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Forecasting; NEWT’s 4hr North Sea pelagic 02/06/21
Yesterday’s 4hr evening pelagic looked in doubt a few days ago, with stiff easterlies and 1.5m waves in the forecast. As the day approached, the forecast was looking much more promising, so I left the office under clear blue skies and bright sunshine for the 25min drive to the marina. Half way there and Jo…
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Persistence; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 13/08/19
Our first 10hr ‘Northumberland Ultimate Pelagic’ for 2019 had Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Gannets, Great Skuas, Puffins, Guillemots, a little bit of rain, a long rolling northerly swell, dark skies away over the mainland and, thanks to Kirstie’s sharp eyesight, some very obliging White-beaked Dolphins just before the squally weather reached us 🙂
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The sun sets on our evening pelagics; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 07/08/19
What should have been our penultimate 4hr evening pelagic for 2019 turned out to the final one, with poor weather and rough sea conditions getting the better of our planned sailing on Friday. Wednesday was another really odd quiet night, with a stiff westerly ruffling the surface of the sea, no Fulmars, Puffins or Razorbills,…
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Desolate wastes; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 02/08/19
Yesterday’s 4hr evening pelagic was a strange one; a few Guillemots, a Puffin, a Razorbill with juvenile, Fulmars circling, Kittiwakes following us, a Mediterranean Gull that came and inspected us before heading back towards the shore, a Common Seal, a briefly seen fin that was probably a Harbour Porpoise and then line after line of…
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Murky; NEWT’s North Sea pelagic 26/07/19
Glassy calm sea, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Puffins, Common Scoters, Gannets, a couple of Harbour Porpoises putting in brief appearances…and torrential rain and generally murky conditions all made for a quite atmospheric 4hr evening pelagic 🙂
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A swell time 😉 NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 19/07/19
Friday’s 4hr evening pelagic headed out of the Tyne piers into a stiff breeze and long rolling swell… Kittiwakes and Fulmars circled the boat, Gannets soared by, Manx Shearwaters rose out of the troughs and up over wave crests before vanishing back behind the swell, Puffins , Guillemots and Razorbills sat on the water before…
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Blustery; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 17/07/19
Wednesday’s 4hr evening pelagic had a forecast that looked good… We checked south of the Tyne first and were accompanied by Kittiwakes and Fulmars on a stiffening westerly as Puffins, Guillemots and Razorbills sat on the water, Gannets soared past and flocks of Common Scoter speckled the dark grey sky. By the time we found…
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Subtle sunset…and here come the White-beaks 🙂 NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 10/07/19
After a cetacean-free pelagic last Friday I was hopeful that Bottlenose Dolphins have mainly moved north and White-beaked Dolphins would be here any day now… A flock of Common Scoter off Whitley Bay liftg4d from the water and flew past us, Puffins and Common Guillemots were sitting on the sea, Gannets soared past and myself…
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St Mary’s sunset; NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 05/07/19
Friday’s 4hr pelagic demonstrated just how quickly things can change with our marine wildlife. A few Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Gannets and small flocks of Manx Shearwaters and a bigger flock of Common Scoter were far fewer birds than on our previous sailings and the echo finder showed that there was very little in the way…
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Dolphins and a stunning sunset 🙂 NEWT’s North Sea Pelagic 03/07/19
We set out from Royal Quays in better conditions than on Friday and Laura quickly found the Bottlenose Dolphins just around the corner in King Edward’s Bay again 🙂 With Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Gannets, Kittiwakes, Fulmars and Common Scoters all seen as we headed north towards Newbiggin, Laura spotted more dolphins and they came to…