Tag Archive for: wildlife

Pilot Whales Cornwall

Pilot Whales – a surprise encounter

On a flat calm day this summer we encountered something very unexpected and amazing. Just ten miles south of Salcombe we encountered a pod of Pilot Whales.

Here’s a little edit. Take a look!

 

A perfect day…

The conditions were absolutely perfect. Glassy sea and no other boats in sight, just us. It was surreal.

 It was a huge pod. Wherever we looked there were fins and whales breaking surface. It’s hard to know why they were here. Their principal diet is squid, although they also eat cuttlefish, herring and other small fish when squid is unavailable. Maybe they had chanced on a shoal of herring, which are becoming increasingly common again off our south west coast.

 

 It was so unexpected, we weren’t ready for it, didn’t have filming equipment set up or anything. However the whales didn’t seem in a hurry to leave us. We got the equipment set up in record time, filming from the boat and the air with the Inspire drone. You can’t miss an opportunity like this.

pilot whales fins

We spent about half an hour with them, trying to make the most of the moment and since we were not in a rush to get back anyway. The whales also had their young with them. Overall, It was a magical encounter which we would be incredibly lucky to ever experience again!

a pod of pilot whales

And then another surprise encounter…

After finally leaving the whales and continuing on towards Falmouth, something caught my eye disturbing the flat calm sea. Surely it couldn’t be…? Throttling back on Cecienne we were just in time to watch a huge leatherback turtle slowly submerging. You can occasionally see leatherbacks in the Irish Sea in the summer, feeding on jellyfish that swarm there each year. The water around us was full of jellyfish, so obviously this one had made a slight detour up Channel as it grazed on the swarm.

What a day!

John Boyle Filming Islands in a Desert Sea

Exclusive screening of ‘Islands in a Desert Sea’. Join our very own John Boyle for an exciting talk and film night all about his exploits underwater.

Cuba Crocodile Underwater

You can watch the entry below. We hope you enjoy it!

We are very pleased that our short film – ‘The Crocodile and The Hutia’ recently won a special award in the Belgrade 20th International Underwater Film Festival. The short was edited from a sequence taken from our documentary ‘Castro’s Secret Reef’.

Deep in the mangroves of the reef system known as Jardinas de la Reina or Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen. An ancient reptile, the Crocodile, is on the hunt for it’s next meal. Does the Hutia have the guile to outwit the Crocodile in this 5 minute short.

For more of our videos visit our VIMEO page:

https://vimeo.com/sharkbayfilms

 

The Seas Strangest Square Mile is fast approaching 500,000 plays. If you haven’t seen it yet…press play!

[vimeo id=”59168847″]