We would like to welcome a new recruit to the Sea Watch team, Donna Turney, who has recently been appointed as Sea Watch Regional Coordinator for Hampshire!
Hi, I’m Donna and for a long time now I have been passionate about all living creatures, both at home and in the wild. At home this extends to our rescued pets which include 4 budgies and 16 guinea pigs!! Yes, I am known as the crazy guinea pig lady! As for wildlife I have a few favourites including giraffes and tigers, but my ultimate passion is the marine life especially cetaceans, with the ultimate being the Orca. The beach is definitely my happy place, I am lucky to live close to a few, Hampshire has some stunning coastline.
I have been extremely lucky to observe many dolphins and whales in the wild in a variety of places including England, Wales, Scotland, the Bay of Biscay, Tenerife and Gibraltar. I’ve managed to see bottlenose, common, spotted and risso dolphins, pilot whales, harbour porpoises and a variety of whales but not yet the elusive Orca! Hopefully, next year at the Orca watch in John O’Groats, it’s all booked! Before a trip to the Moray Firth in Scotland I never knew you could see so many cetaceans in and around our shores, and to be able to see them from the shoreline extremely close was breath taking! I still get very excited with every sighting, expect some whoops!
In my every day life I work in a school, I am very lucky to be able to spread the word of conservation to the next generation which I believe is key to ensuring our seas and this planet is safe from all the threats that it currently has. I am excited to share this knowledge with members of the public too and as regional coordinator for Hampshire I hope to meet many like minded people and get some sightings recorded!
