seabirds

The wind finally calmed today which was very welcome. On the first Ocean Discovery trip we had an amazing encounter with a single Risso’s dolphin. We initially spotted it sleeping, then waited stationary for a few moments and then it surprised us by noisily appearing right next to the boat. In the still conditions the…

We had two Ocean Discovery trips today and the weather was an enormous improvement on yesterday’s wind and rain. This morning we had an extraordinary porpoise encounter. There were lots of gannets further east in an area where we have been seeing lots of porpoises so we headed over for a look. Sure enough we…

We had a Discovery Voyage followed  by a Bay Discovery trip today. This morning started off really mizzly with poor vis, but it was due to lift so we set off optimistically! Sure enough, the sun didn’t exactly come out but it brightened and cleared enough to have a great trip. There were lots of…

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…

It was a long day with two Ocean Discovery trips and an evening Bay Discovery,  and there was lots of wildlife around to wish Josh happy birthday. There were common dolphins around all day, though we had to go a long way to find them on the afternoon Ocean Discovery. However we did find two…

Today the conditions were trickier than they had been, with a brisk southwesterly wind whipping the sea up into a choppy state. That meant the afternoon trip was shortened to two hours, but this morning we got the full three hours in. At this time of year, we start seeing more of the exciting offshore…

This morning’s trip was cancelled because of the bad weather but we set off on the Ocean Discovery this afternoon wearing lots of waterproof layers in case of more rain. What a good thing we did, as we had a fairly Biblical downpour. However rain does not affect wildlife sightings, and there were small groups…

We had a great day today with two Ocean Discovery trips, lots of wildlife spotted and some big happy smiles. This morning we found a big pod of harbour porpoises in an area we used to find them frequently. They were feeding with some gannets and Josh managed to snap some of the fish in…

We had two windy trips today, an Ocean Discovery and a Discovery Voyage. This morning we watched several seals hauled out on the island before heading up the coast then sailing offshore. There were a few seabirds soaring past us including kittiwakes, fulmars and gannets, but it was largely quiet until by chance a large…