As the second Sea Watch volunteer period
finishes the volunteers were treated to 2 spectacular final surveys. Last Monday
on Dunbar Castle II we saw 60 bottlenose dolphins in total- it was the first
time we had seen so many dolphins in New Quay on one survey! As well as this,
we had a great surprise when we saw a Sunfish, the first sighting of the
season. As you can see in the pictures below, a Sunfish can be recognized by its
flattened body shape and two dorsal and anal fins, which often make it as long
as it is tall. We first noticed the fish by the tall dorsal fin coming out of
the water and flapping. This individual was a small fish, only about 40 cm
long, but some can reach 3m in length and can weigh 2000 kg!
Our amazing week continued when, on Wednesday,
we were very lucky to see two Minke Whales (one adult and one juvenile) during
our boat survey up in Anglesey. This sighting is quite exceptional because
their presence is not normally recorded in this area. Adult Minke Whales can
reach 8 meters long and can be identified by a tall and sickled-shaped dorsal fin
situated two-thirds along the back. This species can be also recognised by a
diagonal white band found on each of its pectoral fins; unfortunately we were
not close enough to see these marks, but we thoroughly enjoyed the rare sight
anyway.
Sea Watch held a charity pub quiz and
raffle in our local pub The Dolau on Thursday night, which was a real success.
We were very happy to raise £90 to support our research and would like to thank
everyone who participated in this accomplishment.
In the end our volunteers had a great last
week at Sea Watch, and although we are sad to see them go, we are equally happy
to welcome 3 new volunteers for the next period! Hopefully we will still be
lucky with all our amazing sightings :-)
The Sea Watch Team