UK National Whale and Dolphin Watch Event

The Sea Watch Foundation National Whale and Dolphin Watch ended last week end. The aim of the event (in its 7th year) is to provide a snap shot of whale and dolphin sightings around the Uk during the event. the secondary aim is to raise awareness and encourage people to take an active role in monitoring UK whales and dolphins. This event supplements the ongoing monitoring that takes place all year, co-ordinated through the 35 regional groups.

Sadly this year (as Sussex regional Co-ordinator for the Sea Watch Foundation) I was unable to organise a manned watch site during the event. As always I have encouraged my volunteers and requested sightings through the press so we may still get further results. As with last year, much of the week was plagued by poor weather.

We did sadly receive details of a dead dolphin (probably common, I am still awaiting images to confirm this) at the mouth of the Cuckmere River. Only live sighting was a probable bottlenose dolphin at 12:35, 25/7/09 near Cambrian wreck buoy, 50/44/42N, 001/03/40W in the Solent.

For further information about the event or UK whales and dolphins in general, check out the Sea Watch Foundation website at www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Satellite tagged seals

The satellite tagged common seals are still sending signals and providing some very useful data that will help us understand how they use the Solent area and help us provide better protection. The tags will continue to transmit until sometime in August when the seals moult and the tags will detach. (See earlier posts)

The tagged seals provided the basis for another course for the Gifted and Talented Programme in West Sussex. This course features Sussex Sea Mammals and as usual we used the life sized inflatable dolphin.

The pupils (aged 11 to 12 years) learned about the natural history and adaptations of sea sea mammals. They also compared the adaptations of the fully aquatic bottlenose dolphin with the semi-aquatic common seal.

(Seal behaviour activity)

This information was then used by the pupils to decide what information we would need to know about seal in order to protect them.

They watched a presentation on how and why we tagged the seals and used all this information to help analyse the movements of the seals, displayed on Google Earth. The pupils were provided with a sheet of questions to help and guide them with this analysis.

The pupils were looking for data about how the seals used the area that could be used to help protect them. The pupils discovered that the 5 tagged seals moved around quite differently using different areas that overlapped. They also discovered two possible haul out areas and two possible foraging areas

We also investigated the threats to common seals in the UK, over 50% of the UK population has declined in recent years. As part of this discussion the pupils undertook a food web activity used to explain bioaccumilation - how pollutants build up and are transported to top predators through food chains.

Another bottlenose dolphin

Another bottlenose dolphin sighting. The dolphin was seen off Lancing/Shoreham (West Sussex) yesterday (Monday) at about 2.30pm.
This sightings was also made from a vessel about 1.5 miles off the coast and may have been the same dolphin as yesterdays report (as this sighting occurred a few miles west of yesterdays sighting).

Bottlenose Dolphin

A solitary bottlenose dolphin was observed off Brighton yesterday at 7.30 pm. This sighting was made from a vessel about 1 mile south of the Brighton Marina. Sightings along the Sussex coastline have been quite poor so far this year.

World Oceans Day 2009

World Oceans Day
In June 1992, over 150 Heads of States signed the Convention on Biological Diversity at Rio de Janeiro. They did so to express a shared belief that action must be taken to halt the worldwide loss of animal and plant species and genetic resources. World Oceans Day was first declared as 8 th June at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Since then, events have occurred on or around this day all around the world.


I took a sea mammal display again this year. This year it was made up of 2 main themes, the inflatable dolphin and local dolphin and whale sightings and the seal tagging project included on this weblog.

The life sized inflatable bottlenose dolphin represents the species most commonly seen in Sussex. The display included biological information about dolphins and information and pictures of local sightings.

We also had a static display including a dolphin skull, whale vertebrate and a sperm tooth.

The seal display included information about the seal satellite tagging project. Between 2000 and 2007 the UK common seal populations declined by 56% and continue to decline. The display also included information about local seal sightings including a picture taken about 100 m away from the marquee in the adjacent River Adur.

I also presented a dolphin rescue re-enactment demonstration with participation from the audience.
The scenario for the stranding was a dolphin entangled in a piece of old fishing net. The children were asked to suggest what we might need to do to provide first aid for the stranded dolphin and volunteers helped in the demonstration.

It was decided the first thing we needed to do was to check the dolphins breathing to see if it was a live. The breathing rate should then be monitored to see if it speeds up or slows down, a sign that there could be a problem.

Dolphins have blubber that reduces the loss of their body heat when in the sea. A stranded dolphin can easily die from heat exhaustion so a row of 4 children keep the dolphin wet and cool with buckets of water (not real water of course). Dolphins control their body heat by loosing heat through their tail and fins. Water poured onto these can also help to cool the dolphin down.

Dolphins can also die from the effects of gravity, so another volunteer dug holes around the flippers to help alleviate this problem. Two volunteers filled in the stranding form and identified the species from an ID chart.

Other information was recorded such as injuries and natural markings, and the dolphin was measured.

The dolphin was returned to the sea, the volunteers walked the dolphin around until it could swim under its own steam. Back on the display stand, we answered many questions about dolphin strandings and the problems of marine mitter - especially plastic.

There were also many other very interesting displays including

The county rangers presented a fascinating display about the various shells, bones and egg cases that wash up on the beach

The Friends of Shoreham Beach Local Nature Reserve (FoSB) display depicted the rare vegetated shingle beach habitat on the nature reserve and a display about marine litter and the threats to wildlife and the environment.

The British Marine Life Study Society had several displays where you could come face to face with a variety of marine life.



There were also various experts on hand to answer questions.

It was a great day with much interest and lots of questions from both the adults as well as the children.

Dolphin sightings

Not many dolphin sightings this year so far. Here are two recent sightings for May.

On the 2 nd May, 2 bottlenose dolphins were observed off Selsey Bill, heading east.

On the 10 May, 1 bottlenose dolphin was observed heading west at Splash Point, Seaford Bay. There were numerous small silvery fish in the water which attracted a lot of attention from terns that made spectacular dives into the sea to catch them. This may also have been what attracted the dolphin.

School beach survey

Today I worked with a great school group on Shoreham Beach Local Nature Reserve. The course (secondary school level) focuses around a practical beach survey.

The course started with an introduction to the nature reserve and its links to the surrounding area through coastal geography - using archive materials and maps. This focused on the Cretaceous period when the chalk and flint were formed and the end of the last ice age when much of the shingle beach material was deposited in the English Channel. This was then shaped by natural process including longshore drift. We also discussed the fascinating maritime history and other key historical facts. Most people are surprised to discover that Shoreham was far more important than its more well known neighbour Brighton until the Victorians made the seaside popular and accessible through rail travel.

The pupils were taken down to the beach to study the rare vegetated shingle habitat. The class was divided into two groups. The first group undertook a beach plant profile survey starting at the top of the beach and recording the plants in each 1 metre square until they reached the shingle crest (about 40m at this point). We used a 20 m tape and 1 m canes to create the metre square (the usual quadrat would not work because of the size of the plants).

While this was happening the second group was being led around the reserve to look at examples of shingle plant adaptation to this harsh exposed habitat.

The pupils also recorded the wildlife that they saw. Unfortunately it was a very windy day and so most of the mobile wildlife (bees etc) where not visible. We did see two butterflies (a red admiral and a painted lady) woodlice, snails and this lizard.

When the survey was completed, the groups swapped activities. This is the result of the two survey.

The pupils used this data and the adaptation observations back in the classroom to answer questions about the vegetated shingle habitat.

The pupils also used their experiences on the beach to suggest threats to shingle beach habitats both global and local and propose solutions.

The pupils also brought back one pebble from the beach for further study. We discussed the pebbles and the reasons why the flint pebbles were different colours, shapes. We also discussed fossils, uses of flint through the ages and myths and folklore relating to shingle pebbles. (The pebbles were returned to the beach at the end of the day). It was a very enjoyable day and a great bunch of kids.