Cetacean Sensations

Mon 14th Aug, 2023

Well, it's mid-August and we're right in the thick of another cracking season of our Seabird and Whale Adventures.

Minke Whale North Yorkshire © Mark Pearson

This season - the summer and autumn generally being the peak period for cetaceans in our area - has been amazing already. On our YCN boat out of Staithes, a painfully picturesque fishing village nestled into the North Yorks coastline, we've seen Minke Whales on the vast majority of our trips, with their arrival being very much 'on time' this year (not that nature is ever so boringly predictable of course!).

Bottle-nosed Dolphin North Yorkshire © Mark Pearson

A joy not just for our wonderful clients, but also us as guides; I can speak for all of us when I say the thrill of finding that tell-tale mini-submarine-with-a-fin surfacing above our beloved Yorkshire waters never dulls. We still sometimes have to suppress child-like squeals when it happens, not always successfully....

YCN Seabird & Whale trip © Mark Pearson

Minkes are naturally one of our most important target species, but it's not unusual for other species to at least rival and sometimes surpass them from a wildlife spectacle perspective. We've enjoyed cetaceans on 100% of our trips so far this year, with Bottlenose Dolphins putting in memorable appearances, and Harbour Porpoises - the smallest, usually most shy, least 'dramatic' of our Big Three - giving us unprecedented, extraordinarily showy performances in recent days.

YCN Seabird & Whale trip © Mark Pearson

And of course, our trip are as much about the birds as anything (to be expected, seeing as we're all massive bird nerds who can't get enough of seabirds especially). We've had Sooty, Balearic and lots of Manx Shearwaters so far this season, we've had huge numbers of migrating Common Scoters (over 2,000 on one day recently!), great views and numbers of migrating terns, Arctic and Great Skuas, and much more - including both Short-eared Owl and Peregrine in off the sea, over the waves (and the boat!).

YCN Seabird & Whale trip © Mark Pearson

But, for the last word, back to the cetaceans. The Yorkshire coast is in the midst of one of those seasons right now, where anything could happen. Sightings have included Humpback, Fin and Long-finned Pilot Whales and Common and White-beaked Dolphins (as well as our three 'regular' species) - and we're only just approaching 'peak' season!

Bottle-nosed Dolphin North Yorkshire © Mark Pearson

Which means we can safely say there's literally never been a better time to come aboard and enjoy the spectacle just a little way offshore from our stunning Yorkshire coast. See you on the boat!

Mark Pearson YCN Willdife and Birding Guide