Monday 1st July

July already. It didn’t particularly feel like it out there though – people  had their woolly hats on! On the Ocean Discovery this morning we found a pod of  three porpoises in the bay. They surfaced several times, giving everyone good views. We also saw a non breeding puffin, and a family of guillemots; mum, dad and their little “jumpling” as the fledged chicks are called. They swim around with their parents or often just the father for several months, as they can’t fly yet. We also had lovely views of a grey seal as she rested on rock. This afternoon was quiet – we sailed offshore for miles in the building westerly wind and saw shearwaters, a few gannets and fulmars, kittiwakes and other gulls and some sandwich terns. We saw a seal dozing in the water at the end of the trip. We have always said when we have quiet trips, as we want to portray sightings honestly. As we move into July things usually start getting pretty consistent.