Today, Elaine, the marine medic who helped rescue the Hove seal pup took a display about BDMLR to the Mallydams Open Day. This is where the seal pup is being cared for until it is released.

(c) Elaine Brown, Marine Medic British Divers Marine Life Rescue

BDMLR rescue many sea mammals around the country each year from dolphins and whales to seals like the one rescued at Hove. If you want to find out more about the great work that BDMLR does or even help support them, please click on the link below.

http://www.bdmlr.org.uk/

Dolphins and humpback whale in the English Channel

I recieved the following report today. On 3^rd July, 3 bottlenosed dolphins were reported by Groupe d\'etudes des Cetaces du Cotentin on a ship wreck HMS Daffodil. The ship was lost off Dieppe on March 17th 1945 after striking a mine. HMS Daffodil is a big wreck 107m long. Today the wreck of HMS Daffodil wrests in only 24 metres of water, she sits upright and is pretty intact giving good swim through wreck penetration. The marine life on her is superb with large shoals of Bass and Black Bream in the wreckage. This may have been what attracted the dolphins to the wreck.

On 5^th July a humpback whale was reported between Brighton and the French Coast.

Hove seal pup doing well

(c) Nikki Lambert, RSPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Mallydams


The rescued seal pup from Hove is still making good progress

Seal pup doing well!

The seal pup rescued on Hove Beach on the 31st July (reported on 4th August on this weblog) is doing well.

(c) Elaine Brown, Marine Medic British Divers Marine Life Rescue

Emaciated and looking rather sorry for itself on arrival at RSPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Mallydams Wood. The seal has perked and and looking much better.

                       (c) Nikki Lambert, RSPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Mallydams

You can see the injuries the seal pup had to its face which have been cleaned and treated and should heal up okay. 

You can find out more about Mallydams at http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/wildlife/centres/mallydams

Injured seal pup

I received a report of a seal pup beached on Hove Beach on Sunday, July 31st. I first heared about it through my daughter who saw it on a friends FaceBook page.


I then received a detailed report from Elaine, a medic for BDMLR who attended the pup. The seal turned out to be a common seal pup possibly less than a month old with serious injuries to its face and head, including a bad gash beside the left eye.

(c) Elaine Brown, Marine Medic British Divers Marine Life Rescue


The wildlife rescue ambulance service also helped with the rescue. At 4:45pm, the pup was on the beach near Hove Lagoon, before it went back into the sea.

The seal was relocated again later when it came back ashore and was taken to the RSPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Mallydams Woods in Hastings were he is currently receiving care.

The pup was reported as being repeatedly sighted from about 3:00pm at different areas along Hove Beach throughout the day until we picked him up at about 7:30pm.

It does make you wonder where the pup came from as it is so young. Even with currents etc, I can't imagine that it was born further than a few miles away. I wonder if there is a mother around somewhere. Common seals only feed their young for 4-6 weeks. This seal does look quite thin (rather than the large fat reserves a pup should have when weaned) maybe it become separated too early and for some time!

Comparing habitats, Summer School

On my way to Shoreham Beach to work with a group of students I noticed this cormorant eating an eel.

The eel put up a good fight before it was eventually swallowed whole.

I had been working with the school at Midhurst the previous day studying the grounds as a wildlife habitat and recording the various invertebrates we could find. Today we would be doing the same set of activities on the vegetated shingle at Shoreham.

However, first of all we explored the intertidal zone.

When we arrived an egret hunted along the edge of the incoming tide.

We would not have long to explore before the tide came in.

The children found a variety of marine life in the short time.

 A amphipod, related to sand hoppers. Not dead, just laying on its side. They swim on their side and also wiggle along on their side when on the sand.

These children find and photograph a shore crab

They also explore the rocky walls and sea defences covered in seaweed and inhabited by periwinkles , limpets, sea anemones and other wildlife.

 And more shore crabs

After lunch we explored the vegetated shingle beach

The children drew a plan of the beach habitat to compare with their school grounds habitat.

Then they investigated the shingle plants and their special adaptations

This is woody nightshade, a relative of deadly nightshade

The children also investigated the invertebrates to compare with species they recorded in their school grounds.

Solitary bee

Hoverfly

They also recorded the bird life

Green finches

House sparrow

Ringed plover - wading birds.

Tomorrow, the children will be going to Iping Common to study the wildlife there and compare what they see with today's records and the records of their school grounds wildlife.