21
March 2018
A
12 metres long Sperm Whale,
Physeter
macrocephalus,
was discovered washed up recently dead on the muddy beach between Monifieth
and Barry Buddon
on the north bank of the Firth
of Tay on the east coast of Scotland near Dundee.
Rising
View Gallery
Rising
View Video
BMLSS
Cetacea
2016
North Sea Sperm Whale Disaster
8
-10 March 2018
Walrus
Photograph
by Russell Neave
Click
on the above image for a short video recording
A
Walrus,
Odobenus
rosmarus rosmarus,
made
a visit
to the sea around North
Ronaldsay, (the most northern of the Orkney
Islands),. The sea mammal was spotted by Lewis
Hooper, a volunteer at North
Ronaldsay bird observatory. it slowly cruised past The Lurn, close
inshore, followed by a big flock of gulls before hauling out for a couple
of minutes on a small beach
On
the second day and the Walrus
hauled out on the rocky beach for a day on the island of Sanday
to the south.
The
Walrus
is an Arctic sea mammal and is only very rarely
seen in the seas surrounding the British Isles. It feeds mostly on molluscs.
"This
is a young one. They are known to roam quite widely for some time before
they return to the Arctic. Single individuals, usually males, have been
spotted along the Norwegian coast in recent years. One moved in to rest
on a small deck in a private marina in Northern Norway last winter, making
the access to the boats a bit difficult for some days. Some years ago one
even turned up along the Skagerrak
coast, and almost made it in to Oslo, Norway."
Previous
Report 2013
BMLSS
Pinnipeds
27
February - 12 March 2018
Snow
on the Beach at Saltdean
east of Brighton on the south coast
Photograph
by Paul Laycock flickr
amipal
High
pressure over Scandinavia caused cold air to be drawn in from the Eurasian
landmass bringing the cold and wintry conditions over the British Isles,
especially to the east of Britain. This was
at least contributory to a mass fatality of marine animals scoured from
the sea bed and blown on to North Sea shores by the easterly winds.
Beast
from the East (Met Office)
Curled
Octopuses, Eledone
cirrhosa, amongst the
Devastation
Gallery by Paul
Gammy
|
|
Lobster
Wreck on the Yorkshire Coast
Video
(click
on the image) by Bex
Lynam
|
Wreck
on the Yorkshire Coast
Video
(click on the image) by Bex
Lynam
|
Hundreds
of juvenile (undersized) European
Lobsters,
Homarus gammarus, formed
part of the wreck of living and dead crabs, starfish
and other marine life that was ankle deep on places on the Yorkshire coast.
Hundreds of the prized Lobsters were
rescued and placed in holding tanks to be released into deeper water.
The
gales also scoured away the coastal sand which is a frequent occurrence
in winter.
Redcar,
North
Yorkshire
Photographs
by Debbie Janes
The
seven thousand year old petrified
forest and prehistoric fossilised ammonites
were revealed at Redcar
on the north east coast.
Petrified Forest
Gallery
by by Paul
Gammy
Beast
from the East (Met Office)
BMLSS
Strandlines
26
February & 5 March 2018
John
Coe and Aquarius
from the West
Coast Community of Killer Whales,
Orcinus
orca, were spotted by Nick
Massett in Dingle
Bay, Ireland, heading south. Exactly seven days before they were seen
off the north coast of the Isle
of Mull, Scotland.
24
February 2018
A
Humpback
Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae,
was
spotted off Towan
Head, Newquay,
north Cornwall.
22 January
2018
A
Humpback
Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae,
was
spotted in the Firth
of Forth with the backdrop of Edinburgh
Castle.
BMLSS
Cetacea
British
Marine Life News 2012
BMLSS
Oil Disasters page
