Baltimore Sea Safari | Boat Trips | Whale Watching | Dolphin Watching | West Cork

Wildlife Watching with Baltimore Sea Safari in West Cork - Whale, Dolphin, Porpoise, Seal and Basking Shark

Whale Watching

To date nearly one third of the world's known whale, dolphin and porpoise species have been recorded in Irish waters. The waters off the West Cork coast offer some of the best whale watching in Europe, with over 12 catacean species being seen here over the past number of years. Our Baltimore Sea Safari whale watching boat trips offer an ideal opportunity to view these mammals up close, whilst touring the spectacular unspoilt West Cork coastline. We have a good working relationship with other operators in the area, and with this group sharing of information on fresh sightings of wildlife the chances of seeing these amazing creatures is greatly increased.

Whale Watching - Minke Whale - photo courtesy of Simon Duggan

The first of the whales to appear is the Minke whale, usually putting in an appearance around April/May and staying until late October or early November. Adult females average 8-8.2m (27 feet) and can weigh up to 30 tons. It is the most frequently seen of the whales around our coastline.

Whale Watching off the West Cork coast - Fin Whale

During the month of August, the second largest animal on the planet, the fin whale starts to appear off the West Cork coast. At up to 24m (80 feet) in length and weighing in at 45,000-63,500 kgs (50-70 tons) they are not a sight to be missed.

September to December is the best time of the year for whale watching in this area, both for the diversity of species and for the number of animals seen, as they follow sprats and spawning herring inshore. This is also when the best sightings of the humpback whale occurs, although they do start to arrive off the coastline in August. The humpback whale is the most acrobatic of the whales, and there is no better sight than watching a 25-30 ton, 11.5-15m (37-49 feet) mammal as it goes through a routine of breaching, fluking, tail-slapping and pectoral fin slapping.

Dolphin Watching and Porpoise Watching

Dolphin Watching in West Cork - Bottlenose Dolphin leaping out of the water

The common dolphin is resident off the Irish coastline for most of the year, although best sightings are from June when the mackeral come inshore. Sightings of the larger bottlenose dolphin are not uncommon. Dolphins are attracted to moving boats and often give spectaular leaping displays in their wakes.

Rissos dolphin have also been seen off the West Cork coastline but sightings are less common than of the other dolphins.

Porpoise can also be seen in the bays and harbours all year round and although they don't give exciting, energetic displays like the dolphins, nevertheless they are a lovely sight to see.

Seal Spotting

On all of our trips we visit the local seal colonies of both the Atlantic Grey Seal and the Common/Harbour Seal. These seals are in abundance in the Baltimore area.

The area around Baltimore and Roaring Water Bay has been designated as a special area of conservation (SAC), where grey and common seal populations are protected under the wildlife act. Baltimore Sea Safari is one of the only operators in the area to be granted a Notifiable Action Permit to carry out seal watching by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

Basking Shark

Sightings of the basking shark, which is Ireland's biggest fish and the second biggest in the world, can be seen off the West Cork coast between May and July. The basking shark, so called because of their feeding behaviours, are gentle giants. They move through the water so slowly that they look like they are basking on the surface. They are passive feeders, sifting through plankton as they swim slowly through the water with their mouths open. With adults averaging 8m (27 feet) in length and weighing around 7-8 tons, seeing them glide gracefully past the boat is an amazing sight.

Other wildlife

Whilst on our Baltimore Sea Safari trips also keep a lookout for Sunfish which are the worlds largest bony fish and Leatherback Turtles, both of which can often be seen drifting along in the summer sun.

The West Cork coastline also has thriving populations of common seabirds, and recieves regular visits from some less familiar species. These include the Sooty Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Corys Shearwater, Wilson's Petrel and Skua's. Late summer is the best time of year for birdwatching.

Rare birds are not uncommon in the area, our most recent visitor in early 2009, was an Ivory Gull from arctic Russia, which followed a local trawler from 60 miles offshore into Baltimore Harbour and stayed for a week.

Code of Conduct

Baltimore Sea Safari adhere to and operate under the guidelines issued by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources in Marine Notice #15 of 2005 and by the code of conduct from the Irish Whales and Dolphin Group (IWDG). Our seal watching is carried out under the seal watching guidelines set out by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

Mícheál Cottrell, skipper of Baltimore Sea Safari, also completed the Marine Wildlife Tour Operators course run by the IWDG in 2008.

We pride ourselves in our ability to provide maximum viewing for our passengers without disturbing or interfering with the whales, dolphin, seals and other wildlife that we may come across.