Every pelagic has yielded either a special bird or extraordinary views of familiar subjects in these waters! I don't encounter too many Shearwaters in Shropshire (surprisingly) so it's impossible to tire of these majestic seabirds and as ever this year, several Great Shearwater came to the party! Here's an angle I haven't posted, a nice underwing profile above the horizon.....
And in aviation terms - a 'near miss' for these two!
A few Manx Shearwater also got into the act!
The star act of the evening and undoubtedly in their element was of course the European Storm Petrels! Must have been 100+ and I was determined to get some some better angles of these by concentrating on the windward side of the boat as they passed the boat. Opportunities were much fewer but at least the results were encouraging right from the off.....
Even the sun shone, giving catchlights aplenty!
Underwing shots....
As everyone here knows, a pelagic isn't done until you're safely entering the harbour! And how often is the last bird of the day something special?? All the lines had been hauled in and we were just about to steam in when..... "Wilsons" came the cry! Given that we were about to endure the biggest soaking yet from the spray, my gear wasn't to hand but I had amazing views as the Wilsons Storm Petrel came briefly alongside the boat! By the time I got the lens on it, (standing up was difficult enough!) it was more distant but this awful record shot at least shows a nice size comparison!
The perfect start to my second weekend - I've got a good feeling about this one although the winds are forecast to drop off......
