Thursday 18th April

We had such great seabird sightings on today’s Ocean Discovery. Conditions were probably better than they have been so far this spring, with sunshine and calm blue sea (though the breeze was still chilly). There were thousands of Manx shearwaters out there flowing like a current from east to west, gliding past the boat and perfect for photo opportunities. There were also large numbers of guillemots, either flapping past in long lines or sitting in little clusters on the water. The birds were all on the move with no feeding going on, and there were no fins that we saw – very typical for April. Early in the trip we saw a couple of small seals hauled out on the island as well as two more in the water.

Spaces remain on the Ocean Discovery tomorrow at 1pm.