Welcome to Day 2 of the National Whale and Dolphin Watch! We’ve had a great start to the watch, with a total of 78 sightings submitted so far! Sightings are regularly being added to our sightings page throughout the week, so remember to keep checking it to see what’s been spotted in your local region.
My Watch
Today I did my land watch just off from Picklecombe Fort, Cornwall. I started at 3pm and finished at 4pm. Visibility was good with lovely warm sunshine and sea state 2. I watched several oystercatchers flying to and from the rocks below me, frequently reminding me of their presence with their high pitched whistling calls. Unfortunately no marine mammals for me today, but I did enjoy a refreshing swim in the sea! Fingers crossed for better luck tomorrow.
Your watches
60 watches went ahead today; 16 in Scotland, 10 in Wales, 1 in the Channel Islands and 33 in England. The weather was very windy and wet in most places again, but sunnier days are hopefully coming towards the end of the week. We’ve had some exciting sightings reported so far, including three humpback whales and one minke whale recorded by Steve Dodd from Tiumpan Head Lighthouse in the Outer Hebrides! George and Ann Boyer reported lots of harbour porpoise activity off Point Lynas, Anglesey too.
Here is a map of today’s sightings so far:
Our seabirds have been busy today too! Karen Hall reported lots of tysties (black guillemots) and other diving birds on the water whilst observing harbour porpoise in Mousa Sound, Shetland.
We’ve also heard from Karen Francis who has been keeping an eye out for bottlenose dolphins at Tywyn Beach.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have had multiple dolphin sightings from the shore at Tywyn since the end of May. Conditions on the first day of NWDW were fair, but despite a long watch, no sightings were made. The consolation was watching a wonderful display of about 50 diving gannets, terns and gulls at dusk after my watch, which at least suggests that there are plentiful fish supplies. Unfortunately, Sunday’s conditions weren’t very conducive to cetacean spotting with a strong WSW wind, moderate swell and sea state 4-5! Things do look set to improve later this week however, so myself and the other Tywyn Beach Guardians taking part in NWDW week are ever hopeful of a sighting – the bottlenose dolphins seen here often come close to shore on the rising tide – hopefully they will pay us a visit soon” – Karen Francis
Thank you for sending in your diary entry, Karen! I hope the bottlenose dolphins visit you at some point during the rest of the week.
It’s great to hear from you all during the watch! If you would like to be featured in the National Whale and Dolphin Watch Diaries please contact me at formsswf@gmail.com with “NWDW 2020 Diaries” in the subject line.
Don’t forget to submit your recording forms, whether or not you have seen cetaceans during your watch. If you have been lucky to see some cetacean activity, remember to first submit your sightings via the online sighting form.
Submit your forms by midnight on the 15th August for a chance to win a prize from one of our sponsors! Check out the competition page on the Sea Watch website for more information.
Looking forward to Day 3!
Jasmin
Sea Watch Intern
NWDW Feature Blogger
