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Pelagic off County Donegal (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter DEREK CHARLES
- Start date
Impressive stuff Derek. I'm always amazed at how good Donegal seems to be for seabirds. I used to seawatch a lot in Islay, which isn't far away. Whilst it's pretty good, Islay never seems to get many of the large shearwaters,
DEREK CHARLES
Well-known member
Hello Andrew,
For whatever reason large Shearwaters when they reach Malin Head seem to double back and will not enter the Irish sea. They are very rare in Northern Ireland only 30 miles from Malin Head.
Derek
For whatever reason large Shearwaters when they reach Malin Head seem to double back and will not enter the Irish sea. They are very rare in Northern Ireland only 30 miles from Malin Head.
Derek
rdspalm
Well-known member
Pelagic
Sounds like a good trip Derek. Where did you get the boat from?
I was over in Scotland last week with Gary Wilkinson and Nigel Moore. We saw a lot of Manx Shearwaters, a few Bonxies, Storm Petrel and a White Tailed Eagle on the ferry from Skye to North Uist. We saw a Basking Shark in Lochmaddy harbour. Harbour Porpoises and Minke Whale were also seen on this crossing.
Richard Smith
Sounds like a good trip Derek. Where did you get the boat from?
I was over in Scotland last week with Gary Wilkinson and Nigel Moore. We saw a lot of Manx Shearwaters, a few Bonxies, Storm Petrel and a White Tailed Eagle on the ferry from Skye to North Uist. We saw a Basking Shark in Lochmaddy harbour. Harbour Porpoises and Minke Whale were also seen on this crossing.
Richard Smith
DEREK CHARLES
Well-known member
Hello Richard,
The boat left from Meoagoarty near Fallcarragh. Its where you get the boat out to Tory from. We sailed out past Tory but it was very rough going.
Derek
The boat left from Meoagoarty near Fallcarragh. Its where you get the boat out to Tory from. We sailed out past Tory but it was very rough going.
Derek
DEREK CHARLES
Well-known member
Hello Enda,
The boat we went out on was the "fast" ferry boat to Tory. Conditions were that bad we couldn't even make a stop at the harbour on Tory. We encountered the Shearwaters before reaching Tory so conditions were at their best. We didn't need to chum at that stage as we just cut the engines and drifted up to the flock. It was an amazing experience as most of the flock were calling in a very low gurggle to each other!
We went out past Tory and chummed but the waves cut the slick up pretty quickly and all we attracted were a few Storm Petrels and a few more Great Shearwaters.
Derek
The boat we went out on was the "fast" ferry boat to Tory. Conditions were that bad we couldn't even make a stop at the harbour on Tory. We encountered the Shearwaters before reaching Tory so conditions were at their best. We didn't need to chum at that stage as we just cut the engines and drifted up to the flock. It was an amazing experience as most of the flock were calling in a very low gurggle to each other!
We went out past Tory and chummed but the waves cut the slick up pretty quickly and all we attracted were a few Storm Petrels and a few more Great Shearwaters.
Derek
James Blake
chasing the shadow of a lowskimming gull
Hi Derek
Enjoyed the shearwater photos. Did you see any cetaceans?
James
Enjoyed the shearwater photos. Did you see any cetaceans?
James
DEREK CHARLES
Well-known member
Hello James,
Dolphins were seen on a few occasions but due to the very rough conditions it was impossible to follow them or name them. I seen one very large dolphin not sure what species it was exactly. A sunfish was also seen by some close to the boat. A few more pics!
Dolphins were seen on a few occasions but due to the very rough conditions it was impossible to follow them or name them. I seen one very large dolphin not sure what species it was exactly. A sunfish was also seen by some close to the boat. A few more pics!
