A group of 8 or more dolphins were seen off the coast on Monday evening. They were close to shore, between 100 and 200 metres and were first seen off Shoreham beach.
The dolphins were later spotted by kayakers off Brighton, alerting people on the beach to their presence. The dolphins were very active and frequently seen leaping and twisting before splashing back into the sea.
The dolphins were too far from shore to make a definite identification. Most likely species is bottlenose dolphin, a costal species seen from time to time close to shore. Other possibility is common dolphins, a more deep water species but also seen near the coast locally on occasions. I have seen some video footage but the dolphins were too far out to make out much more than a rough shape.
I am hoping that someone out there has been able to photograph the dolphins and then it might be possible to confirm the species identification.
Inshore sightings have become far less common in recent years.
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1 comment:
Hi Steve,
Just came across your really useful website, whilst browsing 'dolphin spotting' near Brighton.
We were in the boat at sea next to the Kayakers for the 6 July spot last year. It was my video footage the Argos used - it was quite poor quality by the time they'd finished with it but the original is a little better. It might help your identification if you're still looking?
Thanks, Jo
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