Seabird & Whale Boat Trips - Mid September - Early October 2026

Thu 22nd Oct, 2026

The second half of September and early October can often be a great time for seabirds and cetaceans, not to mention the thousands of Atlantic Grey Seals on our coastline. A lot depends on the conditions and the amount of food available. Luckily for us late autumn 2026 proved to be a fantastic time with a period of relatively settled weather with lots of tasty small fish and spawn in the sea, in many cases this food was close to the shore.

Minke Whale - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 3 October 2026 © James Robson

On the 18th September YCN guide Margaret Boyd was very pleased to show our guests three Minke Whales and Sooty Shearwaters. After an excellent mid-month full of great sightings, Margaret was very pleased to start her guiding again with a few whales. On the same date Pink-footed Geese were starting to migrate moving south all the way from Iceland. Over the boat were two flocks totalling 100 birds, always a very impressive sight out at sea. Alongside the geese were migrating Red-throated Divers and Common Scoters. Below Kettle Ness cliff a count of over 1,000 Atlantic Grey Seals was a fabulous sight.

Red-throated Diver - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 21 September 2026 © Richard Baines

Three days later it was my turn as guide and I was in luck; this would prove to be a fantastic day full of North Sea wildlife. The day started with 12 Bottlenose Dolphin followed by up to six Minke Whales. In amongst the wonderful mammal sightings were a lot of great seabirds.

Common Terns - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 21 September 2026 © Richard Baines

Common Terns stole the show with over 1,000 birds during the five-hour trip with many feeding very close to the boat providing great views. The terns brought in the skuas; 20 Arctic Skua and one Long-tailed Skua.

Little Gulls - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 21 September 2026 © Richard Baines

Little Gulls must be one of the best-looking birds in Europe, and the east coast of Yorkshire is one of the best places to see them. On this date we enjoyed approximately 100 birds migrating and feeding with the terns. A single Atlantic Puffin was on its own whilst rafts of Razorbills and smaller numbers of Common Guillemots feasted on the feast of fish on the inshore waters. As we entered the harbour I spotted a Peregrine Falcon over the cliffs, a great finale to a memorable trip.

Common Scoters - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 21 September 2026 © Richard Baines

The following day heralded a big change. The terns were almost gone but three species of skua including one Pomarine Skua were still seen plus Minke Whale and Bottlenose Dolphins. Wildfowl were on the move with 14 Brent Geese, Red-breasted Merganser, 200 European Teal, 500 Common Scoter and 50 Eurasian Wigeon along with 16 Red-throated Divers and a Yellow-legged Gull. It was also a big day for Razorbills with over 500 on the sea.

The last week in September is not usually the week we see a good range of shearwaters, so Jono Leadley guiding on the 25th was over the moon when he found Sooty Shearwaters, Manx Shearwater and a Corys Shearwater! On the same date Arctic Skuas and a Great Skua and four Minke Whales made for an excellent day.

Corys Shearwater - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 25 September 2026 © Jono Leadley

The Corys made it five shearwater species seen on our 2026 Seabird and Whale trips along with all four regularly occurring skua species.  The following day was just as good for skuas with Great Skua, Arctic skua and Long-tailed Skua.

Bottlenose Dolphins were again one of the main highlights on the 28th September plus a Minke Whale and Sooty Shearwater.

Bottlenose Dolphins - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 2 October 2026 © Dan Verity

We were keeping all of our fingers crossed early October produced the goods and sure enough it did. Bottlenose Dolphins on the 2nd then small numbers of Minke Whales were seen in the next few trips but the best date was our last trip of the season on the 4 October.

Minke Whale calf - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 22 September 2026 © Richard Baines

We ended on a high with four Minke Whales, Arctic Skuas, Manx Shearwater, Common and Arctic Terns were still around and a good total of 25 Red-throated Divers migrating south. A Caspian Gull, a Mediterranean Gull and a single Harbor Porpoise which were unusually scarce this year.

Minke Whale below Whitestone Point Lighthouse - Yorkshire Coast Nature Seabird & Whale trip 21 September 2026 © Richard Baines

A superb end to a very exciting Seabird and Whale season.

Richard Baines

Director and Wildlife Guide

Yorkshire Coast Nature