Scillonian and Evening Pelagic

Difficult to find some photographic highlights from this gloomy start to the Scilly Pelagics trip! From the moored Scillonian, a Grey Mullet and the last time I photographed one of these was in the bill of a Caspian Tern!! Think he would have bitten off more than he could chew with this one...

Plenty of distant Manxies and a close Kittiwake from the crossing...

At least the Common Dolphins turned up not far from Penzance!

Then off to the evening Pelagic, coupled with fishing trip which drew a blank on the shark front! A 'first' here with Joe in waterproofs!!! Never seen that before... And it did rain... Not all of the evening but enough to keep the camera in the bag most of the time!

No large Shearwaters bur plenty of Manx Shearwaters in sizeable rafts up to 100+

No Wilson's but the chum drew a good number of Storm Petrels through...

And a straight in, straight out Sooty Shearwater!

When all else fails there's always the dependable Fulmar to turn too?

That's my first trip since 2016 without completing a 'Big 3' tally - not even one of the key species this evening! Hopefully the weekend storm will turn things around?

Scillonian crossing

A fairly quiet crossing with noticeably few Manx Shearwater, I counted a mere 6 for the whole journey! A few Common Dolphins, Kittiwake, numerous Gannet and a few auks, mostly Guillemot on the water, sometimes close...

Two distant Great Shearwater were destined to be the highlight but this was overshadowed by a large raft  of birds which look flight less than a mile off St mary's - just like August once more - an estimated 200 Great Shearwater!! There were two Sooty Sheawater too...

And guess what, there is an evening pelagic looming too! I think I might be boarding Sapphire once more :-)

Scillonian crossing - juv Sab's Gull

It was a quiet crossing with four pods of Common Dolphins joining the boat, the first lot were within a mile of Penzance!

Generally quiet for birds withjust one standout bird along the way - a juv Sabine's Gull. If photography is difficult enough from a Pelagic, it can be nigh on impossible from the Scillonian, small bird, ocean swell and just a few seconds of opportunity...

And going by today's news, it looks like an afternoon spent at Porthellick?

Scillonian crossing

I've done this many times now but still get a buzz from the Scillonian (despite the hordes in August) and within minutes of leaving Penzance, a small group of Common Dolphin came alongside. Gannets aplenty off Porthgwarra and only one or two Manx Shearwaters! That was soon to change and for the first mile after Lands End, there were quite a few rafts of them and dozens shearing the waves... An estimate of 2,000 is probably conservative in the extreme?

Here's a few close passes as they sped past the boat...

You can't expect to get close to large Shearwaters, never mid seeing them! Just one Great Shearwater in the mid-distance!

But literally half a mile off St Marys, a Cory's Shearwater rounded the bow of the boat

Best view of one ever from the Scillonian!

The omens look good and there's a fishing trip evening Pelagic this evening...