Sea Life Safari

When i am not photographing railway events i can normally be found working on board the Devon Sea Safari that operates out of Teignmouth.

The great thing about that is i get to take pictures of the local marine wildlife.

This week has been a bit special as i was able to photograph one of this years Short Beaked Common Dolphin calves. We would normally expect to see the first calfs during August. A July born calf is a bit rare.

This year i have been trying to take shots that include the bubbles formed as the dolphin exhales through its blowhole as they surface. To achieve this takes a lot of patience, the ability to predict where they will surface, the correct position in relation to the sun, a very high shutter speed and keeping the correct distance from the dolphins.

In addition to the dolphin calves the first Fulmar chick has hatched. These beautiful birds are related to the Albatros family and are true ocean dwellers only coming to shore for mating.

Their chicks are born really late in the season and don't fledge until mid to late August.

Our patch is anywhere between the port of Teignmouth on the South coast of Devon and Berry Head which is just south of the fishing port of Brixham also in Devon.

Of course we have our resident North Atlantic Grey Seals and some Common Seals, its always great to see these beautiful animals sunbathing at their favorite haul out points along the south coast.