Another pelagic, this time from Faro

Today I took another pelagic trip, this time out from Faro with Ocean Vibes. Only bottlenose dolphins today but they performed well, as usual. From a seabird point of view it was mainly petrels today, with good numbers of European storm petrels, plus at least four Wilson's. Perhaps 50 Cory's shearwaters  and six great skuas, plus a few gannets.

Atlantic spotted dolphins off Cape St. Vincent

Another amazing trip out into the open Atlantic Ocean off Cape St Vincent with mar limitado. We saw about 90 dolphins from three different species, including Atlantic spotted dolphin which is so rare in these parts that this was only the third sighting this year.  Great to see babies with them. Also bottlenose and common dolphins, plus four species of shearwater, Cory's, great, Balearic and sooty.

In the photo above you can just see the baby behind it's mother.

The baby is just coming into view....

There's the baby!

Riding the waves with Wilson's Petrels

This morning I joined Mar llimitado again for a seabird watching pelagic out of Sagres into the Atlantic ocean. The difference today, there was a moderate northerly blowing so instead of heading west past Cape St Vincent we went south east to calmer waters.

We came across a pod of about 15 common dolphins, which are always great to see, but it was the petrels that were the stars today.

A big difference in seabird numbers today, whereas on Sunday we saw a thousand Cory's and even a couple of great shearwaters, today we were reduced to just five Cory's and a single Balearic, with no greats.

However, for some reason there were a lot more storm petrels, I counted at least 40 European and 15 Wilson's. We'd seen a couple of the latter on Sunday but I didn't get a good look at them, and since they were a new species for me in the Western Palearctic, they were my main target species today. 

Storm petrels are always a joy to see and Wilson's must go down as perhaps the most charming. Tiny little birds, only marginally larger than our own European storm petrel, they patter across the water searching for food on the surface seemingly oblivious to the huge swell and windy weather. I believe that they engage in this "walking on water" far more than European storm petrels. 

Striped dolphins on an impressive palagic from Sagres

It's not very often that I get a new species of cetacean anywhere these days, so I was delighted when we unexpectedly came across a pod of about 40 striped dolphins on a Ocean Safari cruise out of Sagres with marilimitado today. We were over the continental shelf and the ocean floor was 1000m (1km!) beneath us when these fabulous animals appeared. What gorgeous dolphins they are!

Also today, bottlenose dolphins and a great selection of seabirds, including hundreds of Cory's shearwaters, a few each if great and sooty shearwater, Wilson's and European storm petrels and a great skua.

Striped dolphins

Tails from a bait ball

A bait ball in the ocean is the name given to a tight, spherical group of small fish or other small creatures that swim together for protection when threatened by predators. It's a bit like starlings swirling around when they come into roost. By packing close together into a ball, thousands of animals act as one large shape to confuse attackers and protect individuals on the inside. 

Hundreds of guillemots and razorbills dive deep into the water creating bait balls and driving them to the surface. Eventually the fish have nowhere to go and will leap clear of the water to avoid their pursuers. This attracts other birds which either can't dive or can't go as deep as the auks such as gannets, kittiwakes, shearwaters and petrels. These in turn attract other predators such as skuas. There can be hundreds or even thousands of birds feeding in the vicinity of a bait ball and these are known as feeding frenzies which can been seen from quite a distance.

Unsurprisingly, cetaceans are also attracted to bait balls, so if we see a feeding frenzy it's always worth watching for a while because whales often surface in the middle of them. A couple of years ago I watched in awe as humpback whales drove North Atlantic Krill to the surface (opens in a new window) and created a massive orange pink bait ball which eventually also attempted to leap clear of the water.  

This afternoon I was out again on the Minch with Steve Truluck and Hebridean Whale Cruises. We headed from Gairloch towards Kilt Rock on Skye and there were feeding frenzies everywhere.

The sea looks like it's bubbling as all the fish come to the surface. The auks form rings around them but the kittwakes just crash in and grab what they can!

Stinky minkes in the Minch

Have you ever smelled a whales breathe? No? Then you've never lived. Minke whales are often given the nickname stinky minke because if you're down wind of them when they blow they..... well you get the idea. 

It was the first of my scheduled whale watching trips from Gairloch this morning, with Hebridean Whale Cruises, on board the Humber rib "Orca 1". As usual it was the most wonderful of experiences, loads of whales and dolphins, even more seabirds, stunning scenery and an exhilarating, high speed 100km (60 mile) ride as well. What's not to love? A bargain at £110. 

Today we travelled to the north tip of Trotternish on Skye, past the Quirang, Kilt Rock and the Old Man of Storr, then through the Gap of Rona and past Raasay before heading back to Gairloch. We saw about seven minke whales, plus lots of common dolphins and a few harbour porpoise. 

Juvenile long-tailed skua chasing a kittiwake.
Photo © Karen Munro

Birds were really good, best being a juvenile long-tailed skua which went over our boat twice and then chased a kittiwake. Other birds included a couple of sooty shearwaters and a few storm petrels, all quite close to the boat. The weather has been ok generally but the wind forecast over the next few days is hit and miss so fingers crossed that I can get out again on Wednesday!

Minke whale.

Common dolphins.