Monday 10th August

There were a beautiful couple of trips today in calm seas and warm sunshine. On the morning Bay Discovery there were hundreds – and I mean hundreds – of common dolphins feeding well inshore.  We saw three dolphins engaged in behaviour which was clearly “courtship” i.e. two males hounding a female. There were also large numbers of very large bluefin tuna hunting among them, and some of the commercial boats hunting the tuna. We saw one being hooked actually, right in among the dolphins. They are extremely powerful. There were also a couple of grey seals hauled out on the island as the tide lapped higher – one male and one female.

On the afternoon four hour tour, we saw hundreds more dolphins, hunting, socialising, bowriding. With such endless good weather it does feel like Groundhog Day sometimes, but it never loses its magic, especially when we are showing people the first dolphins they have ever seen. It’s also great to show them seabirds up close – many people think they’re not interested in seabirds, but when they come eye to eye with a gannet or a shearwater, then they change their minds. We also saw sooty shearwaters and some seals in the water.