Salty Stuff

A small boat trip with a youth project Sea Trust ran last week produced a Grey Phalarope, winging past us about five miles south of St Anne's Head, but very little else.

Our Dolphin-othon crossings from Fishguard to Rosslare on Saturaday afternoon/ Sunday morning were pretty good for cetaceans (Porpoise, Common Dolphins and Risso's) as well as birds. First notable bird was a Swift about ten miles off Strumble. The approaches to Rosslaire were teeming with Terns, Auks, gulls and Manxies, as is often the case at this time of the year. Sky fulls of sea birds with half a dozen marauding Skuas visible at any one time. A couple of juvenile Arctic Skuas persued a Common Tern almost into collision with the bridge, giving us fantastic views.

On the return Pembrokeshire/Welsh side, a superb adult Long Tailed Skua gave us a fantastic view passing within 60 feet at eye level. A pair of Great Skuas beat up the sky chasing a flock of (circa) sixty small dark looking terns and at least half a dozen puffins had not yet moved away from our waters. An adult Pomeraine Skua sculled past us with "spoons" intact as we approached Strumble.

Sunday afternoon and the weather deteriorated with blustery winds whipping up what had been a flat calm sea. Nothing of note other than a couple of close overflying Gannets on the return to Rosslare, Incredible how things change within a couple of hours. Sadly it looks no better for the next few days.
allthingsgood,cliff