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Monday 26 June 2017

Offshore seabirds from the RV Celtic Explorer

Gannets, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Storm Petrels and Fulmars, Porcupine Seabight, 24th June 2017 (Niall Keogh).

From Niall Keogh:
"While surveying the waters off the Blaskets and out to the eastern edge of the Porcupine Seabight today on RV Celtic Explorer we saw:


8 Cory's shearwaters, 17 sooty shearwater, 1750+ Manx shearwaters, 2 Leach's storm-petrels, 300+ European storm-petrels, 1 great skua

1 humpback whale, 2 Minke whales, several groups of common dolphins (including a melanistic individual, see photo, below) and 1 ocean sunfish

.

The Cory's, sooties, Manxies and Euro stormies were offshore from the Blaskets between 17nm (32km) southwest of Inishvickillane to 4.5nm (8.5km) northwest of Inishtooskert.
The Leach's were on the eastern edge of the Porcupine Seabight in 300m or so of water, approximately 45nm (85km) west of Inishvickillane.

 All the best,

Niall Keogh (Seabird Observer for MFRC GMIT/BirdWatch Ireland)
William Hunt (Marine Mammal Observer for UCC/MaREI)
Larry Manning (Marine Mammal Observer for NPWS)"

Storm Petrel, Porcupine Seabight, 24th June 2017 (Niall Keogh).

Cory's Shearwater, Porcupine Seabight, 24th June 2017 (Niall Keogh).

Sooty and Manx Shearwater, Porcupine Seabight, 24th June 2017 (Niall Keogh).

Melanistic Common Dolphin, Porcupine Seabight, 24th June 2017 (Niall Keogh).