Wednesday 31st July

It was day of flat seas, hot sunshine  and superb sightings today. It didn’t take long until we found our first cetaceans, and there were absolutely loads of them. These were harbour porpoises and I’m not sure we have ever seen so many in the bay. They are even out dolphin-ing the dolphins and it’s so great to see. We also found common dolphins, a grey seal and lots of seabirds including some more Cory’s shearwaters. On the afternoon Ocean Discovery we were treated to more of the same – firstly we found a group of sleepy common dolphins, and we had beautiful views of them as they swam quietly past us. It’s so important to be extra considerate to the animals when they are resting and sleeping, so we didn’t stay long. Masses of feeding gannets showed us where something was going on further south, but it was very stop-start, which usually tells us it’s porpoises rather than dolphins causing it. Sure enough it was – large groups feeding in the same area, and swimming right past us. We estimated over fifty animals, a superpod by porpoise standards. More dolphins and porpoises followed, along with more of the same on the evening Bay Discovery.

What a beautiful summer’s day it has been.