Seabird & Whale Boat Trips - Early - Mid September 2026

Wed 23rd Sep, 2026

The key to finding great birds or mammals at sea is keeping a high degree of concentration, even when it seems there is little wildlife activity. It’s a tough task especially when there is cake being handed out on the boat by skipper Sean Baxter (only on the five-hour trips).

Guests enjoying the dolphins - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 2 September 2026 © Richard Baines

We often take a short break in Runswick Bay. The shallower and calmer sea attracts terns to feed especially Sandwich Terns and it’s a chance for guests to learn about the local history of this beautiful coastline.

Common Terns - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 1 September 2026 © Richard Baines

Sandwich Terns usually decrease in numbers towards the end of August and they are slowly replaced by larger numbers of Common Terns and smaller numbers of Arctic Terns. The autumn of 2026 will be remembered for really big numbers of Common Terns on the Yorkshire coast.

Arctic Terns - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 1 September 2026 © Richard Baines

Counts at Spurn have reached over 8,000 birds passing south in one evening in the middle of September 2026. On our boat trips we have enjoyed great views of family parties of terns, the juveniles still begging for food with adults flying close by.

Red Knot - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 1 September 2026 © Richard Baines

On the 1st September we had a rush of waders flying past the boat with Bar-tailed Godwits, Red Knot and best of all a Purple Sandpiper. No two days are the same and we quite never know what will be migrating on any particular date which makes it all the more fun and quite magical. On the same date we found a Great Crested Grebe sat on the sea at Sandsend, we usually see one every year so this was a welcome sighting.

Great Shearwater - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 2 September 2026 © Richard Baines

The following day was all about shearwaters as we found a small group of Sooty Shearwaters out at five miles hanging around a big herring spawn bait ball. I was on high alert and found a small skua which looked good for Long-tailed Skua but it landed on the sea and almost vanished so I took some quick photos at distance then noticed a Great Shearwater sitting on the sea close by!

Minke Whale and Northern Gannet - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 7 September 2026 © Mark Pearson

Cue big excitement as I concentrated on getting as many guests on the bird as possible. Luckily, it sat on the sea not far from the boat for long enough for everyone to get great views. This is the third year in succession we have found a Great Shearwater on the sea during our boat trips.

On the same day we saw the distinctive sharp fins of an Atlantic Bluefin Tuna amongst the hundreds of diving Northern Gannets and up to 12 Minke Whales! Amongst the feeding frenzy were at least 100 Atlantic Grey Seal. This had been a fantastic day and we capped it off with 25 Bottlenose Dolphins following the boat.

Bottlenose Dolphins - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 1 September 2026 © Gemma Thimbleby

Atlantic Grey Seal - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 2 September 2026 © Richard Baines

Our next trip was on the 7th September guided by Mark Pearson. Mark and our guests were very pleased to find seven Minke Whales still in the area. On the same date five Little Gulls joined the tern flocks along with six Arctic Skua and three Manx shearwaters.

Caspian Gull - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 7 September 2026 © Mark Pearson

We are always checking the large gulls on our boat trips. It’s great to introduce our guests to the beauty of these birds. On the 7th Mark found not one but three fabulous immature Caspian Gulls but only a single Lesser-black Backed Gull which have been strangely scarce this season. A single Common Snipe was another great sighting probably the first we have seen out at sea. On several trips this autumn we have enjoyed great views of the local Peregrine Falcons and Mark found one well out to see on this date hunting a Teal flock! Red-throated Divers slowly increased in September with two flying over the boat the start of passage on the 7th.

Minke Whale & Staithes in the background - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 7 September 2026 © Mark Pearson

Next it was the turn of Jono Leadley to guide the trips on the 11th, 12th and 14th September. Loads of whales is what Jono messaged me after the trips! Up to 17 Minke Whales were present on each trip, a great total. Lots of great birds were found by Jono too including Caspian Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Little Gulls, migrating Pink-footed Geese, Sooty Shearwaters and Manx Shearwaters, Arctic Skuas and best of all an adult Long-tailed Skua! One of the most impressive sights of the day was the estimate of 2000 Atlantic Grey Seals bobbing around in Runswick Bay and loafing on the rocks below Kettle Ness. On the 14th Jono and Sean also found ten Bottlenose Dolphins and two Harbour Porpoise for our guests.

Another fantastic two weeks of boat trips.

Richard Baines

Director and Wildlife Guide

Yorkshire Coast Nature