It was a lovely sunny morning in Ilfracombe. On arriving at the pier, I collected my tickets and was soon boarding the Oldenburg, where I was warmly greeted by Captain Jason and other members of the crew. One of the first passengers that I spoke to said that she had seen two Harbour Porpoise in the outer harbour earlier that morning.

On the crossing Guillemot were the predominant birds, along with just a few Razorbill and Fulmar.

Approaching the Landing Bay a group of Shag stood on the outer rocks and two Grey Seal could be seen and a pair of Oystercatcher flew overhead calling. I decided to walk up to the Millcombe valley and spend some time looking for migrants and I was delighted to see several Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, and a Garden Warbler. Many of them were taking the opportunity of the warm day to bathe in the small stream. Walking on up towards the village I stopped to eat my sandwiches in the field near where a male Redstart had recently been reported. I was rewarded with two very good views of the bird flashing its red tail.

On the return voyage it was very quiet until we were about a third of the way across, when a large pod of Common Dolphin was spotted. Some came in close on both sides and interacted with the boat, whilst others could be seen further off. They stayed around for a couple of minutes allowing everyone on deck good views. After disappearing for a couple of minutes, they returned and again delighted the passengers. On both occasions a few Manx Shearwater were seen over the pod.  It was by far the biggest pod I had ever seen on the Lundy route.

On arrival back in Ilfracombe, I returned my jacket and thanked the crew for a very good trip.

Judith Tatem MARINElife WLA