Grassholm and Beyond

After 3 attempts this year thwarted by the weather it was great to get out on the Celtic Wildcat with Sea Trust yesterday. Conditions turned out to be pretty choppy once we were out of the Haven but nevertheless we enjoyed some good bird sightings whilst looking for Cetaceans.
First stop was South Haven, Skomer where there were plenty of Puffins on the water with a few still flying in with fish. Kittiwakes were noisy on the cliffs and young LBB Gulls were loafing around. Just one or two Razorbills were seen - the rest no doubt out at sea with the Guillemots which have now departed the island.
Passing some feeding Gannets, in company with a group of Porpoises just off the island, we saw 5 or so Common Terns on the way out to Grassholm which in the warm sunshine was a truly glorious spectacle.
Out to the Smalls with a fast passing Bonxie we arrived to find a wonderful feeding frenzy of Manx Shearwaters with several thousand birds milling around in a pretty tight flock - spectacular! We then headed further out to the Celtic deep and altogether saw some 15 Storm Petrels including one group of 8 sitting on the water taking off only when the boat approached. A couple of Pufflings were seen together with small numbers of Guillemots and the highlight was another Bonxie. It first thundered past the Wildcat, turned to make another close pass, and then pursued a Herring Gull for a minute or so, at one point grabbing it's tail - a real tussle!
Last stop was Skokholm where there were more Puffins in the landing stage bay with several Grey Seals hauled out on the rocks.
See Whales in Wales for details of the Cetaceans seen on the trip and click here for more pics from the trip.