The Bay of Biscay.

Again this year, as every  year, a group of us took the ferry across the Bay to see Cetaceans and Birds.
Last year was a disappointment as the sea was too rough to pick up any blows etc.
The conditions going down were very good with the odd white cap. But as the day drew on the conditions became perfect, almost glass like as we neared Santander.
The highlight of the day was the Humpback Whale and this shot, possibly the only photo of one in the Bay of Biscay. They are quite rare here!
A few Fin Whales also came close, sadly this ship is a little too fast for Dolphins to ride the boat, so photo opportunities are few and far between!
When the sea is as calm as this it enables everything near to the boat to be identified - even the 5 sharks seen.
The bird in the hat is a juvenile Redstart rescued from the boat and released in Santander.

A list of what was seen is below.

Striped Dolphin

Fin Whale

Fin Whale

Humpback Whale

   
23 Fin Whales and 4 unidentified large Rorquals. 2 Sperm Whales. 3 Pilot Whales. 4 Minke Whales. 2 Cuvier`s Beaked Whales. 280 Common Dolphins. 10 Striped Dolphins. 30 Bottle-nosed Dolphins. 2 Thresher Sharks and 3 Shark sp.  1 Ocean Sunfish and lots of Tuna.
Birds.
1 Cory`s Shearwater. 4 Great Shearwaters. 1 Little Shearwater. 6 Sooty Shearwaters. 1 Balearic Shearwater.  35 Great Skuas. 9 Arctic Skuas. 25 Sabines Gulls.