Isles of Scilly Pelagic trips

I have just come back from the Isles of Scilly with Oriole birding and have done many Pelagic trips, mostly watching birds, but also mammals. I was amazed by the numbers of some species, especially on the first Pelagic.

It started when we boarded the Scillonian, which is the boat that leaves from Penzance and sails to St Mary's Island. Before the boat left, I saw a few Sandwich Terns and Common Scoters - a good start already. We then set off on the two and a half hour trip.

The number of birds surprised me - there were hundreds! The Majority of the birds were Gannets, mostly at the start of the journey, and Manx Shearwaters, mostly in the middle and the second part of the journey. There were also plenty of Fulmars and common species of gulls like Lesser Black-backed, Great Black-backed and Herring (not many Black-headed Gulls though!)

Manx Shearwater

At one point, we passed a place that clearly had good food for the birds and Cetaceans, as there well over a hundred Manx Shearwaters, a Great Skua (a new bird for me), lots of Common Dolphins and a Bottlenose Dolphin (a new mammal for me). At this point, someone shouted 'Great Shearwater', and everyone's heads turned to the sea. Most people managed to see the bird quite distantly, but unfortunately, I could not get on to the bird.

The Scillonian arrived on St Mary's Island In the early afternoon, and the group was told to meet at the quay later that day for our first evening Pelagic. Everyone went straight to the hotel to drop off luggage. I was tired at this point, and definitely needed to use this time to rest! 

The first Pelagic on the Sapphire was amazing, with  hundreds of Shearwaters in large feeding flocks - and not just manx. I saw my first ever British Great, Cory's, and Sooty Shearwaters, and lots of them! The feeding frenzies also had Many Common Dolphins, but there was a lot of excitement at one point when a huge whale was seen, thought to either be a Fin or Sei. Our skipper Joe Pender managed to photograph it, and so it was confirmed as a Fin Whale - another new mammal for me!

Great Skua

The second Pelagic the next day was still great, though there were fewer birds, and my highlights were the Great skuas, flying right over the boat to attack the Gulls. Some chum was thrown overboard to attract more birds. A few European Storm Petrels (another new bird for me) were attracted by the chum, as were lots of Fulmars and some Manx Shearwaters. Great, Cory's and Sooty Shearwaters were also seen from the boat, though not in the numbers of the Pelagic from the day before. A group of Harbour Porpoise and some more Common Dolphin were also seen. Near the end, a flock of Black-tailed Godwits flew high over the sea.

Cory's Shearwater

A separate trip for shark tagging later that day was also a good experience as 4 different Blue Sharks were brought on board and tagged, then released back in to the water. Another exciting moment was when the Oriole birding tour leader alerted everyone to a Wilson's Petrel, and I did see the bird (yet another lifer for me!), though briefly and distantly.

Blue Shark being tagged and released

Before we boarded the Sapphire the next day, we had a bit of time for land birding, though the only bird I saw was a Dunlin on Porth Hellick Pool. 

The next pelagic was a great one, the best part being the great views of at least 3 Wilson's Petrels. These great birds were one of the main targets of the trip and everyone saw them extremely well!

Great Shearwater

Other birds seen were more Cory's, Great, Sooty and Manx Shearwaters, lots of Gannets and Fulmars and lots of European Storm Petrels, which 'danced' around the boat and were great to see. We also saw an Ocean Sunfish, though it was quite small.

The next day was spent birding on land again, this time guided. We had a lot of success with six Green Sandpipers that showed well, a flock of Greenshank, a Redshank, a few Wheatears, and new butterfly for me: a Holly Blue! I did well for new species.

Later that day we boarded the Scillonian on its way back to Penzance, though on the trip over we did see another Fin Whale, a Minke Whale, lots of Common Dolphins, a Cory's Shearwater, a Sooty Shearwater, lots more Manx Shearwaters... and my first Balearic Shearwater of the trip! An exceptional crossing, and an exceptional holiday!

Common Dolphin 

Butterflies seen (including some in Cornwall)
Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Grayling, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Holly Blue, Common Blue