Marine Species Spring Spotting Guide!

Many of our migratory marine animals and birds will return to UK waters during the spring, here are a few to keep your eyes open for!
Basking sharks, Cetorhinus maximus, follow their migratory routes back to our coasts where you may see them basking on the surface of the ocean as they feed on zooplankton. They are the second largest fish in the world and are identifiable by their huge triangular dorsal fin. Basking sharks are often spotted off the south west coast, especially around Devon and Cornwall, Wales and the west coast of Scotland where they gather around the Isle of Skye and the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Hebrides.
The Atlantic puffin, Fratercula arctica, is another of our spring visitors. These tiny birds are members of the auk family and will gather on cliff tops and islands where they settle to breed; they will usually produce just one egg and stay with their partner for life. It is thought that there are around 580,000 pairs of puffins living in the UK and you may be lucky enough to see them if you visit places like the Isles of Scilly, the Farne Islands in Northumberland or the Shetlands.
Finally, if you prefer to stay on dry land, our rockpools will be teeming with life for you to record, including all the favourites such as cushion stars and snakelocks anemones to those you have to search a little harder to find, like chitons or nudibranchs. Who will you discover?

Basking sharks are heavily protected in the UK but numbers are now thought to be stabilizing, however the Atlantic puffin is considered to be in decline which makes the data collected by citizen scientists using iNaturalist important as it will help to support the monitoring and conservation of these beautiful animals.

Posted on 29 April, 2024 15:43 by julbun