Summary of sightings: Marine mammals Common Dolphin Grey Seal
Seabirds
Gannet
Manx Shearwater
Guillemot
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Shag
Oystercatcher
Fulmar
Lundy wildlife: Longhorn Cattle, Lundy ponies, Soay Sheep, Goat
It was a glorious morning arriving into Bideford with golden sunrise lighting up the sky and calm waters. Outside the shore office was teaming with life and the Oldenburg was full for the days crossing to Lundy. I met up with Lundy Ambassador Richard and had a catch up as we boarded. As we headed down the river, I made my way round the decks, chatting to passengers about what they were hoping to experience during their day or stay on Lundy.
The outward journey was relatively quiet but we saw a good number of Manx Shearwater, mixed groups of gulls, Guillemot and Gannet. As we neared Lundy, Jason the Captain brought the Oldenburg around to the north end of the island and we hugged the cliffs as we approached, giving me my first proper view of this side of the island. I chatted more with Richard as we were getting ready to disembark, and he gave me some great tips on where to head if I wanted to explore the northern end.
Following Richard’s advice, I headed straight up through the village up to Tibbetts, passing the Lundy ponies cooling off in Pondsbury and carefully walking around the Longhorn Cattle who had decided to rest either side of the track. I then dipped off the main track and followed the coastline round, catching great glimpses of Grey Seal swimming in the waters below and listening to their calls. As I walked around North End I paused for some lunch and to watch three Fulmar swoop in and out of the cliffs below.
I rejoined the farm track and headed back through the village for an ice cream and then headed to Landing Beach for a well deserved sit down in some shade.
Our return crossing was similar to the outward, with the occasional passing of Manx Shearwater. We also encountered a number of Gannet resting on the water, including a group of five birds rafting together.
The highlight of our return journey was a pair of Common Dolphin (adult and older calf) coming alongside the Oldenburg to play in the wake for a couple of minutes which gave a good number of passengers the change to watch in delight as the animals jumped fully out of the water.
Arriving back in Bideford I thanked the crew and said goodbye to Richard. Here’s to the next one!
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