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Looking out for dolphins and porpoises in Wales

Looking out for dolphins and porpoises in Wales

Have you ever fancied yourself as a dolphin researcher? If you think you’ve got what it takes, you could join us on the remote Welsh island of Bardsey (Ynys Enlli) next year. I have just returned from Bardsey Island with my colleague Pine Eisfeld-Pierantonio. We spent the last two weeks of August looking out for…

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The windy watch – Bardsey Island Survey 2017

Another Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) field season is over, this time a little earlier than planned as the strong winds, some of which were over 50 mph, made it impossible for us to survey. However in the short time we were there we were treated to some dolphin delights. The waters around Bardsey Island are…

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Risso’s dolphins in north Wales – Bardsey Island fieldwork 2015

Thanks to funding from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), we were able to go to Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) for two weeks in September this year to undertake our study into the Risso’s dolphin and harbour porpoise populations there. Our team of two (project leader Pine Eisfeld-Pierantonio and myself), were joined by NRW’s Senior Marine Mammal Ecologist,…

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Dolphin delights at Bardsey Island

Earlier this year we were back in North Wales, at Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli), undertaking our fieldwork into the Risso’s dolphins that make Bardsey their home during the summer and autumn months.   We had a fantastic field season this year with one of our best ever encounters, we had more than 30 Risso’s dolphins…

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Good news for Welsh Whales and Dolphins

Here at WDC we welcome the recent news that a large wind farm that was proposed in the Irish Sea, has been withdrawn. The Rhiannon offshore wind farm was to be situated 12 miles off the coast of Anglesey, consisting of over 400 turbines and covering an unprecedented 497 km2  – an area where there have…

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HotSpots – A Round up of UK Autumn 2013 Sightings

In the crisp, clean mornings of autumn the cold can catch you by surprise and so can whales and dolphins; they seem to turn up when you least expect it! Although most sightings are reported during the summer months, whales and dolphins can be seen around the UK all year, and during our recent autumn…

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Risso’s dolphins spotted off Bardsey Island in the UK

Imagine kayaking across a flat calm, almost mirror like ocean, on a balmy sunny day, only to have your path crossed by a small pod of Risso’s dolphins! Well, this is exactly what happened to Justine Curgenven as she paddled from Morfa Nefyn on the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales, to Bardsey Island. Not long…

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Orcas in the Irish Sea

Last weekend we had a message from our friends on Bardsey Island, off the coast of North Wales, to say they had spotted a pod of orcas from land. WDC has conducted fieldwork on this beautiful, remote Welsh island for over a decade now, primarly focussing on Risso’s dolphin and harbour porpoise so we were…

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