Dolphins on the Starboard Bow

Tuesday May 10

What a great trip. We went out ftom Tobermory on a Sealife Surveys vessel to-day. So warm that we sat in short sleeved blouse until lunchtime, when we hit a  more exposed area. The first hour or so is largely birdless, with the opportunity of seeing Tobermory from the sea - the best way to view the rows of colourfully painted buildings clinging to the mountainside. The top tier have started painting in colours now. A particularly vicious mustard yellow and a lavender standing out.

Pam saw our first Mull Dipper from the pontoon walkway to the boat - I was returning from registering with Richard.

The White-tailed Eagle's nest on Ardmore Point is even further back and, almost invisible, this year. 
The first excitement was seeing a Great Skua flying strongly from the right before crossing the bows and flying away. Good views for everyone. Then, half a dozen Manx Shearwaters wheeled on the left. One of my favourite birds. Such beautiful flyers, graceful and apparently effortless, alternately showing pale underside and black upper, often close to the waves.

A film crew looking for Dolphins had departed just before us. A woman whose name I forget, but she appears on Springwatch and was on the Sir David Attenborough 90th birthday tribute programme the other night, was amongst them. They contacted our skipper to say that they'd found some Common Dolphins and that the pod was heading in our direction.  A fair bit of milling about then went on - for what seemed like an age - before the small pod was sighted. We had lovely views which were not photographable. I tried but got empty sea or a small fin. 

One view of two animals surfing a wave together remains etched in my memory. I've seen Common Dolphins several times before, they are always a delight and much anticipated. Those grey brown, smooth, muscular  torpedoes, always look as though they're having fun.  We did actually have four more dolphin experiences during the day out, all of them a joy.

Here's to the next time.

As we hit an upswell where currents meet up beween the jumble of islands, Rhum, Muck, Eigg, Jura and Coll to name a few..... the numbers of Shearwaters increased tremendously, huge rafts of them sitting on the sea, our presence startling them into splashing flight. I had a great time trying to photograph them, the violent pitching of the boat not helping at all. 

After more cruising about amongst smaller isles and rocks, Common and Arctic Terns screaming overhead, the boat stopped for lunch off the Cairns of Coll and a white sand shell beach. Lovely. They used to put people ashore but no longer. Other tour boats started copying and the nesting birds were being disturbed, still are although Sealife has desisted. The constant, if gentle, pitch of the boat, was not comfortable, appreciating the scenery helped. The many blue shades of the sea, from dark to Caribbean turquise with patches of deep purple seaweed showing under the surface. The rocks with a three foot fringe of weed - dark waterline, it was low tide, yellow lichen on the smooth surfaces, topped with mainly white flowers with some blue patches. A form of thrift I think, Pam's going to look it up. Must be tough to survive here. 

  A few Arctic Terns were nesting, we saw a Common Sandpiper too, amazing.

Time to set off - and Pam called a Minke on the north side of the boat. I saw it too - badly - only one other did. Another slow search and wallow, the many Shearwaters and small rafts of Guillemots were of constant interest. Many of the Guillemots were juveniles or still changing from winter plunage.

In total, we had four Minke Whale sightngs on the return journey. Two of them really close, no more rthan 50 metres away. Awesome. One can only guess at their actual size, as only the back and dorsal fin shows. I know it's a 'small' whale but that is in comparison with others. I managed a fin.

The last experience on this very good trip was of a White-tailed Eagle, high above the boat in the nesting area.
Debbie, whose first trip as a guide it was, did the Professor Plankton bit on the way back - he was on the film crew boat - showing close-ups of the plankton she'd trapped trailing a mesh cone behind the boat. The plankton rich waters is what makes the area so attractive to cetaceans.
Thanks to the very young (!!) crew and guides who were pleasant, helpful and informative throughout.

 

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