wildlife watching

It was a full on day today with three full trips in beautiful conditions. We found common dolphins and harbour porpoises on the three hour Ocean Discovery trip this morning, along with lots of seabirds including storm petrels. At the end of the trip we found several seals hauled out, who were still there at…

A busy day today with three trips, and the wildlife in the bay is still pumping! Today we have seen so many porpoises again, common dolphins here there and everywhere including some mums with very young calves, bluefin tuna busting at the surface and grey seals lazing around enjoying the summer. Seabirds have included gannets,…

It was all rather grey and choppy today but the wildlife sightings were extraordinary. On the four hour trip this morning we headed south into the murk which thankfully lifted and it wasn’t long before we found our first group of harbour porpoises. After stopping to reef the sail, we then sailed westwards across the…

We’re having an amazing week, though it did feel very different out there today with wildlife not nearly as obvious. All the more rewarding when seek and then you find! This morning there was a large pod of common dolphins spotted further out, while closer inshore it was harbour porpoises that were found in the…

We can hardly believe it but in May, Marine Discovery will have completed 20 successful years in operation! Here is the first instalment of how we began… When Duncan and I were fresh faced things in our late 20s, we were primary school teachers in Indian Queens and St Austell respectively. While we enjoyed teaching…

The fine sunny conditions continued today after a dull start, and we had a three hour followed by a two hour trip. This morning we had a very exciting sail in the strong breeze, after watching some very entertaining seals round the island. Seabirds skimmed past, though they were too fast for photos. This afternoon…

Another warm sunny day with an easterly breeze. We had one Ocean Discovery trip, which was fully booked. There were a few seals bobbing around in the water near the island as the tide rose, and we had some great close views of harbour porpoises who swam really close to the boat. There were some…

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…

It was another windy day, but we managed to get in a couple of Ocean Discovery trips. There was a good amount of wildlife to see, though the harbour porpoises this afternoon were tough to spot in the choppy conditions. They were there though! This morning there were also some leaping tuna, and lots of…

It was a cold windy day today and felt rather autumnal. The wind was from the north, so it wasn’t rough, just cool and choppy further offshore. We had two Ocean Discovery trips – on the first one we saw plenty of harbour porpoises and gannets, and at the end of the trip watched some…