and dolphins should not be able to co-exist if care is taken to observe the code of conduct.

By Abby (volunteer)

Sunfish!

2011-09-19T12:37:00.000+01:00

Thursday 15th September we began our second line transect survey of the last period. The Dunbar Castle II left New Quay harbour bright and early at 8.30 a.m. On our way to the first transect point, a sunfish was spotted floating just beneath the surface, its fin protruding from the waves.

Sunfish (Mola mola) are found in both tropical and temperate waters and are usually seen just below the water's surface basking in the sun. They can reach up to approximately 4 meters vertically and 3 meters across, and are the heaviest of all the bony fish.

Once on the transect line, the independent observers took their places in addition to the primary observers and the search began.

Three pairs of harbour porpoises were sighted during the morning and 9 grey seals throughout the day, inquisitively watching us pass them by.

Bottlenose dolphins however were not observed until much later in the afternoon, with the first encounter taking place at 3.38 p.m. Three adults, three juveniles and one calf were recorded, and photos were taken for ID purposes. It wasn't until we started to return home after completing the transect survey that we had our second encounter of three adult bottlenose dolphins at 6.34 p.m., within sight of the New Quay harbour.

An eventful weekend for the annual Cetacean Survey Training Course in New Quay

2011-09-14T12:56:00.000+01:00

This past weekend, Sea WatchFoundation held its annual training course, where members of the public couldattend lectures and gain fieldwork experience in cetacean research. Lecturescovered topics such as the marine mammals found in UK waters, how data iscollected, and the importance of the Sea Watch sightings network forunderstanding the distribution, behaviour and habitat use of cetaceans as well asimplementing and maintaining Special Areas of Conservation.

Trainees joined us first thing on Saturdaymorning, ready for the weekend ahead. After initial introductions, the traineeswere launched into the amazing world of marine mammals, learning how toidentify them from their fin type, body size and other features. Survey methodsthat Sea Watch uses were also covered, as well as the use of underwateracoustic monitoring.

Land watches from Birds' Rock and boat tripsin Cardigan Bay were also conducted on both Saturday and Sunday so that thetrainees could put into practice the techniques that were learnt during thelectures. Observers took turns filling out the effort and sightings recording forms,which provide valuable data.

The weather had been pretty dire over the weekend,but we were fortunate to still see dolphins on the land watches as well as theboat surveys, despite the poor sea state.

There was a mix of apprehension due to theweather conditions and excitement at the prospect of what we might see on thesecond boat trip of the weekend. The trainees and Sea Watch volunteers and staffboarded our survey vessel and prepared the equipment and observers for our search.Upon leaving New Quay harbour the conditions were really not favourable; theswell reached over one metre and the sea state left much to be desired.

However, approximately fifteen minutes intothe survey the observers spotted a group of seven bottlenose dolphins, one ofwhich was a newborn calf. Thirty metres off the bow a commotion ensued and asmall body was seen being flung into the air amongst some of the adultdolphins. Initially it was thought to be a porpoise that was being attacked,but after multiple observations it was confirmed to be the newborn calf. Lookingback through photos of the incident and comparing them to individuals in our photoID catalogue, Sea Watch staff concluded that the dolphin responsible for thecalf’s aerial activity was quite possibly its own mother.

The reasoning for this behaviour is notclear, but Peter Evans, Sea Watch director, suspected it was a form of scolding,perhaps to ensure the infant did not come too close to either a hostile maledolphin or to the survey vessel. Another possible explanation is that thebehaviour was just playful. The calf luckily was seen swimming very closelyalongside its mother from that point onwards, suggesting that the calf was notinjured badly. The spectacular event was also witnessed by a volunteer and guestconducting a landwatch from the cliff tops of New Quay and from the harbourwall. It was an occurrence rarely seenand one that will certainly be remembered by all of the trainees and Sea Watch staff.

You can read more about the encounter here in our news piece.

Overall, the training weekend was a busy,information-packed experience, but was thoroughly enjoyed by all those whoattended.

By Kate (volunteer)

Bad weather and long days at the office for new Sea Watch volunteers!

2011-09-07T17:24:00.002+01:00

The Sea Watch team in New Quay recently welcomed five new volunteers for our last period of the research season. Read on to find out what they've been up to so far!

In the first week as the newbies at Sea Watch, the volunteers experienced a week of fantastic calm weather resulting in two boat trips and a number of bottlenose dolphin and harbour porpoise sightings. Thrown in at the deep end, the five newbies participated in a 12 hour long line transect survey of the northern SAC from Aberystwyth. The day was a steep learning curve with observation and effort recordings as well as a large number of sightings and ample photo ID opportunities.

The fantastic weather resulted in excellent sightings from both land- and boat-based surveys, however, this week has started with heavy rain, strong winds and a dull atmosphere here at Sea Watch Cymru!

So what do the Sea Watch volunteers do when we can't actually observe the marine mammals in question? Office work!!

After a week of exciting sightings and boat trips we are now faced with the dreaded paperwork side of marine mammal research… And it's not so bad! After receiving training on sightings, data recording and entry, and photo ID matching, as well as a string of public and scientific correspondences, the volunteers have set up camp in the office and are cracking on with a variety of computer based entries – which is all an intricate part of Sea Watch's work providing up to date public and scientific data on the semi-permanent bottlenose dolphin residents of Cardigan Bay.

Surely a little bad weather doesn’t stop a true scientist collecting data; it’s only a little light rain and wind, right?! Unfortunately in the field of marine mammal research observation conditions are of utmost importance dictating sightings opportunities and affecting accurate interpretation of numbers and individuals.

While undertaking observation efforts, we record a variety of factors including sea state (Beaufort scale and swell presence), precipitation and visibility; the more favorable these conditions are the more likely a sightings opportunity will arise.

Sea state measures the condition of sea surface activity in respect to wind waves and swells. Here at Cardigan Bay ideal observation states range from 0 (glassy and calm) to 4 (longer waves and many white caps). After 4, observation of surfacing marine mammals is hindered to the point of unidentifiable fins and confusion with white cap occurrences.

See the difference between observing dolphins in excellent sea state...

...and in not-so-good sea state!

Swell is determined by small swell height (<1m) to larger swells (>2m) with increasing height detrimentally affecting the identification of marine mammals. Visibility also affects sightings opportunity as visibility of only 1-5 km may result in the identification of close range marine mammals but not individuals out of range, resulting in inaccuracies in data collection.

Public awareness is another one of the main activities undertaken by the volunteers; raising awareness of the cetaceans occurring in the area as well as other marine mammals gets the public involved and promotes the conservation efforts of Sea Watch. This is a great opportunity to promote our work as well as get kids and grown-ups alike involved in raising funds and enjoying the work Sea Watch does.

Sadly with the onset of cold wind and rain we see the departure of our target audiences from the pier in search of dolphins to the warm dry pubs of New Quay in search of a hot cocoa!

So with poor weather conditions, even raising awareness of Sea Watches activities takes a back seat alongside the practical observations. And looking outside at the miserable view…office work seems like a bit of treat right now!!

By Siobhan (volunteer)

National Whale and Dolphin Watch celebrates 10 successful years

2011-08-12T11:45:00.023+01:00

The Sea Watch team in New Quay had a very busy weekend 5-7 August hosting events for the 10th National Whale and Dolphin Watch. This annual event encourages people from all over the UK to submit sightings in order to create a snapshot of cetacean species distribution in British and Irish waters.

To raise awareness for the event, we were busy entertaining the media last week and were featured on several programmes:

BBC Radio Wales: Country Focus
BBC: Cardigan Bay dolphin survey marks 10 years
ITV Wales Tonight

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)

New Volunteer Training

2011-07-26T14:45:00.006+01:00

It’s been a busy week here at Sea Watch! Three new volunteers have arrived to join the team and replace those who finished their placement. Indeed, it was mainly a week of training in field work and data protocols; because even if our enthusiastic volunteers all have some degree of experience in the marine field, it is necessary that everyone be on the same page.

During the week, our new recruits were introduced in detail to the work Sea Watch Foundation does in Cardigan Bay and beyond, with its coordination efforts of the observer network in the whole of UK and Ireland (which new blog readers may be interested in discovering here). Then they were trained in various protocols of data collection, including, for instance:

Land watches from the New Quay pier, where dolphin sightings and boat encounters help scientists understand the use cetaceans make of the harbour, and how best animals and humans may coexist in coastal environments;
Dolphin encounters on boat trips or dedicated surveys, emphasizing how to best estimate the number of animals encountered and their behaviour, and also how to take good note of the observation effort. This is a very important piece of information as it may influence the data collected; it is a truism to say that with clearer conditions, you might spot more dolphins, but it has to be taken into account when studying the data. Hence, it is necessary to know whether the visibility was good, whether the reflection of the sun on the water might hamper your sightings, and so on.

But all this is theory, and nothing is better than practice! One important piece of information to gather is the distance between you and the dolphins sighted, and estimating distances precisely with the naked eye is a lot more difficult than it seems. The volunteers were thus taken around town and asked to estimate various distances for a small practice session – it must have been a funny sight for the residents and tourists of New Quay to see this small group going around town with very concentrated faces and shouting distances to one another! All this training was concluded by an informal exam, when they were shown short footage of dolphin groups in various conditions and asked to judge in one short look the number of individuals, group composition, and sea state – that is, all the data that will make the observations both reliable and valuable. It is a bit like passing your driver’s license all over again – but in a more ecological way! Now, after being teamed up for their first shifts with experienced volunteers, they are ready to go on their own with a trained eye, ensuring that they miss nothing on their shifts.

Beyond the interesting and sometimes funny aspect of such training, all this emphasizes a very fundamental aspect of scientific work: the paramount need for consistency and reliability in the data collected, especially when it comes from the field and multiple people. When sea conditions are not ideal and you have to think quickly on your feet, ensuring that the protocols become reflexes makes things more comfortable and greatly reduces the risk of mistakes. This goes a very long way to help making informed decisions about wildlife management and conservation in the Cardigan Bay waters.

By Lionel (volunteer)

Our First Line Transect Survey

2011-07-14T14:16:00.005+01:00

On Sunday 12th July the Sea Watch team gathered on the pier in anticipation of the day ahead. The previous day all the volunteers had been trained with the new protocol and were eager to put it into practice at sea. We had all been involved in surveys before but line transect surveys would be more scientific than ones previously encountered. With 10 hours planned we all knew that it would be a long day with few breaks to rest, there is always a job to be done on-board.

The weather looked ominous when we first set off with some dark clouds and a sea state 2. We had to head north, just passed Aberaeron to find the edge of the SAC (special area of conservation), the point at which the line transect would begin.

Transect line i1 was chosen at random from a hat, we had no trouble finding the start and set off in a southerly direction zigzagging our way down the coastline following the coordinate waypoints as indicated on the map. Other differences from previous surveys were that two independent observers had to be on look out at the stern of the boat scanning the horizon for dolphins using binoculars. This caused much amusement among a few members of the team as it is much harder than it seems to hold binoculars to your eyes for an hour whilst at sea, regular arm shaking was the first sign of struggling followed by many inventive techniques of holding up the binoculars to stop your arms aching.

Another difference is that when a dolphin was spotted it should be recorded in the usual fashion but no-one else should be notified until they had passed the 90° angle, perpendicular to the boat. At this point the transect line is left and photographic ID of the dolphins follows. After which the survey continues from the point that the boat left the line. When nothing had been spotted for a while one of the volunteers rather over excitedly yelled “Dolphin”, letting everyone know that there has been a sighting, not exactly protocol.

Just as we were passing back by New Quay, Rachel spotted three dolphins in the bay, one of which was Bond but by the time we had positively ID’d him the other two dolphins had disappeared out of sight.

The line that we chose was an inner transect, it meant that we only had to travel out halfway to the outermost boundary of the SAC, still, even this was 5km out from the coastline. We went all the way out and back to the coast without seeing anything until we met a group of three dolphins closely followed by a further two. After these encounters the sun came out and it became a lovely afternoon as we continued on to the most southerly boundary of the SAC south of Cardigan Island.

Overall the survey was a great success leaving everyone on board happy, spotting a group of 5 dolphins on the transit back to New Quay was a great way to end the day. In total 13 dolphins, a harbour porpoise and a few grey seals were seen.

Killer Whales in Fair Isle

2011-07-02T10:22:00.013+01:00

Thursday 30th June heralded a spectacular encounter with one of the most awesome predators of the marine world: a pod of killer whales (otherwise known as orcas) arrived close to the shores of the little island community of Fair Isle. This was a fitting display for Britain’s remotest human outpost, which on Saturday 2nd July is to officially open the four million pound new building to mark a new era for Fair Isle’s world famous bird observatory.
The first person to spot the whales was Fair Isle Bird Observatory (FIBO) seabird staff member, Dr Will Miles. In his words:
“I was surveying a guillemot cliff, recording feeding rates, when in the corner of my eye the sea was cut by a black and white back. Had I imagined it? I stared at the spot, waiting… in a swirling vortex of fins and spray, the water suddenly erupted as eight killer whales hit the surface all at once! They were huge, powerful and feeding, and staying close in under my watch point - incredible views, mind-blowing, and I felt the adrenalin begin to kick! Struggling to clutch my phone, and nearly losing it down the cliff, I dialled the Bird Observatory to share the sighting.”

Soon to join him was FIBO assistant warden, Jason Moss. He takes up the story:
As the shout of “ORCA in Furse” rang through the Fair Isle Bird Observatory dining room, the split-second decision of whether to run to a vantage point or jump into a van was a big one and, on this occasion, I made the right choice! Reaching the tip of the Yessness Peninsula with Jane Reid and Becky Langdon, two of the orcas gave us the show of a lifetime, one after the other drifting slowly through the crystal clear water right under our feet! An utterly magical, unforgettable experience!”
After that, everybody ran out from their lunch to see the killer whales, which by this time had circled round the east cliffs and moved into the South Harbour. FIBO warden, David Parnaby, describes the climax of the event:
“The one thing guaranteed to empty the Observatory is a ‘phone call to say that there are killer whales showing and today’s sightings coincided nicely with the whole Obs sitting down to lunch – needless to say, the soup was abandoned as all the guests and staff went dashing out to try to catch a glimpse! We were amazed at the spectacle they put on, first of all off the north of the island, but then again in South Harbour where four of the killer whales surrounded a seal on a tiny piece of rock.

To be close enough to the killer whales to be able to hear them breathing as they came to the surface was incredible and it was a real moment of high tension as they circled the seal. Although there was a lot of sympathy for the seal, everyone was amazed to see a wildlife spectacle like that so close up. It was very typical of Fair Isle that the whole event was witnessed by all the schoolchildren, most of the islanders and many guests; everyone wants to see something like that if they get the chance. We know how lucky we are to live somewhere as amazing as this for wildlife and we see some pretty special things every day, but there’s no doubt that this sighting will really stick in the memory.”

The killer whales were first spotted at the shores of Fair Isle around 1.30pm and remained in the vicinity for two hours before departing south towards Orkney.

Heading south at the same time, but unfortunately a few hours behind, aboard the Fair Isle ferryboat, the Good Shepherd, was Sea Watch research director, Dr Peter Evans. He arrived on the Isle to be greeted by a mass of glowing, grinning faces full of joy at their afternoon experience.

Check out more photos on Sea Watch's facebook page.

Sea Watch at the South Wales Boat Show

2011-06-28T15:20:00.003+01:00

From Friday 17th June to Sunday 19th June, Danielle, Katrin and Rachel were in Swansea representing the Sea Watch Foundation at the South Wales Boat Show. Despite spending the majority of Friday preventing the gazebo from carrying out an escape act, the weekend was successful in terms of meeting boat operators that could report sightings to us.

We arrived in Swansea on Friday and were greeted by rain and wind which meant that a limited number of people visited the show that day. After setting up our gazebo and stand we spent the rest of the day preventing the display items from flying away in the wind. The horizontal rain also meant that the items, and ourselves, got a little bit soaked! The weather was however an excellent conversation starter and allowed us to get to know some of the other exhibitors.

The sun finally broke through on Saturday and we were able to fully set up our stand as originally planned.

The sunny weather held through to Sunday and on both days the better weather attracted more visitors. Several people visited our stand and asked us general questions throughout the day and we even got a chance to practice our face-painting skills. The weekend was far more successful in terms of boat owners/fishing-boat operators talking to us about their encounters and offering to report any future sightings to us. These valuable sighting reports will be used to monitor whales, dolphins and porpoises around the U.K. which in turn will be used to conserve and protect these vulnerable species.

Sightings should be sent to sightings@seawatchfoundation.org.uk or entered online using the online sightings form found on the Sea Watch Foundation website, www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk.

Sea Watch Foundation Team

Sea Watch Celebrates World Oceans Day

2011-06-13T11:53:00.008+01:00

World Oceans Day 2011 occurred on Wednesday 8th June. In order to celebrate this International Day of Ocean Conservation, recommended in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and recognised by the United Nations, we decided to host a day of ocean themed events. Since children were our target audience, we held the event on Saturday 4th June, the last weekend of their school holiday.

Our day began at 11am when we set up our stand on New Quay pier and our beach spot. Public awareness and education was the focus of our place on the pier with posters about our research and adopt a dolphin scheme.

Meanwhile, on the beach we carried out our cetacean based activities. These included badge making, sand sculpturing, bracelet making and face painting. After painting each others faces we each made a badge in an attempt to advertise our activities and draw in interested audiences. Unfortunately, the glorious weather acted as a hindrance as children and adults were more interested in swimming in the Sea than getting their face painted. In an attempt to attract some attention, Rachel and Deborah began making a whale sand sculpture which did attract the help of one little girl.

After lunch, we were more successful with several children interested in either building sand dolphins or making badges. As the afternoon drew to a close, we found ourselves inundated with children either wishing to make friendship bracelets or have their face painted. As Deborah demonstrated how to make the bracelets, Rachel found herself surrounded by children either wanting their face painted or queuing up to paint her arms and face!

After calling in some re-enforcements we successfully managed to paint all the children’s faces whilst describing the biology and ecology of the animals being drawn. Despite the slow start to the day, the end was highly successful and the children involved seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed their time with us.

First Dedicated Survey of the Season!

2011-06-06T17:52:00.007+01:00

We’d been waiting for this chance for weeks. Finally, after a long spell of rough weather, the wind and seas calmed and the date was set for the first dedicated boat survey of the season.

On Thursday, the whole Sea Watch Cymru team was up a little after the dawn chorus and long after the dolphins, but before most of New Quay’s residents. Conditions were perfect – the skies were lightening to a deep blue and the sea was like a mirror, a true sea state zero (something that we’d been told about, but had never got to see). A few bottlenose dolphins had already been spotted not far from New Quay pier and having gathered together all the equipment – life jackets, binoculars, cameras, the Photo Identification flag, a GPS receiver, clipboards, sightings and effort forms, many pencils and erasers, layers of clothing and lots of water, food and sun-tan cream – we set out on the Dunbar Castle II just before 8am.

But what is all this effort for?

A dedicated boat survey has many purposes. One is to gather information on sea mammal numbers, locations and behaviours. A further, important goal is to get photographs of as many of the dolphins as possible, specifically the fins, to build upon the identification catalogue Sea Watch already has. Identifying the animals individually is crucial in order to develop a clear picture of each dolphin’s life: where it usually lives, where it travels to, which other individuals it socialises with and if it has any calves. Each time a dolphin is identified, it makes this ‘life picture’ clearer. To read more about the process of identifying a dolphin through photographs, take a look at the blog entry for 25th May, 2011.

During the boat survey each team member regularly swapped roles – scanning from the roof, taking down ‘effort’ information (including the boat’s location, course and speed, the sea and weather conditions), noting down marine mammal sightings (including location, number and behaviour of the animals), taking photographs, counting and re-counting dolphin numbers (as dolphins can appear and disappear rapidly, counting how many dolphins there are in a group is often a challenge).

When any dolphins were sighted, the team went into identification, or ID, mode, which means putting up the Photo ID flag to show that the boat is on a dedicated survey and has permission to get close to the dolphins for a limited time to photograph them (normally, boats must follow the marine code for the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation and not pursue dolphins in any way).

Over the six hours of heading down the coast to Cardigan Bay and back, we met at least 12 individual dolphins – although we haven’t processed all the photographs to confirm that yet. And we were lucky enough to get lots of close-up photos as the dolphins swam alongside the boat, dipped under the boat, leapt out of the sea and slapped the surface. One female, Top Notch, a Sea Watch adoptable dolphin, was easy to identify and was seen with her calf.

By 2 o’clock the skies were clouding over, the sea had lost its glassy texture and the Sea Watch team was exhilarated and exhausted. The first dedicated survey of the season was at an end.

(photos by Sea Watch Foundation/Elena Gladilina/Katrin Lohrengel/Gemma Veneruso)

One month with the Sea Watch Foundation!

2011-06-03T10:24:00.004+01:00

One month of volunteering at the Sea Watch Foundation has already passed. The beginning of this season has already given us – the volunteers – some unforgettable experiences with many sightings and some impressive dolphin behaviour. The events ahead, such as the World Oceans Day, and the regular monitoring sessions, which will continue until early October, will surely bring more exciting surprises and special moments.

Daily land-watches and regular one or two-hour casual watch boat surveys (done when the weather conditions are favourable) have allowed us so far to spot many grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Cardigan Bay, West Wales. Studies have shown that Cardigan Bay harbours semi-resident groups of bottlenose dolphins. While on duty, the close and clear photos of dolphins taken during a land-watch session or a boat survey, which provide a good lateral view of the dorsal fin showing its unique marks and nicks, are used for identification and the tracking of individuals.

It is truly impressive to experience relatively close contact with these beautiful marine mammals. The curious grey seals, for example, which usually stick the head out of the water just for a few seconds before continuing their slow and gentle swim, can get very close to the pier, the place from which all land-watches of marine wildlife in the area are carried out. Similarly, the bottlenose dolphins, which are usually seen in small groups performing long dives and sometimes showing the fluke while looking for fish in shallow waters, can also get very close to the pier. Furthermore, while on a boat survey, bottlenose dolphins can be seen swimming really fast alongside the boat and even performing some aerial behaviour. On one occasion, when I was doing a boat survey, I was lucky enough to witness a couple of bottlenose dolphins – a mother and its calf – swimming very fast and close together less than 50 metres away from the boat.

All this wonderful experience is particularly touching to me, a Brazilian biologist who had never had any experience in Marine Biology prior to arriving in Wales. Everything is new, interesting and exciting. The beautiful surrounding landscapes and the harmony of nature only make my volunteering at the Sea Watch Foundation even more special. I am looking forward to learning even more about marine wildlife in Great Britain.

Fingerprinting Bottlenose Dolphins

2011-05-25T16:29:00.004+01:00

Photo-identification of marine mammals is a mark-recapture method that is used for a variety of species around the globe. Here in Cardigan Bay, the Sea Watch Foundation uses this non-invasive technique to assess the population, habitat use and social structure of the semi-resident population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Whilst on land watches and during boat surveys the dorsal fins of bottlenose dolphins are photographed for later analysis. The dorsal fin of a bottlenose dolphin is likened to human fingerprints in that each individual’s fin is unique and therefore identifiable. Over time the dorsal fin acquires nicks, scratches and scars from encounters with other dolphins and potential boat strikes and these, along with the shape of the fin, are used for identification.

Catalogue I.D. number: 017-03W_R (nickname: Smoothy)

The process is like a detective game in that you have a host of photographed individuals, your suspects, and you need to identify each of them. Each night the photos from the digital camera are downloaded onto the computer and the day’s encounters are divided up into separate files. Each land-watch shift and boat survey is considered a separate encounter and ‘spacers’ (for example a photo of a shoe) are taken to mark the end of an encounter. When on day-long, dedicated surveys each new group of dolphins is considered a new encounter.

Photos not useful for identification are then deleted from the folders. These include missed or late shots; photos at the wrong angle, ideal photos are taken at 90º to the fin; photos taken against the light; shots that are too far away; and photos with too much water in the way of the fin. The remaining photos are then renamed with the date, encounter number, boat name (or land), photographers name and numbered consecutively.

The kept, good photos are then copied and a new folder created. Within this new folder all photos are cropped so that only the dorsal fin and part of the dolphin’s body are kept in the shot. If a photo contains more than one individual it is replicated and each dolphin cropped out. If the animals are too close together for successful cropping, paint is used to draw an arrow to the intended fin. Where a mother and calf have been photographed, the photo is duplicated and cropped to keep both individuals in the frame so that a database can be constructed of recent mothers and their calves. An arrow is used to identify the separate fins, see photo below. This stage can take a surprisingly long time especially when a large number of photos have been taken.

Unidentified I.D. number: U1(U2calf)_110414_001_seekat_PEV_058b_1

Next up is the matching stage. This is the most significant stage of the process whereby the suspects are identified and abundance estimates obtained. Firstly, internal matching is carried out. Using their uniquely marked dorsal fins, all pictures of the same individual within an encounter are given a temporary name (A, B, C, etc). This stage is relatively trouble-free as you become familiar with the shapes and nicks of each dolphin from that encounter. The suspects are then compared one-by-one to the I.D. catalogue in an attempt to find out who was at the scene.

This stage involves dedication and precision as each nick and scar needs to match in the way that jigsaw pieces need to match up to finish the puzzle. The detective needs to be aware at this stage that nicks and scars may change over time as scars fade and new nicks may be obtained. This is why it is important to regularly photograph individuals so that positive matching is achievable. Of course it is still possible that the dolphin in question can not be successfully matched to the catalogue as it may be a new individual; a juvenile who has not acquire any nicks yet; or the suspect does not have a well-marked dorsal fin.

Catalogue I.D. number: 066-10L_L

Any unidentified suspects that have certainly not been photographed before are added to the catalogue as well as up-to-date photos of individuals whose fins have changed. Once the photo-identification process is started, you can become quite devoted to the task and do not want to stop until all the suspects in question have been identified.

Youtube video:
Sea Watch Volunteers - Dolphin Photo Identification
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_peF4r8eKk&feature=related

Sea Watch Foundation Team

www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Chris and her calf seen!

2011-05-17T15:24:00.010+01:00

Great news! Adoptable female dolphin Chris has already been seen on several occasions this season, including a very close encounter from a survey trip on the Gallois on the 11th of May, accompanied by her now grown and inquisitive (not to say cheeky) calf. The pair was seen last year (picture below), when he was still the size of a newborn. We were delighted to see them both looking healthy. The calf has become quite big and is particularly curious with boats: he even splashed monitoring officer Gemma Veneruso during the survey trip, while showing off next to the boat!

The pair should be seen around again soon, and a closer look at the sighting pictures from this morning, which included at least one calf, should confirm their presence.

New sightings and information on recent strandings

2011-05-17T15:01:00.003+01:00

Our Friday 13th started on a high with a morning spent in the company of a large group of dolphins just off New Quay pier. In the afternoon, we had the pleasure of meeting Rod Penrose, the Welsh strandings coordinator from the Marine Environmental Monitoring. Rod gave us a talk on his work and marine mammal/turtle/shark strandings around the UK. It was very instructive, allowing us to gain a good insight on anatomy, how to diagnose the cause of death of animals. Rod mentioned a particularly interesting case of “corkscrew seals” which remains a mystery to this day –for about three years, number of seals have been found stranded with very strange looking wounds, resembling the spiral movement of a corkscrew-hence the name- from nostril to tail – if you come across anything like it let us know! For more information on cases like this and on marine mammal strandings in general, have a look on www.strandings.com.

Coincidentally there were 3 strandings reported in the New Quay area on 13th and 14th. First on the 13th, a female harbour porpoise, probably pregnant, was found on Barmouth beach. The following day, Saturday 14th, a juvenile harbour porpoise and a fresh adult female bottlenose dolphin were found respectively in New Quay and Aberaeron. Putting theory into practice, the Sea Watch volunteers and staff were able to inspect the bodies of the stranded animals and were given a run through of basic things to look for (blubber thickness, external injuries etc.).

HAVING A WHALE OF A TIME IN WALES!!

2011-05-12T16:20:00.000+01:00

The 2011 marine mammal research season in New Quay, Wales kicked off on Easter Monday and there has already been an abundance of sightings. Although no whales have yet been spotted, we have high hopes for the season.

Top left: Juliette, Alisha (MSc student), Katrin (Research Assistant & Volunteer Co-ordinator)
Bottom left: Elena, Rachel, Deborah (Education & Awareness Assistant), Vanessa, Fabio

The first 7 volunteers, plus one MSc student (all pictured above), have already been introduced to a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) mother-calf pair regularly seen frequenting the New Quay harbour area.

The mother has been identified as ‘Chris’, one of our adoptable dolphins (www.adoptadolphin.org.uk). Over the past few weeks we have seen the calf become more independent and adventurous in its movements and playful displays. It has been sighted swimming on its back with its white underside in full view; much to the amusement of curious onlookers.

Another familiar face is that of a grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) which swims past the harbour wall with its head out of the water having a good nosy around.

We have all also been out on daily 1-2 hour Ermol trips which take us along the coast, past the fish factory which is a key foraging ground for the dolphins, seals and bird species. Public awareness of the Sea Watch Foundation and the local marine mammals is carried out during these trips as well as on the harbour wall. This has proved to be a little challenging what with the wind taking every opportunity to blow our leaflets away, leaving the volunteers chasing after them.

We are anxiously waiting for the wind to die down so that we can get out on the Dunbar Castle II for our day-long survey trips. These should prove to be exhilarating and enjoyable days. In the mean time the team has been swatting up and improving our general knowledge ready for the weekly pub quiz at the Dolau Inn!

Sea Watch Foundation Team

www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Surveys and Seaweed

2010-10-01T15:31:00.013+01:00

All of a sudden, we find ourselves into our final two weeks of the field work in New Quay. With the season creeping to an end we’ve still been working hard doing land watches and getting out on the water as much as the weather allows. We’ve had three incredible surveys in the last three weeks, with some amazing dolphin encounters.

The volunteers have witnessed plenty of Mothers showing off their cute newborns, while some of the juvenile pranksters were spotted playing with seaweed and generally getting up to no good! We are pleased to see that one of our more popular residents (and one of our adopted dolphins), nicknamed ‘Chris’ has given birth to a gorgeous calf, and we can’t wait to see more of them.

Some new faces have turned up in New Quay. A couple of Grey Seal pups have been spotted lounging around the coast – all fluffy and white - so cute! Don’t get too close though, they might not like it!

Back in July Sea Watch was lucky enough to secure grant funding from Environment Wales. This is for an environmental film educational workshops. These workshops are being run by Kirsten Hintner (a documentary film maker), alongside help from Sea Watch volunteers. One lucky class from Greenhill school in Tenby have been participating in the workshops this week. This project introduces the children involved to the process of producing short environmental films to encourage them to think about their local coastal and marine environment, while learning how to look after and conserve it.

Yesterday (Thursday), the group of ten came up to New Quay to learn about our work and film us in the field. While here they interviewed Jess and Kerry (two volunteers) asking them some important environmental questions about their chosen subject of Marine Pollution, the Cardigan Bay bottlenose dolphin population and the work of the Sea Watch Foundation.

The group also went out on one of the Ermol boat trips, run by New Quay Boat Trips. It turned out to be lucky, three bottlenose dolphins were spotted and several seals. It was a fun experience all round, and the weather managed to behave itself for most of the day.

So for another week it’s all still happening here at Sea Watch. Weather permitting we’ll be keeping track of the bottlenose dolphins. Soon most of them will head back to north Wales for the Winter (following the fish). It has been lot's of fun and we are all sad that the season is coming to an end so soon!

Love
The Sea Watch Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Risso Lucky!

2010-09-08T15:06:00.002+01:00

It has been a busy fortnight here in New Quay. The August Bank holiday saw the Sea Watch team saying good bye to a couple of volunteers and welcoming two new recruits. The next 6 weeks will be exciting and educational for new volunteers. They will learn skills and techniques that will assist in the monitoring of the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation. We hope that they settle well into life here by the sea and look forward to team bonding at the local pub!

Last week with the return of the glorious Welsh weather the Sea Watch team made the most of it. Dedicated surveys were conducted most days and not only in the south of the Bay. In fact, some of the Sea Watch team ventured up to the Lleyn Peninsula in the north of Cardigan Bay. Here we collaborated with the Countryside Council for Wales.

The two organisations surveyed from Bardsey Island and out east towards Harlech. A number of different marine mammals were seen during the surveys, grey seals, harbour porpoise, and bottlenose dolphin. On one lucky day ten Risso dolphins were seen. For many of the survey team it was the first time seeing this species. Risso dolphins are an occasional visitor to the north of Cardigan Bay and can be very active. They enjoy splashing , slapping and breaching, which is a great way to identify their location offshore.

Get Your Sighting In!

2010-08-10T15:27:00.007+01:00

National Whale and Dolphin Watch week (7th - 15th August 2010) took off with a flying start on Saturday. Sea Watch volunteers were busy celebrating the start of the event with sand sculptures down on New Quay beach, Wales with further fun activities up on the pier wall.

Down on the beach the imagination was running free with a pod of bottlenose dolphins (Dolphina, Fin and Charlie) chasing fish with their calf Sophie, while Octo the octopus was trying his luck at catching Kate the crab. Meanwhile S.S.N. - the lost narwhale was busy trying to retrace his course back to the Artic.

Thanks to all the enthusiastic children who busily created amazing sculptures with us!

Up on the pier, joined by Bella the Bear (http://adventuresofedthebear.blogspot.com/) Sea Watch volunteers and children alike decorated themselves with aquatic inspired face painting, with colouring competitions and the resident bottlenose dolphins providing more entertainment for New Quay visitors.

Four days into the watch and we've received an astounding 100 sightings with an incredibly early 04:42am sighting of a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) by Kevin Hepworth North East of Fraserburgh in Scotland! Check out our sightings webpage for the latest real time entries (http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/event-data2010.php).

Our dedicated Sea Watch team will continue to be down on the pier and out and about around New Quay, and with many other voluntary manned watches going on around the country please feel free to join in! Check out our website for more details.

Go on get your sighting in!

Sea Watch Foundation Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Sea Watch to the rescue!

2010-08-03T13:55:00.010+01:00

At around 4:00pm Monday afternoon, the Sea Watch volunteers in the New Quay office received a frantic call from volunteer Jess down on land watch at the pier. She had spotted a bird struggling in the water with something stuck on its bill! Not sure whether or not it would survive much longer, she called up for someone to come rescue the poor creature. Volunteers Danielle and Jenna headed down to the pier to take a look and try to plot a recovery plan.

After looking around for some kind of net to catch the bird in (it had swum out to far for them to grab from land), a local boater was asked to assist with the rescue by taking Danielle out in his boat so she could catch the bird. The bird was wary of the boat and dived every time it approached - so this plan was quickly abandoned. Plan B was soon decided upon and an attempt to herd the bird into the rocks by two kayakers(father and son) while Danielle stood ready with the net.

After a few tries it was plan C was created, this time to herd the bird towards Dolau beach. Danielle and Jenna bravely waded into the water with the net stretched between them waiting for the kayakers to bring the bird in.

After several misses with nets and buckets, the father of the kayaking duo was able to grab the bird and attempted to pry the shell off, but unfortunately the bird got free. After a few more catches and losses the young boy, Panos, caught him by the tail. A very kind onlooker offered his keys as a lever to get what turned out to be a massive clam shell off the cormorant's beak.

After being examined by a bird of prey handler, it was determined that there was nothing wrong with it, and it was released back into the ocean. All in all, the rescue lasted one and a half hours. We were all glad that it had a happy ending, and hopefully the cormorant will have learnt its lesson too!

A big thanks to all those that helped out in the rescue.

The Adventurous Sea Watch Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Don't play with your food!

2010-07-29T11:41:00.009+01:00

We’re just over a week into our third period of the season here at the Sea Watch Foundation, and what a week it has been! Our new volunteers arrived on the scene and after finishing an intensive week of training have been let loose in New Quay. A weekend in town was kicked off with a round of Bingo at the Queens, followed by a dedicated survey out on our faithful boat, Dunbar Castle 2. Here our 'Newbies' were introduced to some of our favourite residents in Cardigan Bay, including a couple of Grey Seals and ‘Chris’ a female dolphin who has been sighted here in New Quay for around 20 years! The volunteers headed out for a hike on Saturday evening, walking the coastal path into Aberaeron. The views were magnificent and a cool cider at the finish line made it all the more worth while.

We’ve had some great encounters with Bottlenose dolphins the last few days, with plenty of action happening right off the pier! Our volunteer Helene, snapped some great shots of 'Spike' fish tossing a huge fish – what a naughty dolphin, did his mother never tell him off for playing with his food!

This was the first encounter of 'Spike' this season we've records for this dolphin back to 2001, so it's great to see him again this year.

We were also lucky enough see a curious Grey Seal having a spy on some fish right below the Jetty.

Hopefully the weather will hold out so we can get out on the water again this weekend, maybe heading up to Northern Cardigan Bay to see what animals we can observe, photograph and record as well as enjoying more of the sights of the beautiful Bay.

Sea Watch Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Hello, Goodbye

2010-07-15T10:50:00.004+01:00

Well the Sea Watch team was as busy as expected entertaining the media last week. We were lucky on Thursday out on our dedicated survey with the Times newspaper reporters on board we had some fantastic bottlenose dolphin encounters near Aberporth. During one encounter two young adults swam alongside the boat eyeing us up and showing off with a fish in one of their mouths. The article in the Times newspaper is expected to feature in this Saturday’s (17/07/2010) edition.

The high sea state on Sunday meant an entertaining morning for the BBC Panorama film crew aboard the Dunbar. Fortunately we had plenty of dolphins feeding in New Quay harbour that morning offering plenty of filming opportunities - saving us the embarrassment of possible sea sickness off shore! The Panorama program on biodiversity is due to be aired over the August bank holiday; we will keep you posted with an exact date.

Its all change this coming weekend as it marks the end of another three month period for many of the Sea Watch Foundation volunteers. Those leaving the project are sad to say farewell to new friends, experiences and of course Cardigan Bay’s resident dolphins. Some of the volunteers are continuing along the road of marine mammal research in projects across the world. Sea Watch would like to thank the volunteers for their hard work over the last period and wish them all the best it’ll be sad to see them go, and offer a warm welcome to the new volunteers arriving on Monday.

Sea Watch Foundation Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Bay is Reporters Paradise

2010-07-07T16:10:00.000+01:00

Sea Watch Foundation (SWF) has a busy few days ahead entertaining journalists from esteemed Medias.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we will be joined by Simon a journalist from the Times newspaper out on a dedicated survey on board the Dunbar. He’ll be following us to report on our journey as we photograph the bottlenose dolphin population as part of our annual research here in Cardigan Bay.

On Saturday all of the volunteers and staff will be welcoming reporters from the Panorama programme on BBC 1 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/). They will be conducting some interviews and we will go out on Dunbar once again for a dedicated photographic survey. We are very pleased to welcome reporters from Panorama, as this is a great show, which has been running more than fifty years. They are currently gathering reports for a programme about biodiversity, which aims to show its importance/relevance to our lives.

The waters of Cardigan Bay are ones of the least polluted in the UK, and the area hosts two SAC’s (Special Area of Conservation), developed originally to protect the resident population of bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoise. The Bay constitutes an excellent example of the benefits of efficient protection, it’s rewarding that a quality programme and newspaper will be presenting the role of Sea Watch Foundation in this accomplishment.

Finger’s crossed that we’ll have some nice encounters to provide Simon and the BBC team with some fantastic shots of the dolphins, and us hard at work!

Sea Watch Foundation
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Leaping Calf

2010-06-29T11:36:00.003+01:00

Danielle snapped some amazing photos while on land watch yesterday (29/06/2010) of a young calf leaping in the air. This aerial display is all the more exciting because the calf could only be a few weeks old.

When a calf is in the womb it is folded so that its tail is near its head. This creates lumps and folds in the animals blubber. Within the first week of a newborn's life, the folds and lumps smooth out. However, light coloured stripes will still remain visible on the flanks of the animal for a month. In the pictures of this calf those stripes are still very visible so it can not be a very old.

Boat Show

2010-06-29T10:42:00.005+01:00

The Sea Watch crew met success at the 5th South Wales Boat show which ran from the 18th-20th of June in Swansea. The goal of attending was primarily to promote the sightings network to boat owners thereby encouraging sightings to be reported and added to Sea Watch's database. The weather was sunny and hot which brought lots of visitors to the show.

There was lots of interest shown by the public and all of Sea Watch's current campaigns were promoted including Adopt a Dolphin, Photo a fin and National Whale and Dolphin Watch Week. In addition to informing the visitors to the show, the Sea Watch volunteers also networked with other exhibitors who provided some interesting ideas of how to expand the sightings network. Overall it was a very worthwhile weekend.

Buckets and Spades to Celebrate

2010-06-08T14:26:00.007+01:00

It was buckets and spades to the ready on Sunday 6th when Sea Watch Foundation celebrated World Oceans Day (June 8th). Children and big kids alike were kept busy constructing sand sculptures on New Quay beach. After a busy hour Cheryl the dolphin, Tom the Turtle, Diego the Jellyfish, Harry the harbour porpoise and Sandy starfish decorated the beach with many more people coming along to check out the creations and have a go at the blue whale challenge game.

Rain may have stopped play on the beach, however up on the harbour wall the hardy volunteer stuck through it, providing fun ebtertainment with dolphin watching, and marine themed activities for passers by till late into the afternoon. The event was a success despite the weather and we are planning on doing more activities through the summer months.

This Monday two new volunteer joined us in New Quay for our second period. Jenna has flown over from Vancouver, Canada and Tom arrived up from Pembrokeshire to join us. A warm welcome to you both, hope you love it here as much as the rest of us!

Sea Watch FOundation
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

p.s. view more of our sand sculpture photographs on our Facebook page

Land Ahoy!

2010-06-01T16:16:00.006+01:00

Its hard to believe that it's the last week in period one this year already and it's been a busy few days too! The land surveys kicked off, with plenty of bottlenose dolphins venturing into the bay to feed - Saturday the dolphins came in close to the harbour wall with one steeling the spotlight of the windsurfer in the bay, delighting the tourist crowds!

The casual surveys have continued on both the Ermol and Islander boat trips with plenty of dolphins, seals and a lonely harbour porpoise still (bravely) in the bay with so many dolphins about!

Its wonderful news for the area, we can confirm that it was definitely an otter Helene saw last week (see What an Otter Nonsense), one of her photos held the proof, hopefully there are plenty more sightings to come.

In other news, lets's hope the winning streak carries on as the volunteers continue to win their beer money at the weekly bingo in the Queen's (the locals are threatening to ban us). While this Wednesday its 'Cream Tea' for dinner, a little farewell for those leaving the sandy shores of New Quay this weekend. Big thank you for your help, we'll miss you.

Meanwhile its celebration time on Sunday 6th June - we've arrange a few fun filled events to celebrate world oceans day, for more information check out our web page. Let's hope the sun continues to shine!

Sea Watch Foundation Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

What Otter Nonsense!

2010-05-28T16:34:00.001+01:00

Once again over the last few weeks Sea Watch volunteers have been jumping on board the local tour boats, Ermol V and Ermol VI undertaking casual surveys. Ermol VI s a two hour boat trip running South East along the coast heading towards Llangranog and back to New Quay. We’ve been taking these trips nearly every day collecting data and interacting with the public. On these boat trips we also promote the Adopt a Dolphin campaign and increase public awareness of marine mammals through our talk. These trips also act as mini surveys; effort is recorded and we scan the water just as we would on dedicated surveys. So far this year we have been lucky with many sightings of harbour porpoise, grey seals and occasional dolphins which are feeding or travelling along the coastline in the sheltered shallow waters. Occasionally we are greeted by the Ermol crew’s seagull friend George who provides entertainment for the passengers as he flies alongside the boat, and perches on the bow tapping his beak in a cheeky manner for food.

Over the past week a total of 4 dolphins, 7 grey seals and 1 harbour porpoise have been spotted.

One of our volunteers had a lucky sighting yesterday whilst on The Islander; a wildlife tour boat that also runs from New Quay. Helene saw a European Otter (Lutra lutra) feeding on a crab – could this be the one that Michelle saw? Hopefully we will have more sightings of this illusive creature over the coming weeks and we will keep you updated with these.

Sea Watch Foundation Team

www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Score on Radio Four

2010-05-19T15:32:00.004+01:00

On Monday the Radio 4 reporter Tom Fielding came and visited Sea Watch Foundation in New Quay, as they intend to do a short feature about the Photo-A-Fin campaign we are running on their Today show. Tom went on Ermol 5 with one of our volunteers Claire to experience how casual survey work is carried out and she explained to him the procedure for collecting data on dolphin, porpoise and grey seal sightings. We are waiting to hear when the SWF feature will be on air and we shall keep you posted.

SWF volunteers had a practice run on Tuesday on the land based survey. We were lucky and saw two groups of bottlenose dolphins in the bay, one group consisting of two adults and the other a mother and a juvenile. They were busy feeding for the hour we watched them. The land based survey is designed to provide SWF with information about dolphin movements around the harbour area, how they utilise it, how often and it will also provide data on how boat traffic affects them.

Finally, Sea Watch Volunteers are excited at the possibility of conducting a dedicated search for dolphins on Friday. The intention is to leave from Aberystwyth and focus our survey in the northern SAC of Cardigan Bay. Fingers crossed that the forecast stays fine!

Sea Watch Foundation Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

DEDICATION PAYS OFF!

2010-05-13T16:02:00.013+01:00

The week started brightly in New Quay with the volunteers gearing up for a potential all day boat survey on the Thursday if the weather forecast held true.

The forecast changed and the trip rescheduled for Wednesday - a 07:30am start. We awoke early, fingers crossed for calm weather and the heavens were certainly shining for us. We boarded 'Dunbar', pushed off the quay, right on time and it was all hands on deck to get equipment set up, GPS turned on and the first two 'spotters' in position up high on the roof.

We travelled out west then headed south along the Ceredigion coast admiring large flocks of gannets (Morus bassanus) plummeting into bait balls. After two hours we finally had our first spot - four adult bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) feeding. We followed the dolphins, recording their activities, admiring their dexerity as they dived deep in pursuit of their prey, effortlessly leaping from the water. Once we were sure we had all the information we needed we
moved on leaving the dolphins to enjoy their mid-morning meal.

Heading north now, chasing time and tide we spotted another group of dolphns. This time three adults with a calf, once again we spent time following and recording their behaviour. This encounter was quickly followed by two harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena).

Our third encounter was a group of eight bottlenose dolphins, again with a calf and a juvenile. They were enjoying the sunshine, displaying social interactions with each other, breaching, leaping, and took an oportune moment to speedily bow-ride a large ship that was passing through the bay. Once bored with the large ship the group returned to spend time bow-riding alongside our boat.

We continued on our return leg back to New Quay harbour leaving a grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) in our wake, and were rewarded with a magnificent group of five adult bottlenose dolphins swimming and solialising.

Stretched for time we pushed on passed Bird's Rock and spotted yet another group of dolphins, but with time and tide really against us we headed on into the harbour leaving the pod to their games. With the tide too low for 'Dunbar' to dock alongside the quay, it was a climb into the tender and our gentleman skipper Graham rowed us safely ashore.

Our first dedicated boat survey was a wonderful success, with great memories already to take us through the season.

Sea Watch Foundation Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Otter Observation!

2010-05-13T14:54:00.002+01:00

On a windy overcast Tuesday morning (11th May) Michelle one of the Sea Watch volunteers climbed to the cliff observation point to double check with the PhD research assistants that the sea state was indeed too rough for marine mammal observations that day. As the three of them glanced down onto Bird's Rock they saw a curious sight. In front of them they saw a head emerge from the waves, binoculars to the eyes and expecting a seal's head they were taken back by a brown creature with a fish in mouth, a long tail and four legs - an otter (Lutra lutra) catching his breakfast in the surf. Next time the camera will be poised ready, as you never know what encounters you'll have at 07:50am!

Sea Watch Foundation Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

2010 SEASON OFF TO A SPLASH!

2010-05-08T16:29:00.002+01:00

The 2010 marine mammal monitoring and research program in New Quay, West Wales has started with a huge splash!

The first six volunteers of the season have arrived and settled into life by the ocean. Following an intensive week of training the casual watch boat surveys began. Everybody was excited when they were told of the first boat survey training outing on Ermol VI (http://www.newquayboattrips.co.uk/).

All aboard and equipment in hand the Ermol VI headed out on an hour trip south down to Cwmtydu (Seal Bay) following the beautiful rugged coastline. Rain began to fall but it didn't dampen the spirits of the bolunteers who were rewarded with the season's first official sightings of a harbour porpoise (Phocoena phoconea) and two Atlantic grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Further sightings of both species have been recorded throughout the week, with seals in abundance.

It is estimated that the UK is home to approximately 30% of the world's population of grey seal, with about 5,000 found in south-west Wales. They can usually be seen surfacing in the water while feeding or hauled out on the rocks sunbathing. The males (bulls) can grow up to 3m in length and weigh up to 300kg. The females (cows) are much smaller growing to 1.7m and 150kg. An estimated 66 pups are born in the secluded bays of the Ceredigion SAC in autumn each year.

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have also been observed this season feeding in New Quay harbour and off shore from the cliff top viewing point, which is great news as Sea Watch Foundation researchers believe that some portion of the population spends the winter in north Wales and come back during the summer months.

In other new, the Sea Watch team continued their winning streak in the Queen's bingo last night - congratulations Michelle!

Sea Watch Foundation Team
www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

2009-05-20T17:48:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the new Seawatch Foundation blog!
Here you will find some of our daily activities on land and at sea.
Please feel free to comment and take part in our blog.
Hoping for a great research season,
Seawatch team.