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Seabird and Whale Adventures in Yorkshire

Thu 25th May, 2023

“Wow what an amazing birthday present!” I was so pleased when one of our guests on the boat trip I was leading said those words as yet another Minke Whale breached in front of us on the 25th September 2021.

2023 is our ninth year running our Seabird and Whale trips in partnership with Real Staithes, skipper Sean Baxter and his family. It’s time to look back at some of the highlights, reflect on our adventures and look forward to another year on the spectacular coast of the North York Moors National Park.

When we first started the trips in 2014 we really didn’t know what to expect. There were whale sightings from Sean the skipper, mysterious rumors from fishermen and tourist boats, but we didn’t know how many or when we might see any. I remember on our first reconnaissance trip, migrating butterflies flew past the boat eight miles out at sea whilst a Lion's Mane Jellyfish drifted elegantly below the boat, what a fantastic sight I thought.

Then out of no-where a whale appeared about 100m away and then vanished. I will never forget my first sighting of a Minke Whale in Yorkshire. It looked huge, the beauty and thrill of a first mega wildlife encounter on my doorstep. We decided to name our trips Seabirds and Whales because we all love seabirds and there are so many fantastic birds out there. We were also a bit nervous about depending too much on whale sightings. 

In that first year we enjoyed great views of Northern Gannets, Northern Fulmars and Manx Shearwaters. Then on the 13th September 2014 a Sooty Shearwater landed right next to the boat feeding on our chum for 20 minutes. Sooty Shearwaters hold the world record for the longest animal migration ever recorded electronically; a massive 64,000km. This was a wonderful opportunity to see a seabird which had been born in the South Atlantic on the Yorkshire coast.

On the 2nd August 2015 we had a wonderful up-close visit by a Balearic Shearwater. Balearic Shearwaters are a critically endangered seabird which breeds on remote islands in the Mediterranean. They are seen annually on our coast but few people have photographed one in Yorkshire so we were excited to get that opportunity. Mark Pearson got really lucky again on the 30th August 2018 when a wonderful Cory's Shearwater flew close past the boat!

We have seen several Pomarine Skuas over the years but the 5th August 2017 was very memeorable as a beautiful near adult spent time around our boat. That was really good but it’s the Great Skuas or ‘bonxies’ that are the real stars for me.

Every year they harass and attack seabirds behind our boat; pirates of the sea. Fight club seabird style. Watching them is a fascinating insight into how they time their flight runs to perfection just as a seabird grabs some food, bang! the skua arrives and steals the show. Last year was a good autumn for skuas the highlight being a wonderful dark phase juvenile Long-tailed Skua on the 2nd September 2022. 

The juvenile Atlantic Puffins are really cool. It never ceases to amaze me how they can leave their burrow and know how to survive out at sea without any on the waves training by their parents. We see small numbers of adults and between six and 20 juvenile Puffins on most trips every year between the end of July and beginning of September. The best way to photograph a juvenile Puffin is from a boat because of their preference for leaving their nesting burrow at night.

Minke Whales have undoubtedly increased in numbers on our coastline in the past 10 years. I grew up birding on the North Yorkshire coast in the 1980’s and I never remember anyone seeing a whale in those days. We now see these whales on most of our trips. Calm weather and a flat sea are best and the highest chance is between July and the end of September. The adults are wary so we are very careful not to approach too close but younger whales appear to be very curious. Almost every year we are blessed with a very close encounter as an immature Minke decides to give us the eye, swimming right up to the boat and lifting its head out to check us out.

We never know quite when the best weeks are going to be for whale sightings. Its all about the food. Minke Whales have a varied diet but increase in numbers when the herring spawn offshore. In 2018 the last few days of August and first week of September was fantastic. Aided by flat calm sea and great visibility we saw a lot of whales on every trip and logged over 200 encounters (a tally mark for each sighting) on each trip! We also saw a possible Humpback Whale, the classic one that got away…

Then on the 8th September 2021 trip we saw our first real Humpback! Distant views of this mega whale breaching out of the water and several massive blows. Sean headed for the action, slowing down a good distance away to take a careful look but we never saw the Humpback again. 

It’s not only whales we encounter. On the July 2018 Mark Pearson our guide was graced by bow riding White-beaked Dolphins, a real treat for our guests as they swam alongside the boat for over 20 minutes. These were our first Dolphins on any of our trips since 2014.

Then in 2019 a pod of around 20 or so Bottle-nosed Dolphins moved south to settle on our coastline. This was really exciting. Since that summer we have had many sightings, and even in the middle of winter this year we were enjoying dolphins on the Yorkshire coast. I can’t wait to get out there again on our trips.

Later in the autumn songbirds are on the move and we see a variety of tiny birds flying past the boat. Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and in 2018 a Northern Wheatear passed us by, skimming the waves, only a short distance to go for safety and food after crossing the North Sea. These wonders of bird migration alongside the magnificent whales are truly unforgettable experiences.

This year, 2023 started with a wonderful day filming on the boat with the Countryfile crew. I wasnt sure what we would see in January but we had calm conditions and many flocks of Curlews migrating over the boat. 

Since 2019 we have worked closely with the the North Sea and Yorkshire Wildlife Trusts and their cetacean conservation project with an official volunteer surveyor on every one of our Staithes boat trips. We are very pleased to have an opportunity to help a project which aims to understand more about our whales and dolphins and work towards protecting these fantastic mammals for the next generation. Everyone in Yorkshire should be proud about our cetaceans in their home county, we need to spread the word and take measures to protect these fantastic mammals.  

Why not join us on a trip this year?

To see our trips, dates and booking CLICK HERE

Richard Baines YCN Director