Wildlife

There is no bad time to explore this coastline but

wildlife sightings inevitably vary according to season and tides.

The west coast of Scotland’s lochs and Hebridean islands have stunning scenery and local history. Our skippers have learned over the years to predict what wildlife is likely to be around, often

the most exciting encounters are unpredictable;

we will do our best to make the most of your trip.

In order to

minimise possible disturbance we are careful about speed and angle of approach

and ask that passengers avoid making sudden movements or noise when close to wildlife.

A Rough Guide to Wildlife seen on our trips.

The west coast is a

great place to watch birds of prey,

regular sightings of golden eagles, buzzards, peregrines osprey and the rare Sea Eagles can be see in their natural wild environment.

The different species of seabird that are encountered during our trips are far too numerous to list individually but include the puffin, guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake, herring gull, gannet, Manx shearwater, storm petrel, arctic and great skua, amongst others.

Simply thousands of these birds can be sighted in one day.

Some species of bird are associated with the feeding whales and dolphins, a fascinating interaction to watch. Clouds of hovering birds diving to the surface to grab fish are often a great clue that whales and dolphins are around.

Seals are around all year but breed in late summer / autumn.

September / October is the best time to see new born pups

but yearlings (last year's pups) are around all year. Seals are naturally curious, with an intelligence level similar to that of dogs. Young seals in particular enjoy people watching them.

Porpoises, Dolphins, Wales and basing sharks

are more likely to be seen on our 2 hour trip, full days charter, or our rib adventure weekend. However porpoise’s regularly travel up through the Corran narrows chasing fish. Otters, Deer and Wild goats are seen regularly on all of our tours.

We are also

accredited by the national WISE scheme for boat operators working around marine wildlife.

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