At the end of October, and in brilliant sunshine, we had a wonderful day out marine wildlife spotting on the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre’s boat the Sulaire with its capable skipper Steve Hartley.

Dolphins in New Quay harbour, seals on the pebbly beaches,  harbour porpoises, cormorants and shags, and a red throated diver.    But there was more………..

Don’t all auks go way out to sea in autumn and winter, feeding and building up before they come back to their breeding grounds in West Wales in spring?  Well, certainly not these landlubbers!

Guillemots on the southern edge of their range often come back and visit their breeding ledges in the autumn and the winter, after they’ve moulted and are in their smart white-faced winter plumage.  And very pleased we were to see them too.