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| To give you an accurate idea of what you might see on your trip, we list all the animals we see every day we run trips rather than just cherry picking a selection of our 'best' sightings every few days. It would take too long to individually list the species of seabirds we see each day so unless there are exceptional numbers of a species or an unusual sighting, we list them as 'seabirds'. Sightings archives for the past few years are linked at the bottom of the page. |
June 2013 |
| 18th June |
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The sea was perfectly calm today and in these mirror like conditions we found lots of harbour porpoises includeing several mothers and new calves we saw 12 in total in 7 different place -image, image, image, image, image, image-. We found grey seals hauked out and in the water -image, image- and saw a variety of seabirds once again there were large numbers of Manx shearwaters (they were passing us in almost a constant stream for 3 hours) -storm petrel, juvenile puffins, fulmars, kittiwakes, gannets, guillemots- There were also a number of blue and compass jellyfish around. |
| 17th June |
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It was great to get back out on the water today after such a long period of rough weather (I'm not sure we've ever had a gap as long as we just did between trips in June. The weather really has been tricky recently). We had fantastic harbour porpoise viewing today -image, image- we also saw a variety of seabirds including 1000's of Manx shearwtaers both travelling and foraging -juvenile gannet, razorbill, shags and cormorants- A rather grand yacht heading around Land's End. |
| 9th June |
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Today we saw a large basking shark (8m) feeding -video, image, image, image, image- a harbour porpoise -image- grey seals -image, image- and a variety of seabirds including a fantastically close flyby from a razorbill we thought it was going to land on the boat! -gannets, guillemots, Manx shearwaters- |
| 8th June |
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It was much calmer today and we had some fantastic views of harboue propoises including another very young calf -image, image- when the calves are young they often wait at the surface while there mother forages below. This little calf -image- was doing just that when it decided to come quite close to investigate us until it's mother popped up and lead it away. We also saw a variety of seabirds including -gannets, fulmars, kittiwakes and shags- |
| 7th June |
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We've had some choppy seas lately despite the lovely sunshine. We had to cancel out morning tour this morning but did manage to take two groups from Exeter University out in the afternoon. We took half on the catamaran and half on Celtic Fox. The catamaran group had some fantatsic views of harbour pospoises one mother and calf surfaced a number of times close by -image by Fiona-, we also saw grey seals -image by Fiona- a variety of seabirds -gannet, kittiwake, razorbills- and blue jellyfish. Here is a photo of the sailing catamaran taken from Celtic Fox. |
| 5th June |
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The weather wasn't so great this morning but it improved through the day. We saw a basking shark in the morning and got some great views as it swam alongside us -image, image-. In the afternoon we found a small pod of common dolphins. They were a samll band of raggedy looking commons but they did have some young juveniles with them -image, image, image- We also saw grey seals -image, image- and a variety of seabirds -Manx shearwaters, gannet-. We travelled a long way today as we ran a longer Discovery Voyage this morning; Carn Base is an area of shallows a couple of miles west of Land's End. |
| 4th June |
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Once again the sun was shining today but we had a choppy sea to contend with because of the south easterly wind. We had fantastic views of harbour porpoises; a mother and calf surfed right past us -image, image, image- We also saw a glimpse of a grey seal and a variety of seabirds -fulmars, kittiwake, shags-. A few on board had a brief glimpse of what may well have been a basking shark fin but it was only at the surface for a very short time. |
| 2nd June |
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Light winds and blue skies today. We saw more harbour porpoises including another mother and young calf -image, image- we also saw another ocean sunfish and grey seals both in and out of the water -image, image, image- There were a variety of seabirds around aswell -Manx shearwaters, guillemot, fulmar- |
| 1st June |
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Another sunny day today it was very windy which was great for sailing. We saw harbour porpoises including a mother and tiny calf -image, image-. We saw our first ocean sunfish of the year -image- a grey seal -image- and a variety of seabirds -gannets, razorbills, shags, oystercatcher- |
May 2013 |
| 31st May |
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We had a great day out on the water today -image-. We had brilliant views of a harbour porpoise -image, image- saw grey seals hauled out on the rocks -image, image, image- . Our first jellyfish of the year appeared in the form of indigo coloured blue jellyfish -image-. There were also a variety of seabirds around -guillemots, fulmar, Manx, shearwater, puffin, |
| 30th May |
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The sun was shining today but the wind was blowing which made the sea very rough offshore -image-. We saw grey seals in the water and on the rocks -image, image, image- and a variety of seabirds -gannet (Hannah is particulalry proud of this picture), fulmars, shag- |
| 28th May |
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Yet another fantastic day today. It was a bit breezier today and really quite rough in the tidal races around Lands End (we kept at a safe distance!) -image-. We saw three pods of common dolphins this morning one very close to Penzance and two others much further offshore feeding under gannets -image, image, image, image, image, image-. In the afternoon we found harbour porpoises feeding in two different places including a mother and a young calf -image-. We saw grey seals on both trips -image, image, image- and a variety of seabirds -gannet- |
| 26th May |
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It was another glorious day today -image, image-. We saw our first basking shark of the year today. No pictures as it was only at the surface for a while which makes me think there are a few down there but the plankton they are feeding on is layered lower in the water column. We also saw lots of grey seals in the water and on the rocks -image, image, image, image-. There were a variety of seabirds around as well -gannet, guillemots, razorbills, Manx shearwaters-. |
| 25th May |
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What a fantastic day. Glorious sunshine and dolphins on both trips. Risso's dolphins in the morning (6 in total) -image, image, image, image- and common dolphins (a pod of 30+) in the afternoon -image, image, image, image, image, image, video-We aslo saw grey seals -image, image- and a variety of seabirds -gannets, feeding gannets, razorbill, guillemots, Manx shearwater-. A whimbrel flew past us whilst we were out at sea and we saw some common scooter in the bay too! We also saw lots of groups of gulls eating cuttlefish. Here's a google plus slideshow for those who like ot view our images as a slideshow |
| 22nd May |
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It was a very breezey day today but we still managed to find two groups of harbour porpoises, at first two and then a pod of more than five (our largest porpoise pod so far this year) -image, image, image, image-. We also saw a variety of seabirds including hundreds of shearwaters streaming past us -gannet, guillemots, Manx shearwaters- and turnstones (and an oystercatcher and some shags) . |
| 19th May |
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Another lovely day of north westerly winds and good sightings. We saw four harbour porpoises in two groups of two -image-, five grey seals (three loungiing on the rocks and two in the water) -image, image- we also saw a variety of seabirds -fulmar, gannet- and swallows and whimbrel. |
| 18th May |
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What a lovely day -image- calm seas and a nice northerly wind to push us along . We saw three harbour porpoises in three different places today -image- There were two grey seals hauled out in the usual place -image, image- we also saw a variety of seabirds -gannet, guillemot, razorbill, fulmar, sandwich tern-. Halfway through the trip we witnessed a dog fight between two peregrine falcons -image- and a rock dove. The rock dove escaped the peregrine's dive bomb and flew over to our boat. We thought it might land on the boat for shelter but at the last minute it panicked and crashed into the side. It then sat on the water. Meanwhile the peregrines were being mobbed by herring guls. The rock dove saw its escape window and took off heading for the coast! |
| 17th May |
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We managed to avoid the downpours forecast today and stay in the sunshine -image-. We saw grey seals -image, image- and a variety of seabirds -fulmar, gannet, guillemot- |
| 15th May |
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The sea calmed down after yesterday's tempest and we headed out for an afternoon trip. We saw a harbour porpoise -image-, grey seal -image, image- seals and seabirds -storm petrel, gannet, gannet_1, guillemots, Manx shearwater- |
| 6th May |
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We had two trips today in the glorious sunshine. Things were quite quiet out there but we did have a report from a friend of something. From the description it could have been an orca but unfortunately we didn't find it to confirm. The presence of orcas in the area could have accounted for the quietness as everything else could have been hiding! We saw a godd variety of seabirds including -fulmars, gannets, guillemots and razorbills, kittiwakes, Manx shearwtaers and sandwich terns- |
| 5th May |
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We had lovely bank holiday weather today. We saw a harbour porpoise, grey seals in the water and on the rocks -image, image- and a variety of seabirds including sandwich terns, guillemots, fulmars, puffins, gannets, Manx shearwaters, whimbrel and many others. Click here for a slideshow |
| 4th May |
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It was choppy out there today so we were only able to run a shorter trip. We saw a grey seal basking on the rocks and a variety of seabirds. Have a look at the photo album to see the pictures |
| 3rd May |
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Todays images as a slideshow
We headed out in glorious sunshine today. Before we even got out the harbour we saw a female eider duck. It was high tide throughout the trip so we headed a long way offshore. 10 miles out we saw a large group of arctic terns with their unmistakeable long forked tails. We saw a variety of other seabirds including gannets, Manx shearwaters, guillemots, razorbills, a variety of gulls, shags, cormorrants, whimbreland oystercatchers. I'm trying a new format for picutres so they can be viewed as a slideshow click here |
April 2013 |
| 30th April |
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Once again we had sunny skies and northerly winds so we sailed out to the far west today. We found lots of grey seals in a number of locations -image, image, image, image, image, image- We saw peregrine falcons (probably a breeding pair) circling high above us) huge numbers of Manx shearwaters and large numbers of razorbills and guillemots. There were also good numbers of gannets and all the other usual suspects -fulmar, shag, oystercatcher- |
| 26th April |
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We had a lovely trip today. It was fairly windy and bumpy offshore and calm and sunny by the coast -image-. We saw 2 harbour porpoises, several grey seals -image, image, image- at the haul out and a good variety of seabirds -gannet, guillemot, whimbrel- |
| 20th April |
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Fantatstic weather again today. We saw a grey seal -image- and a varirety of sebirds including an arctic skua -fulmar, gannet, guillemot- Looking at seals -image- by Mike Ellis. |
| 19th April |
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The sun was shinning today and we headed out in to a lovely blue sea for a change! We saw grey seals -image, image, image- and a variety of seabirds -gannet, oystercatcher, razorbill, shags-. |
| 12th April |
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There was a very large and exciting rolling swell out there today -image, image-. We saw a grey seal -image- and a variety of seabirds -gannets, fulmar, manx shearwater, guillemots, shags-. The plankton fronts are really starting to build up so I imagine the southerly gales over the next couple of days may well bring in the first basking sharks. |
| 9th April |
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We could only run a short trip in sheltered water today as the sea was rough. we saw grey seals in the water -image- and a variety of seabirds -sandwich terns, gannets, fulmars, guillemots, cormorants- |
| 6th April |
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It was a perfect sunny day today and I got a call as I was getting the boat ready at 7am to tell me about 100's of common dolphins 6 miles to the south. Our first trip was at 11am and by the time we headed out they'd moved on. Despite missing them it's a really positive sign that we are moving in to the spring and more regular cetacean encounters. Today we saw grey seals bobbing around in the water and one feeding along way offshore -image, image- We also saw a variety of seabirds including puffins, 100's of manx shearwaters, gannets, guillemots, razorbills sandwich terns, shags, fulmars, oystercatchers and great northern divers |
March 2013 |
| 30th March |
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We headed out for a short trip this evening as we had to wait for the sea to calm down (it was very stormy yesterday). We had sunshine and light winds which made for a lovely evening sail. This was made even better by a spectacular encounter with eleven bottlenose dolphins. They were very interested with us and bow rode along with the boat giving us great views -image, image, image, image, image, image, image, video clip- We also saw a variety of seabirds -gannet, fulmar, oystercatchers- |
| 28th March |
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We had a sunny, chilly trip today but we all wrapped up warm so the cold wasn't a problem. We saw lots of grey seals hauled out and resting -image, image, image, image, image, image, image-We had a spectacular show from feeding gannets -image, image- , Manx shearwaters -image, image-, kittiwakes -image- and auks -image, image- further offshore. There were even a couple of great skuas -image- around harrying the gannets. |
| 27th March |
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We had a bracing sail today and even a snow flurry out at sea! Everyone was dressed warmly so the cold didn't dampen the spirits. We saw grey seals both on the rocks resting and a juvenile feeding at sea, mobbed by gulls -image, image, image, image-. We also saw a variety of seabirds including razorbills, guillemots, diving gannets , fulmars and sandwich terns as well as the usual suspects. |
| 19th March |
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We had another great trip today. We saw grey seals hauled out on the rocks -image, image-. Offshore we found hundreds of Manx shearwaters, gannets, kittiwakes, guillemots and razorbills feeding and loafing in large groups -image, image, image, image-. It was a special sight straight out of a nature programme. Closer inshore we listened to the excitable cheeping of oystercatchers -image- |
| 17th March |
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We had a lovely sail to start off the new season today. The sun was shining and the steady breeze got us moving nicely. We had good views of a harbour porpoise (nice to start off the year with my favourite cetacean!) and saw grey seals hauled out on the rocks -image, image-. We also saw a variety of seabirds -gannet, fulmar- includiing a puffin -image- |
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Sightings archive 2012 |
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Click here to see our sightings page for 2012 |
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Sightings archive 2011 |
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Click here to see our sightings page for 2011 |
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Sightings archive 2010 |
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Click here to see our sightings page for 2010 |
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Sightings archive 2009 |
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Click here to see our sightings page for 2009 |
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Sightings archive 2008 |
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Click here to see our sightings page for 2008 |
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Sightings archive 2007 |
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Click here to see our sightings page for 2007 |
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