common dolphins

The wind was blowing quite strongly from the west today so our four hour trip became a three hour. This didn’t affect wildlife sightings though. Firstly we found a couple of gulls feasting on the biggest cuttlefish we have ever seen – this was still in possession of its tentacles which indicates it wasn’t killed…

We had a great couple of Ocean Discovery trips today in improving conditions after the strong westerly wind of the last few days. This morning we found several small groups of common dolphins in the bay, feeding with large numbers of Manx shearwaters. There are also guillemots and razorbills amongst the big rafts of shearwaters…

Everything was very quiet and sleepy this afternoon, including the weather! Firstly we watched a quiet sleepy seal on the island as the tide rose, before he reluctantly slid back into the water. Further south at one of our very reliable cetacean spots we found a small group of common dolphins, which again were resting…

We had a great couple of trips today in almost unbroken sunshine and on calm seas. On the morning Discovery Voyage we saw two minke whales, an juvenile followed later by a large adult feeding with lots of common dolphins and seabirds. This was the first big feeding frenzy we have seen so far this…

We had a lovely couple of trips in today’s sunshine. Both morning and afternoon Ocean Discovery passengers had great encounters with common dolphins while under sail, and they loved being close to the animals on the net of the catamaran – something you can’t get on other wildlife watching tours! We also saw grey seals,…

We had two Ocean Discovery boat trips today. On the morning tour we found two pods of common dolphins. The first juvenile pod came racing in to bow ride giving a fantastic encounter. We watched the second group, which was made up of mother’s and calves from a distance initially before they also came over…

A lovely sunny bank holiday and an enthusiastic friendly bunch of people for our Ocean Discovery tour. They were rewarded near the end with a great encounter with some common dolphins, who swam around the boat and bowrode, given everyone some good views. Prior to that it had been rather quiet, though with some nice…

The wind switched to a northerly direction today so it was flatter (though chilly!) In the sunshine we found a small feeding frenzy of common dolphins, with lots of seabirds dipping in from above. We could even clearly the baitfish (sprats? photos weren’t clear enough to tell) jumping to try and escape the carnage. It’s…

We had two Ocean Discovery trips today in a lively south westerly sea, but it was so good to see the sun again! This morning we again saw lots and lots of the little by-the-wind-sailors – with their little sails up, perhaps they were enjoying the sailing as much as we were. There were plenty…

Today was an eventful. We had a very choppy trip in the building south easterly sea, and had some great wildlife encounters. These included some lovely common dolphins who came and bow rode through the waves, providing a lot of excitement. We also saw porpoises, loads of seabirds, and some grey seals as well as…