A beautiful morning here in Filey, and so up early and down onto the Brigg for a little before 6 a.m, with the sun already warm and golden and, for a while, not another soul around. After checking the rocks and shoreline for waders (a few, including Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, Whimbrel and a gorgeous fly-through summer-plumage Knot, pictured at the foot of the post), I scanned the bay, and out there, leaping like lords, were at least seven Bottlenose Dolphins....
No longer the drop-everything-and-leg-it-to-the-clifftop rarity they once were (they've gone from one or two sightings a year to maybe 30 or more), watching dolphins - at sea level, from dry land, 15 minutes from your house - is still a serious thrill, and they were good enough to stick around for a while this morning, variously frolicking, co-operatively hunting, loafing and eventually heading north towards Scarborough.
