Silver Swift

Today was (and still is) another sunny and warm day on the Isle of Mull. I spent the early morning in the office at HWDT and a before noon, I headed down to the pontoons and got aboard the Silver Swift. For 4 hours I acted as an unaccredited Guide for things you may seen above and below the waters of the Hebrides. We had a few sightings of the dependable, but shy Harbour Porpoise and excitement rose when we were near the Cairns of Coll and saw a "hurry" of seabirds, which sometimes is accompanied with cetaceans (whales/dolphins) below. Even with the favorable conditions, no basking sharks were seen. There may have been some disappointment onboard, but nevertheless it was a gorgeous day to be on the water. As far as seabirds, it was a success as we saw guillemots, razorbills, 2 puffins, manx shearwaters, gannets, "bonxies" aka great skua, kittiwakes, herring gulls, black-back gulls and possible storm petrels. So the one "birder" onboard was extremely happy. Also, I had an encounter with a bird I have never seen before, and after looking in the bird ID book, I think it may have been a rarer type of Gull, not normally seen here.

Tomorrow, I will go aboard Sea Life Surveys boat with one of the student volunteers here this week and see if we can be treated to seeing something special.