Ecocruz & Bottlenose Dolphins - 31st July 2013

More great sightings on our 2 hour Ecocruz this afternoon with a group of around 15 bottlenose dolphins :-)

ORCA! - 31st July 2013

This afternoon we saw two Orca pass by close to the Cairns of Coll!! WOW! Same two we saw two weeks ago we think, Comet & possibly Puffin ;-)

Wildlife Adventure - 31st July 2013

Incredible views of a juvenile white-tail eagle successfully catching a fish but it wasn't able to hold on to its prey for long as an adult bird flew in and mugged the youngster! We also had an adult white-tail fly right over Sula Beag, a curious porpoise surfacing close off our stern and we saw lots of common seals 

Whalewatch Explorer - 30th July 2013

Fantastic views of white-tailed eagles to start the trip this morning followed by a lunch time landing at the Cairns of Coll amongst the common & grey seals and tern colonies. However, the highlight of the trip had to be the THREE MINKE WHALES we saw on our way back home! We were very happy to see one particular whale called Knobble!! First identified in 2002 and still coming back to our waters each summer

Wildlife Adventure - 28th July 2013

A rainy morning but a perfect flat sea meant we were able to spot harbour porpoise from a long way off, we had numerous sightings throughout the trip including of some young calves. We also saw the fledgling white-tailed eagle in flight with his father - a very impressive sight! Also common and grey seals, guillemots, gannets and 3 moon jellyfish caught in our plankton net :-)

Whalewatch Explorer - 27th July 2013

Lovely views of Harbour Porpoise and White-tailed Eagle in the mornings sunshine as we covered waters to the north of us. We landed on the Isle of Muck for lunch and practically doubled the population on the remote island! In the afternoon the persistence paid off as we had 3 MINKE WHALES including one approaching the boat surfacing meters away! Healthy numbers of Porpoise on the journey back in and also Common and Grey Seals showing well. A Golden Eagle soaring over the highland terrain was also viewed and sea birds included Gannets, Shearwater, Fulmars, Storm Petrels and Skuas.

Wildlife Adventures - 26th of July 2013

Wildlife Adventure passengers 26/07/13, 09:30 - Some good groups of Harbour Porpoise showing well in the calm sea state this morning. Healthy numbers of Common and Grey Seals on the shore and in the water. Our local White-tailed Eagles were putting on a great show including the newly fledged juvenile. Sea birds included Gannets, Shearwater, Kittiwakes and Auks. The low lying fog looked superb on the rolling landscapes on Ardnamurchan peninsula. Ewan

Wildlife Adventure passengers 26/07/13, 14:00 - A Eurasian Otter was the first highlight enjoyed by all on board the afternoons trip. Next up was a visit to a coastal Golden Eagle territory where we saw a 9-10 week old Eaglet stood upright on its huge 7 foot deep nest construction. A group of Harbour Porpoise surfaced close by on our way back in before we watched an adult White-tailed Eagle standing with pride on the shoreline getting mobbed by a couple of angry Common Gulls. Common and Grey Seals seen along with Gannets, Great and Arctic Skua, Shearwater, Fulmars and Auks. Ewan

Basking Sharks with Acuatours!

More basking sharks than we could count yesterday! Photographing puffins, sharks & seals with @acuatours

Whalewatch Explorer - 25th July 2013

Some great sightings today including a group of around 20 common dolphins with several young calves. They must've only been just over a metre in size swimming close to their mother's side! After our lunch break at the Cairns of Coll with the seals and terns we headed out and spotted two minke whales feeding together with a group of shearwaters - an amazing sight. Also porpoise, sea eagles, great skua, storm petrels and puffins 

Wildlife Adventure - 24th July 2013

Fantastic views of a white-tailed eagle riding the thermals over sunny Mull, a very playful harbour porpoise surfacing close by us and common & grey seals. We also saw guillemots & razorbills out with their tiny chicks and feeding shearwaters, kittiwakes and gannets 

Glorious sunshine for our 2nd trip of the day and more great sightings! The fledgling sea eagle seems to be getting stronger in flight day by day as we saw him soaring high above the trees with one of his parents. Also mother and calf porpoise, common seals and a hen harrier!

 

Whalewatch Explorer - 23rd July 2013

A pod of 100 plus Commons Dolphins associating with us was the first highlight. As we made our way to the west we came across 1000 plus feeding Shearwater and a minke whale surfaced metres off the port side! Harbour Porpoise, Common and Grey Seals also viewed. Seabirds included Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Storm Petrels, Gannets, Shearwater, Fulmars and Auks. A dramatic thunder and lightning storm added to an amazing experience, you can't beat nature!

Whalewatch Explorer - 22nd July 2013

The great weather continued and our first interaction on the trip was a small group of Common Dolphins breifly coming to see us. A Minke whale feeding hard was enjoyed by all on board along with the huge number of feeding birds consisting of Shearwater, Kittiwakes, Gannets and a bully bird Skua. Harbour Porpoise and Seals were showing well throughout the day.

Orca! - 20th July 2013

Thanks Kenny & Ogg for the shout! We think the male Comet & a female. Certain a second male was there at first... And then vanished! ;-)

Many thanks to Brendan Godley from 
Exeter University - great shot ;)

Wildlife Adventure - 19th July 2013

Glorious sunshine as we enjoyed Harbour Porpoise, White-tailed Eagles, Gannets, Shearwater, Common Seals, Auks and a good plankton sample views under the microscope.

The sun and heat continued into the afternoon as we watched White-tailed Eagles in flight soaring on the thermals. Common and Grey Seals were showing well. Good sea birds including Gannets, Shearwater, Kittiwakes and Auks.

Whalewatch Explorer - 18th July 2013

Thick fog reduced our visibility this morning but it cleared in the afternoon and we were able to spot a very sneaky whale! It only surfaced twice before it moved off and we lost track of it. We had numerous porpoise sightings, lots of seals during our lunch break at the Cairns of Coll, hundreds of feeding shearwater and an incredible view of our white-tail eagle youngster flying right alongside us - wow!!

Wildlife Adventure - 17th July 2013

Lovely 4 hour trip this morning with harbour porpoise, common and grey seals and a white-tailed eagle! We also saw 3 Arctic skuas harassing one poor kittiwake, 3 black-throated divers, fluffy guillemot chicks and a good number of feeding seabirds including gannets and shearwaters

Whalewatch Explorer - 16th July 2013

We were joined by a group of around 15+ bottlenose dolphins today! Some came in very close whilst others kept their distance and we were able to watch them breaching and playing around us – wow! Another huge highlight from today's trip was a minke whale which surfaced very close off our stern giving us all a bit of a shock! We also saw porpoise, our white-tailed eagle family and good numbers of feeding seabirds

Fantastic encounter with 15+ bottlenose dolphins today

Whalewatch Explorer - 15th July 2013

Some tricky conditions today for spotting but a great trip all the same! We saw harbour porpoise, the fledging sea eagle in flight and both parents, big numbers of common seals with their pups during our island landing on the Cairns of Coll and some fantastic seabird action! Hundreds of feeding shearwater, fulmars circling Sula Beag, diving gannets, Arctic & great skuas, storm petrels and puffins

Wildlife Adventure - 14th July 2013

Several porpoise sightings, common seals and fantastic views of the recently fledged white-tailed eagle practising using its enormous wings! We also found lots of feeding shearwater, kittiwakes, auks and diving gannets which is always exciting 

Whalewatch Explorer - 13th July 2013

Fantastic close views of a minke whale today which surfaced several times close to Sula Beag. Captain Lewy spotted it on the way out this morning but the rest of us missed it so after hours of searching it was great to have such a close view on our way home! We also had numerous porpoise sightings, grey seals, bonxies, storm petrel, puffins and our first fluffy guillemot chick of the year! Group photo taken on the Isle of Muck where we spent an hour ashore

There was a queue at Muck’s famous tearoom this afternoon ;)

Ecocruz - 12th July 2013

We headed out for our first 2 hour trip this morning unable to see Tobermory due to thick fog! However it soon cleared and we were treated to lovely views of harbour porpoise in perfect flat conditions, common seals and a fantastic look at the young sea eagle perched very nearby enjoying the sun!

At 2pm we went back out in glorious sunshine with great views of the female white-tailed eagle taking flight right in front of Sula Beag. We also saw common seals, listened to the hydrophone, examined the plankton sample (including a moon jellyfish that we caught!) and hauled up a jam-packed creel pot!

 

Trip Advisor 2013

We're very proud to have received a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor for 2013!!!

Thank you everyone for your reviews! It means a lot to us hear what you thought of your trip and it helps us to improve and make each experience one to remember! :)

Whalewatch Explorer - 11th July 2013

Perfect conditions today with numerous minke whale sightings, we're not too sure how many we saw!! One surfaced right off our bow so we were able to get a good ID shot, it’s the same individual we saw on the 10th of June and named 'Wrinkle'! We also had an incredible encounter with around 50 common dolphins, some came over to us and in the incredibly clear water we were able to see every detail of them as they turned on their sides to look at us! Also sea eagles, porpoise, seals, skuas and a group of 15 storm petrels…

Wildlife Adventure passengers – 10th of July 2013

Wildlife Adventure passengers – 10th of July 2013. Incredibly thick fog interspersed with glorious sunshine today and flat calm seas. We had a lovely group of harbour porpoise surfacing around us, saw the young white-tailed eagle in flight, common & grey seals and feeding kittiwakes & shearwaters. We also found a message in a bottle!! It was from a holiday maker on the Isle of Barra just 3 days ago! :-)

Whalewatch Explorer passengers – 9th of July 2013

 

Whalewatch Explorer passengers – 9th of July 2013. Flat calm conditions and good visibility meant we were able to spot 4 distant minke whales! Thick fog descended for most of the afternoon but we managed to locate a whale by listening to its blows and got some close views. We also saw the young sea eagle, lots of porpoise, hundreds of feeding shearwaters and many curious seals during our island landing on the Cairns of Coll :-)

Whalewatch Explorer passengers – 8th of July 2013

Whalewatch Explorer passengers – 8th of July 2013. What a day! Flat calm seas helped us spot at least 4 minke whales today!! We also had superb views of around 20+ common dolphins some breaching clear out of the water right next to Sula Beag. Also common & grey seals, storm petrels, great & Arctic skuas, large rafts of shearwater and the newly fledged white-tailed eagle perched by the shore getting used to his 2.5 metre wing span! :-)

Acuatours and Sea Life Surveys liveaboard

Woke up to this view - wow! There's a number of seal pups nearby, one got very curious, we could see it swim past underwater - it looked two feet long!! 

Wildlife Adventure - 7th July 2013

Wildlife Adventure passengers 07/07/13 - What a difference a day makes! flat calm sea and sunshine as we had conisistent views of Porpoise throughout the trip. We watched a White-tailed Eagle scavenging from a fishing vessel and a pair of Golden Eagles were seen soaring over the skyline. Sea birds included Gannets, Storm Petrels, Shearwater, Kittiwakes and Puffins. We called into a local haul out site and got a group of Common Seals showing well. We were even back in time to watch Andy Murray win Wimbledon!

 

Whalewatch Explorer - 6th July 2013

Whalewatch Explorer passengers - 6th of July 2013. A wet and wild trip today meant we were restricted to Mull's northern shores. Despite this we had some lovely sightings... several views of porpoise including a mother and small calf as well as common and grey seals, shearwaters, fulmars, storm petrels, bonxie, gannets and puffins

Wildlife Adventure - 5th July 2013

Wildlife Adventure passengers 05/07/13-

Our first highlight was a group of Harbour Porpoise surfacing close by as a family of White-tailed Eagles watched on from the shore line. A Eurasian Otter showing very well as it climbed onto a skerry to feed on a freshly caught crustacean. Common and Grey Seals hauled out and a number of sea birds seen including Great Skua, Shearwater, Kittiwakes, Gannets and Auks. A rich plankton sample was put under the microscope and displayed on the big screen for all to admire. Such a diversity of wildlife seen in four hours at sea.

Whalewatch Explorer - 4th July 2013

Whalewatch Explorer passengers 04/07/13 - The weather restricted us today as we covered more sheltered waters and encountered a group of harbour porpoise which included a small calf. The white-tailed eagle fledgling took flight in a not so elegant manner as the parent birds watched on. A brief view of an otter and also a new born common seal pup suckling from its mother. Feeding gannets, shearwater, auks, fulmars and kittiwakes all seen on today's trip. The highland landscapes around Loch Sunart were simply sensational.

 

 

Wildlife Adventure - 3rd July 2013 (pm)

Wildlife Adventure passengers 03/07/13 14:00 - Both adult White-tailed Eagles and their chick were showing superbly well this afternoon with the female bird in flight and the juvenille resorting back to his nest site. Harbour Porpoise were seen on a few occasions and Common Seals hauled out on the shore. Gannets, Shearwater, Auks and Kittiwakes viewed. Everyone enjoyed listening to the hydrophone and also seeing the world of plankton up close under the microscope.

 

 

Wildlife Adventure - 3rd July 2013 (am)

Wildlife Adventure passengers 03/07/13 09:30 - A few small groups of Harbour Porpoise seen from on board Sula Beag this morning including underwater views. The White-tailed Eagle chick was perched on the shoreline. The bird is now fully grown at roughly 10 weeks old. Golden Eagle, Red throated Diver, Arctic Skua, Bonxie, Gannets, Shearwater, Auks and Grey Seals all seen on the four hour trip.

Whalewatch Explorer - 2nd July 2013

Whalewatch Explorer passengers 02/07/13 - Challenging conditions at sea today with strong winds and rain. The highlight was witnessing our white-tailed eagle chick in flight for the first time as he has fledged the nest site! (The first fledged eagle of 2013 on Mull). A group of 5-6 harbour porpoise showing well around the boat. Storm petrels, shearwaters, gannets and fulmars were all seen tackling the winds. Common seal hauled out and a healthy plankton sample viewed by all under the microscope.

 

 

Whalewatch Explorer - 1st July 2013

Whalewatch Explorer passengers 01/07/13 - A Minke whale surfacing very close to our starboard side just after lunch was the highlight along with good views of a small group of Dolphins travelling with intent joined by a cloud of gannets fol...lowing their every move. Close views of Storm Petrels along with the avian pirates Arctic and Great Skuas. Harbour Porpoise, Shearwaters, Fulmars, Kittiwakes and Seals also enjoyed on todays trip.

 

 

Common dolphin from 24th June 2013

Common Dolphin mother and calf seen on our Whalewatch Explorer trip at the start of the week. Photograph taken by Ewan!

Wildlife Adventure - 30th June 2013

Wildlife Adventure passengers 30/06/13 - Windy conditions this afternoon as we were greeted by a small group of harbour porpoise early on in the trip. The local white-tailed eagles evaded us (They must have got the Sunday off!) but after putting on some amazing shows all season I think they deserved a well earned break. Always a pleasure watching the Manx shearwater peaking and troughing over the waves and other sea birds like gannets and fulmars putting on an avian master class in the stiff breeze. Common seals also seen at a local haul out site.