More Dolphins

On two of Mara Mhor's trips today the boat was accompanied by a group of about 5 dolphins. On the first trip of the day we were joined at Cutter Rock in the Sound of Kerrera and the dolphins stayed with us until we returned to Oban bay. On a subsequent trip the dolphins were heading south down the Sound of Kerrera when they saw the boat and turned to swim alongside us for about 15 minutes. They put on another splendid exhibition of jumps and leaps which was enjoyed by all the passengers until they disappeared on reaching the mouth of Loch Feochan.
The obvious enjoyment of the dolphins could be something to do with the shape of the bulbous bows of the catamaran.

Dolphins

One of last week's passengers has e-mailed me this excellent shot of the dolphins taken from Mara Mhor on Friday 5th October.

Dolphin Sightings

On Friday, two days after our dolphin performance of Wednesday, we were treated to another spectacular show. The dolphins joined Mara Mhor around the north west side of Kerrera and followed us frolicking and jumping all the way into Oban bay, much to the delight of the passengers on board and indeed the people walking along the Corran Esplanade, who stood watching in amazement. They came right into the shallows at the slipway before realising how close they were to shore and then took off out to sea again.
On Sunday morning the resident Kerrera otter was spotted in the bay at the north end of the island. It doesn't seem to get too anxious about passing small craft.

Dolphin Sightings

A grey day yesterday was brightened by the appearance of a pod of bottlenose dolphins to
the delight of Mara Mhor passengers.
They joined us as we came past the salmon farm
and spent 40 minutes frolicking around the boat. They were between 7 and 10 in number
and they put on a spectacular display jumping out of the water, twirling and splashing. They were so close at times I was afraid they were actually going to collide with the hull of the boat. They certainly seemed to to enjoy the audience.
On my next trip out to the seal colony they were waiting to accompany the boat again and spent another 45 minutes playing alongside Mara Mhor and followed us back almost into the bay.

Returning male seals

More returning males are in evidence in the colony this week and some of the younger males are putting on mating displays. One made a spectacular leap right out of the water yesterday morning while the boat was alongside the colony.

Cruise round Island of Kerrera

Whilst on a round Kerrera trip last Wednesday porpoise were spotted off the south coast of the island.
Thursday brought the return of three male seals to the Seal Island colony. They have not been in evidence all summer but the month of September is mating time once again.

Wildlife Update

There are plenty of deer in evidence on the Garvellach Islands.
The seals have almost finished their moult and have changed from patchy brown in colour to steel grey/blue. The pups are now feeding independently and growing fast and it is now difficult to differentiate between pups and yearlings. The mothers are regaining weight and are not so thin now that they have stopped feeding their young.
We have had two sightings of eagles this week. The first was of a pair of golden eagles in flight and the second of a young golden eagle near the north point of Kerrera. The young eagle was seen on two consecutive days.