ecotourism

We had a Discovery Voyage today and conditions were pretty good. There were cetaceans around though they were fairly tricky to photograph – a small group of common dolphins then a group of porpoises at the end. There were plenty of seals hauled out on the island. It was the seabirds who were most spectacular…

We had what might be our last long day of the season today with a four hour followed by a three hour trip. There was some rolling swell, but wind conditions were nice and calm which meant we could easily see the wildlife around. There were astonishing numbers of porpoises around all day, in large…

What a four hour trip we had this morning. Spotting conditions were more or less perfect and we saw more or less everything. There were three groups of common dolphins in all, who gave us some great views as they swam beside the boat. There were very large numbers of harbour porpoises seen, hunting quickly,…

There was quite a lot of easterly wind today for our Discovery Voyage and Bay Discovery trips which made the sea choppy, but it was sunny and really warm. Sea conditions made spotting fins quite difficult – this morning we saw a few common dolphins briefly, and it looked as though there were porpoises feeding…

It was another very windy day. While there was no swell and the horizon was flat, the offshore wind made it very cold and choppy so we couldn’t venture too far out. This morning we were again intercepted by a couple of common dolphins who seemed to be looking for something to do! Often common…

We had two Ocean Discovery trips today in great sailing conditions particularly this morning. There were lots of seals hauled out on the island on both trips, including adult males and females and juveniles. Sailing further south we were watching a kittiwake when up popped a group of three harbour porpoises who gave us some…

What a couple of trips we had today in spite of (or maybe because of) the misty conditions, and with some really friendly and interested passengers. I do love September! Dolphins here, dolphins there, dolphins literally everywhere. Leaping tuna in the morning, shearwaters (again four species spotted), grey seals, harbour porpoises. This afternoon we had…

There was a strong spell of easterly wind this morning so it was a good thing we hadn’t scheduled a morning trip. It did ease off for the first half of the afternoon, but there was still some steep leftover chop. This did affect spotting conditions somewhat, but we still had a good trip. After…

Another long busy day today, but August is nearly over so make hay! This morning’s four hour trip set off in the calmest conditions imaginable – no wind at all, but a long lazy swell kept the sea moving a little. After watching a few seals round the island, things were quiet in the bay,…

What a day we had for seabirds today. As so often happens when there’s been a bit of a southerly blow, it brought all manner of exciting pelagic species within reach on our four hour and three hour trips – no chumming necessary! It started off so murky and wet that we kept close to…