Friday 8th May

The water was like silk today – we have rarely seen it so calm. Heading south along the coast our plan was vindicated when we met a pod of Risso’s dolphins heading up into the bay. This was based their movements yesterday – Risso’s dolphins can sometimes be predictable! They swam past us fairly close and we had some lovely views but otherwise totally ignored us. They were on a mission to get somewhere. After watching them swim peacefully away we headed on south, and it all seemed very quiet. There were way fewer seabirds than there have been, just a few guillemots here and there. However looking to the south there were more fins – common dolphins this time. The first group we saw were socialising intensely among themselves, bunched very close together and zigzagging in front of us. Duncan with his fancy binoculars then picked up many more a long way south – this time there was two groups, which joined together and then gave us a really special encounter. It was the first large, interactive pod we have encountered so far this year – hopefully the first of many. May can be quieter for cetaceans, so finding two species was pretty cool.