seals

It was a mega busy day today in beautiful conditions. The first of the three trips set off in mirror calm conditions so we were hopeful for some good sightings. We soon got those with some lovely views of harbour porpoises – these diminutive cetaceans are so much easier to spot in calm conditions and…

It was a quiet sleepy sort of day today for our two Ocean Discovery trips. This morning we covered a lot of miles offshore and some shearwaters, guillemots, gannets and fulmars, all searching just like we were. A seal popped up in front of the boat who had been hunting several miles offshore. We then…

It was a long day today with a four hour trip followed by a three hour. This morning it was quiet for over two hours, with a few rafts of shearwaters and some gannets spotted, before we found a large pod of common dolphins a long way offshore. We also saw an ocean sunfish and…

We had a couple of great trips today, a Bay Discovery this morning and a Discovery Voyage this afternoon. This morning we headed out into the middle of the bay largely under sail, and started to pick up bits of sealife about four miles south. Firstly a glimpse of a porpoises, then a common dolphin…

Today’s conditions could not have been more different to yesterday. With an increasing south westerly wind chopping up the sea, and grey skies threatening rain (but holding off) we just did the morning Ocean Discovery. We saw some grey seals including old faithful Kelp hauled out on the island as well as a variety of…

It was a quieter day today though we covered a wide area of sea searching. This morning on the Bay Discovery we saw grey seals hauled out who were striking a variety of poses – a male, a female and a juvenile for a bit of balance. We then sailed across the bay on the…

Our Discovery Voyage trip this morning was very productive, with perfect sailing conditions and sunny weather – though still cold! We had a great encounter with common dolphins further out, and Duncan spotted a minke whale though it was too quick for the passengers to see. Close to the coast we found a group of…

On our Ocean Discovery sea safari today we stopped at the island to observe the seals as the tide rose. There were several of them still hauled out – it’s always entertaining watching them try and retreat from the rising water before bowing to the inevitable and getting back in. Seals like to do this…

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…

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…