Halichoerus grypus, Grey Seal - Peel Island |
Halichoerus grypus, Grey Seal - Peel Island |
Getting surrounded by bobbing heads - The Summer Isles |
Phoca vitulina, Common Seal - The Summer Isles |
Phoca vitulina, Common Seal - The Summer Isles |
Phoca vitulina, Common Seal - Berneray, Outer Hebrides |
Phoca vitulina, Common Seal - Berneray, Outer Hebrides |
Berneray Hostel, Outer Hebrides |
Berneray Hostel, Outer Hebrides |
Halichoerus grypus, Grey Seal - Holy Island |
I have seen common dolphins off a dive boat near Knoydart, but again no photos. One thing I have found is that if a boat is moving and the dolphins are playing in the bow wave I prefer to just watch and enjoy it rather than rush around with my camera trying to get a shot! The handy tip of the workshop was when identifying common dolphins was to try and see the hourglass shape marking with the light yellowish colouration to the front and the black V shape that comes down under the dorsal fin. With the bottlenose, the main identifiying feature is the bottle shaped nose.
I have also seen a big pod of dolphins off North Stack on Anglessey. I am guessing they were bottlenose dolphins but they were too far away to identify. This made my visit to North Wales.
Cetorhinus maximus, Basking Shark - Canna |
Cetorhinus maximus, Basking Shark - Canna |
The other animals that we talked about were turtles. There has been some interesting sightings and beachings of the UK this summer. A leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea, was sighted near Drigg in Cumbria and three Kemp's Ridley turtles were found washed up on UK beaches. One of these was found on South Walney Island and was taken into care into Maryport Aquarium suffering from the cold. I am extremely fond of turtles. I have been fortunate enough to snorkel with a huge Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, in the Galapagos Islands and seen a young one when snorkelling in Costa Rica.
Chelonia mydas, Green Turtle - Galapagos Islands |
Chelonia mydas, Green Turtle - Galapagos Islands |