seabirds

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,…

We had a great day today with some of the Master’s students from Exeter University, who came out on the boat to try to spot some marine vertebrates. They certainly did that. We started off with some amazing views of bluefin tuna – real whoppers were breaching close inshore near some fishing boats. We also…

It was really gloomy today for our Ocean Discovery and Bay Discovery trips, but all things considered we were really lucky not to get wet, especially after yesterday’s thunderstorms. We had a couple of excellent trips with some really good wildlife sightings. This morning we very quickly spotted something round jumping repeatedly out of the…

We had two Ocean Discovery trips today and they were both crackers. It was still a little choppy and splashy but the easterly wind dropped down through the day and there was some warm hazy sunshine. We found some big groups of common dolphins this morning, some of whom were eager to bowride with us….

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…