The cetacean and seaird teams had one busy and successful day all round. The seabird team ended up with a species list containing gannets, kittiwakes, fulmar (including 2 'blue' fulmars), lesser black-backed gulls, 27 great skuas, 16 puffins and a rather unexpected starling that was heading West! The cetacean team had sightings of 2 minke whales, 1 fin whale, numerous common dolphins, 2 groups of bottlenose dolphins with one group associating with common dolphins and ended the day with 30 long-finned pilot whales.
We are currently 171 nautical miles off the Irish coast, 175 nautical miles off the English coast and 200+ nautical miles of the French coastline. The phytoplankton and jellyfish team are in full swing for the evening running CTDs off the same track line the cetacean and seabird teams covered earlier.
Here are some photo highlights from today and check back tomorrow for more updates.
Breaching common dolphin (c) Joanne O'Brien
Long-finned pilot whales investigating the R.V. Celtic Explorer (c) Joanne O'Brien
Today's blog contributor: Teresa Martin (Marine Mammal Observer)
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