What a surprise - I spent most of the weekend on boats!!
Saturday saw me on the way to Staithes (later than planned as the alarm was set wrong!!) but was in plenty of time due to clear roads for this www.yorkshirecoastnature.co.uk Seabird and Whale watching trip - phew! It was a glorious sunny day and the boat (All My Sons with skipper Sean Baxter) was waiting. A hour or so later and we had our first sighting of a Minke whale. The day progressed with sightings of circa 15 Minkes, seals, Gannets, an Arctic Skua gave us the once over, a Bonxie flew over from nowhere and a 'blow' that looked suspiciously Humpback-like - we chased but couldn't locate 😞 - shame but a glorious day.
Sunday and it was Yorkshire Belle time - for the first of the Autumn Migration cruise (us old timers call them Skua and Shearwater 😀). Another glorious sunny day and a very quiet cruise - even the gulls didn't come in to the chum.... Guillemots with young, an odd Puffin, Gannets flying past and a couple of distant Manx Shearwater - and then..... Greater Black-backed Gulls started to arrive, followed by Herring Gulls and suddenly two Bonxies (Great Skua) joined and stayed with our chum line for over half an hours allowing everyone to get great views. A great end to the first cruise........
There were other highlights of the day with the Bridlington lifeboat doing a practice tow-in whilst waiting to leave and the Flamborough boat joining us for a while - and of course the Cobles out and about.
