Francis Hickenbottom’s Nature Notes.
22nd July 2010
I have just spent several days in Pembrokeshire with members of the Ackworth School Natural History Society.
We were taken on a guided walk between Abereiddy and Porthgain by Philip Lees, who is a senior ranger for the National Park Authority. He was able to tell the pupils about the rock types found in the area, the origins of the rock and the use of the rock by humans. We also took a trip down to Westdale Bay, in the south of Pembrokeshire, to see the red sandstone, which produces a coastal scenery quite distinct from that seen near Abereiddy, where there are are darker rocks such as mudstone and slate.
As well as looking at the flora and fauna of Pembrokeshire, we also spent time learning a little about the geology of the area.
We were a little unlucky on our first day and didn’t manage to spot peregrines or choughs. However, at Westdale bay, we watched a peregrine stooping at a flock of choughs. I think that the peregrine was trying to assert itself rather than making a serious attempt to attack a chough. After the peregrine had moved on, there were as many as twenty choughs in the air at one time. The choughs have now finished nesting and are gathering into flocks.
The other speciality species for the area which we saw was the harbour porpoise.
We were lucky enough to enjoy two sessions watching porpoises as they fed in the
company of diving gannets. We watched one group from the cliff-
We were able to watch the choughs feeding and were interested to see one individual tearing chunks of turf from the ground and tossing it aside as it searched for invertebrates.
For me, the most memorable sighting of the visit was of a grey seal which was eating an octopus at Strumble Head. The seal had the octopus in its mouth as it surfaced and the tentacles of the octopus could be seen curling around the seal’s head and neck. The seal surfaced several times and seemed to be toying with the octopus.