MARINElife Surveyors' blog: Fastnet Line 'MV
Julia' Swansea to Cork
survey 24th to 25th July 2011
The first survey with our new partner Fastnet Line on their ferry
route from Swansea to Cork was a great success with amazing
sightings of Common Dolphins (250 in total), Bottlenose Dolphins,
Harbour Porpoises and many thousands of seabirds.
Read on for a thrilling account from the Researchers'
persepective, or for the full list of species sighted,
click here.
DAY 1:
We arrived around 9am for this exciting first marine wildlife research survey filled with excitement about the prospects for the trip. A number of passengers in the terminal in Swansea were thrilled at the chance of seeing dolphins when they heard us talking about our research. We boarded and were introduced to the friendly reception staff before heading to the bridge to start our recording.
The bridge team were incredibly supportive and enthusiastic about the wildlife on the route and were happy to share some of their own encounters on previous trips. We settled into recording and were encountering many seabirds within minutes and the first Short-beaked Common Dolphins within an hour of departure. The dolphins raced in towards the ship keen to bow ride, putting on an amazing display as they leapt clear of the water. The shouts and cheers of the passengers on the deck was testament to the excitement that wild dolphins provide for the public.
We continued recording throughout the hours of daylight, encountering huge rafts of resting seabirds, primarily Manx Shearwaters which breed on the nearby islands of Skomer and Skokholm - we recorded over 5000 during the return crossing. Other seabird highlights included Puffins, Gannets and Kittiwakes.
The sightings of Short-beaked Common Dolphins were relatively constant throughout the day, with small groups passing close to the MV Julia and almost always coming to bow ride the ship; many of the groups contained calves which kept very close to their mothers as they jumped clear of the water. A Grey Seal made a brief appearance mid crossing.
We approached Cork as the sun was going down and were treated to a brief glimpse of two Bottlenose Dolphin in the harbour. We then settled in for a few hours sleep.
Day 2:
We were back on the bridge and recording early on Monday morning with daylight allowing a good four hours of recording at this time of year before docking. Again, sightings of Common Dolphin started almost immediately and the calm conditions provided great sightings of many thousands of seabirds. Over 1000 Guillemots were encountered during the return crossing as were a number of Storm Petrels; a tiny oceanic seabird.
As we approached the Welsh coast, we started to encounter Harbour Porpoise, the smallest cetacean (collective name for whales, dolphins and porpoises) in European waters. They can be difficult to observe but several were seen in the calm sea-state quite close to the ship.
As we docked, we reflected on an amazing first research survey: 250 Short-beaked Common Dolphins encountered as well as Harbour Porpoise, Bottlenose Dolphin and Grey Seals. The area is clearly a very important stretch of water for cetaceans and seabirds and we look forward to the forthcoming trips.
We would very much like to extend our thanks to the onboard crew of the MV Julia for making us feel so welcome and showing so much enthusiasm for the wildlife we observed during the crossing and the shore-based team for generously supporting our programme of research from ferries.
Adrian Shephard and John Down: MARINElife
Researchers
Further surveys will run in August and September this year, so keep
watching our Swansea-Cork Sightings Page for
further updates.