Reed about our Biolumescense Plankton Watch group on the BBC here.
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A lovely lady took some pics of us last night in aberavon. She said she would post them on here. Just wondered if she was in this group 😊🌅
There is no timetable for the plankton, no beach that it will definitely show up on, pleae take a few mins to give this a read and hopefully it’ll answer some of your burning questions 🙂
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Didn't manage to get photos but there was a light (pun intended) show at penmon point last night. Didn't show till around 1am and it wasn't an overwhelming amount but definitely there and definitely still very beautiful!
My current list of sites where Bioluminescent Plankton has been seen, updated as of yesterday, in the hope it may be useful for some folk: maps.app.goo.gl/DAYWvJRQg8b68Euh7
Can I ask about photographing bioluminescence? Is it possible on a phone? How about a small camera? What do people do and what sort of settings on a proper camera. Thank you!
Not posted here before but last night I went to shoot sunset ICM photos and accidentally (but gratefully) caught what I guess must be the plankton on the Llyn Peninsula at Porthor, Porth Oer (whistling Sands). ![]()
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Just wanted to ask if this could have been a camera![]()
Playing games or This area could have plankton blooms? ![]()
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Hope this post is ok 👍
**12/7/22 Live thread**![]()
Sightings, Meet Ups, questions in here only. Please be considerate to others by not using torches. Thanks.
This was Three Cliffs Bay, Gower last night. I had the entire place to myself - heavenly. The light in the middle is a night-light on a yacht moored just off the bay.
I thought alot of you would find this useful but I use this link:![]()
zoom.earth/maps/daily/#view=51.8676,-4.5021,8z/date=2021-06-22,am ![]()
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to try keep an eye on the blooms and see when it's close to the shores there was this massive one beginning of the month but didn't come near anywhere near us. At the moment it's dispersed and seemed to have disappeared 😔
Not sure if it is or not, but is this plankton in the water? Taken today by my passenger.
**11/7/22 Live thread**![]()
Sightings, Meet Ups, questions in here only. Please be considerate to others by not using torches. Thanks.
Hi all, we're heading to Pembrokeshire for a few days at the end of this week and I was wondering where might be our best chance of spotting some sparkles? If there's been anything around the Marloes/Dale area that would be even better as hoping not to travel too far in the middle of the night. Also, a long shot but I wonder if anyone has ever seen it at Martin's Haven/Jack Sound?
**10/7/22 Live thread**![]()
Sightings, Meet Ups, questions in here only. Please be considerate to others by not using torches. Thanks.
Hi everyone, following my recent photograph upload of Bioluminescent Plankton at Penmon Point I thought I’d put together a little video of my recent trip to there and add some more photos and just show abit of the area as some people seemed interested. Hope you find it useful 😊
Campervan Camping Penmon Point - A Scenic Spot for Fishing and Bioluminescent Plankton
youtu.be
Campervan Camping at Penmon Point, Anglesey. This is a great scenic spot for fishing and also finding Bioluminescent Plankton in the warmer summer months. Th...
**9/7/22 Live thread**![]()
Sightings, Meet Ups, questions in here only. Please be considerate to others by not using torches. Thanks.
**8/7/22 Live thread**![]()
Sightings, Meet Ups, questions in here only ![]()
Good luck, keep safe
Evening all you plankton hunters. Just a reminder as per group rules to read the FAQs. To answer some commonly asked questions, will it be at, what are the chances as it’s been warm etc, we honestly do not know. A lot of people waiting on sightings after a dedicated handful spend hours over weeks looking. If you are free, be a part of the community and please go and have a look too, as per the ethos of the group please share your sightings on here, not like a few who post a couple of days later saying how good an evening they had with the sparkles on their own, crowd free beach. We are here to help and share. Many thanks and stay safe near the water. Please don’t take risks.
We saw bioluminescence around Worms Head last month. Alex got a beautiful time-lapse of it which is in this video about that night. ![]()
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WE SPENT A NIGHT ON A WILD UNINHABITED ISLAND | midsummer on Worms Head in Wales
youtu.be
Join us for a midsummer adventure on a tidal island in the Gower Peninsular. We wild camped without tents under the starry sky and saw the most spectacular b...
With a few sightings last night and the weather set to warm up, post your questions and suggestions in here only please. The nightly thread with return this evening.
Interesting podcast![]()
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The hunt for deep sea bioluminescence (and a giant squid) - Conversations
pca.st
Marine biologist Dr Edith Widder was hunting for bioluminescence in the ocean depths when she saw a squid as big as a two story house
Bioluminescent down aberavon beach right now! Have to splash the water but beautiful nine the less!
Keep your eyes peeled, Red Algae bloom in the Menai Strait today, it does tend to appear at the same time as the bioluminescence.
A few spotting tips from a newbie perspective. Please chip in to add or disagree. Thanks to all on here who helped.![]()
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You need at least a few days of high temperatures to warm the water.![]()
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Cloud and rain don't mean no show as long as the sea has been prewarmed, as above. ![]()
So the plankton must store it's energy. Judging from the no of South Wales reports on this site.. this is for about about 24hrs after the temperature drop? Thoughts on this gratefully received as the lack of reports may be down to disinclination to get out there 😊![]()
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Best time is between 2 hours after sunset and 2h before sunrise. Avoid brighter moons.![]()
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It won't necessarily look like the photos (bright blue) as your eyes are less sensitive to light than a good camera. ![]()
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Either go to a beach and look at wave breaks (or get in there and agitate)![]()
Or to a rocky shore which will naturally agitate . Don't forget the rock pools!![]()
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High tide might be easier so you can get closer. Also this reduces the danger of being cut off by a high tide and the trip hazards of a low tide. Remember some beaches have steeper inclines (like Aberafon) than others (like Three Cliffs). ![]()
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Weather sites and apps can help you see the plankton blooms, but I think they get obscured by any cloud cover. My plan is to study these to get an idea of how fast they "travel"/"flash"..not quite sure how I should be thinking about them...![]()
Daily HD Satellite Map | Zoom Earth
zoom.earth
NASA high-definition daily satellite imagery. Updated every day since the year 2000.
I stayed at Penmon Point on Thursday and managed to see some in the rock pools there. Hopefully not long until it’s multiplied. It was my first time seeing it and it did not disappoint!
Southerndown Beach 23-6-21 and was lucky enough to also get the Milkway in shot
Sightings post. This is for sightings only until it picks up then back to a daily thread. If you want to follow this post, please click the 3 dots and enable notifications. Please don’t clutter the post with tags, f, and is anyone out at…..![]()
Good luck and stay safe.
**20 into 21/06/2022 live thread**![]()
Sightings only, to follow click the 3 dots and turn on notifications.
Our first trip to Aberavon to try and see the bioluminescence plankton, we traveled down from Herefordshire and stayed the night ,we stayed for nearly 4 hours from midnight and after walking for what seemed miles we finally found some ! It wasn't a huge amount but we were both absolutely chuffed to bits to see this amazing phenomenon for the first time! Will definitely be back in the summer to try and see some of the bigger and better displays of this wonderful act of nature ,for now though this will more than do 🥰Just a quick edit I forgot to put when this was it was on Saturday morning early hrs and I've no idea where as I'm from Herefordshire and it was our first visit 😂I know it was Aberavon and there was what I believe to be a big steel works near by and there was a green flashing light to warn ships of the rocks ! There was also a little carpark and it was the very far end of the beach as close as you can get to the steel works (I think) ,hope this helps 😊
**18/06/2022 live thread**![]()
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**19 into 20/06/2022 live thread**![]()
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**16/06/2022 live thread**![]()
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I want to surprise my partner and kids with this speciality we have on Wales where and when can we view this? Were thinking of camping in a tent somewhere soon in the next few weeks and I wondered if it'll be worth camping near where this happens to watch it which also I would need recommendations for a campsite local to the location of where this happens
Hello all!![]()
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I've been part of this group for a while and love seeing all the photos... I'd love to book a holiday in Wales and try to see the plankton in real life.![]()
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My husband has recently become a wheelchair user ... are there any places at all that are wheelchair friendly? So we could get as close as possible and the children could have a paddle?
I saw lots of evidence of huge algal blooms whilst up in Scotland on the North West Coast last week, however the daylight hours up there and perpetual nautical twilight being the darkest it would get, I failed to capture anything photo wise. With that being said, I do believe with the correct conditions it will be heading down to Wales soon enough and I just noticed a couple of posts suggesting its here already!
Tor Bay, Gower early hours of 22nd May. Not the brightest or consistent display but all contained in just one spot on the beach.
A flashback to July with a Photoshop composite edit combining two of our highlights of 2021 - the MilkyWay & Bioluminescent Plankton at Aberavon 😍![]()
Hopefully this year will be just as exciting 😁
Hello.please can you tell me when we are likely to see the bioluminescent plankton on the north wales coast.What time of the year?Thankyou.
Is it a certain type of beach the attracts the plankton. Or is it just currents etc. I live on the north Devon coast and I am trying to determine if from Ilfracombe down towards Saunton Sands would get them!![]()
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Thanks.
Just thought I would share this with you, Had an amazing time last night swimming in a Luminous Lagoon![]()
In Jamaica
Saw some lovely sparkles in the sea this morning before sunrise, 6am Port eynon bay when swimming.
Going through the bioluminescent plankton from this year at penmon point on angelsey ,this one has got to be my favourite can’t wait till next year
An intresting segment about Bioluminescent plankton on Radio 4's Costing the earth today. It's around 24 min mark. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0010wrg
Costing the Earth - Six Months on St Kilda - BBC Sounds
www.bbc.co.uk
How does it feel to spend six months on Britain's most isolated island?
Bioluminescent plankton season starting here in southern Brazil, last night's photo of bioluminescence starting at Ilha dos Lobos marine reserve in Torres, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Thank you to everyone in this group! Thanks to the posts and info in here I finally got to experience the most unreal show of these beauties! A lovely lady called Alice took me on her paddleboard out to sea and what I experienced was absolutely insane! Just didn't have a camera to capture it on but defo stored in my mind for ever. It was like something out of a Disney movie I was literally jasmine but on a paddleboard 😂😂😂💙💙💙💙 thank you🙏
One from last night 👀. So happy the moon went down and I happened to walk back up the pebbles to see what was there. First shot I could see that neon blue streak of sea spark and that was that for the next hour and a half. Wanted to see this phenomenon for so long! Follow me over at 📷 www.instagram.com/ljwhitehouse88 if you like, no pressure
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**9/9/2021 live thread**![]()
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Sea sparkles are back at Penmon ✨ it’s dark enough by 930/10pm but you have to wade/ swim / SUP to get the best experience ✨ ✨ ✨
I knew it should be on the English coast too. This was 3 years ago!
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Trial post for the purpose of recording sightings. ![]()
Format of Date, time (24h eg 01:22) and location with sparkles or waves only. No chit chat on this post please, keep it for the daily post. ![]()
Example post would be 23/06/21, 22:45 Caswell. Waves. No repeat posts where possible ideally first and last sighting will do.
**12/8/2021 live thread**![]()
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A guy on a kayak 'testing the waters' (pun intended) under the Big Dipper at Penmon. Every splash was lighting up the water although otherwise the sea was calm with no sparks.![]()
Penmon, Anglesey, 20-21 July, around midnight
**26/7/2021 live thread**![]()
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**25/7/2021 live thread**![]()
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A short footage off the coast of Anglesey (Penmon) in mid July!![]()
(I just went through all my videos and found this, never thought I actually captured it on my phone)
After Leaving South Stack about 10pm and now heading to Penmon Point to get shots of the Bioluminescent Plankton which was awesome to see with the naked eye, but to get shots with my Camera was a challenge as it was a first for me.
Some images from Southerndown last night. Full moon and only very small amounts of the blue stuff so still haven't captured images if it.
Taken on 22/07/21 around 12.40 Well this was definitely third time lucky for us! We had gone to aberavon for 2 nights experiencing little flashes but nothing like this! We thought last day of trying so we’ll try another beach and ended up trying Newton! All I can say is amazing! What an experience! I have seen the photos and stuff but to actually see it yourself it’s just amazing! Thank you to the people in this group for posting and updating I finally seen it!! 😍😍😍💙💙💙💙
Can anyone that is heading to Newton beach please be really careful, we are on a really low tide in the early hours and there is quicksand which is dangerous and you can get stuck in it If you go straight down to the sea from the slipway it's across going towards the left. This is at low tides only so please be very careful. It is a very old river bed that is thick black gloopy mud - but to look at is sandy. I'm pretty sure there's a warning and map of this area at the top of slipway.
Aberavon pier wont be available to view from
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**20/7/2021 live thread**![]()
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These were taken on the night of 19/07/21 on Aberavon beach opposite the sunken garden. aprox 1am less frequent than the night before but much brighter these are straight from the camera, no photoshopping this was done with a 1/3 of a second exposure. it’s quite incredible to see, nature is so wonderful ❤️ 🌊
Not the best photos but you can see a little bit of it 😁 aberavon beach that was
**21/7/2021 live thread**![]()
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Hi all! Posting from Porthcawl, Newton Bay Beach where we have found a phone. If anyone has lost it please give me a DM!
Anyone want to guess what's swimming through the Plankton? 😃
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**22/7/2021 live thread**![]()
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Another shot of the Bioluminescent Plankton near Penmon lighthouse from last Sunday 🙂Llun arall o'r Bioluminescent Plankton wrth ymyl goleudy Penmon 🙂![]()
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Another shot of the Bioluminescent Plankton near Penmon lighthouse 🙂![]()
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Printiau ar gael | Prints are available![]()
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www.redbubble.com/people/lluniaudafyddem/works/83425078-penmon-lighthouse-and-puffin-island-biolu...
