Thursday, August 10, 2023
It was hot and sunny, even on the Minch; and the seating decks were very busy. About an hour out from Ullapool we saw our first dolphins, and somehow I managed a couple of shots not only between the bars of the security rail, but also between the heads and shoulders of other observers!
Approaching Stornoway we spotted shearwaters streaming away from the ferry (if only we'd been up at the funnel rail!) and Greger watched them until they landed some distance behind us in such numbers that they resembled an oil slick on the water. Here, though, I've cropped the picture as much as it can bear to show mostly Manxies.
On the homeward leg, Greger pointed out a skua keeping pace with the ship; and I was able to grab a few photos which I think show it to be an Arctic skua.
The tops and ridges of the Summer Isles are always worth a scan for both Bonxies and white-tailed sea eagles.
Other sightings: a few terns which will have to go down as "commics", and a couple of glimpses of probable whales - but they were far away and neither of them reappeared. We enjoyed the trip, but I think that an overcast day with diffused light is probably better for wildlife-watching than bright sunshine glittering off a not-quite calm, dark blue sea.
