Lazaway Life

  Sunny sunny sunny all day.  26C and calm.  The beaches were crammed with people enjoying themselves - it’s like Costa del Ballyholme - all on holiday. What a day! So, we had a little cruise round into Ballyholme Bay and then up to Crawfordsburn Bay.  We dropped anchor and had coffee (with apple creams - yum) while chilling and watching what was going on.  Very relaxing. After an hour and a half we headed back into the marina.  All very gentle and relaxing. Just 11 species on the bird list. Our route:

  Left to right (ish): Gordon, Michael, Joanne, Lucy, Katie, Bob, Jove, Katie, Mary, Susie. What a lovely bunch! With a very calm evening forecast and the start of a heatwave, we thought a trip to the Gobbins was in order.  Off we set at 18.00 into a chilly wind - the sea was calm, but the temperature was far from heatwave.  The seabird colony at the Gobbins and some cetacean spotting were our aims. Evening rays over Kilroot Powerstation The seabirds at the Gobbins were spot-on. Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars, Kittiwakes and Shags all in residence. Plus an excellent showing of Puffins - 47 were counted.   Then it was time for tea and rolls, and choccie bickies that had spent some time rolling around the deck. All the tastier for it! Then we headed towards the Copelands in the hope of spotting a porpoise, dolphin or whale. Despite diligent watching and excellent supervision by Michael, it was all to no avail. No cetaceans were seen.  The Belfast Hill as the even...