Cardigan Bay wildlife

Bottlenose dolphins are the stars of the show at A Bay to Remember and the characters that make Cardigan Bay in West Wales the top location in the UK – and Europe! – for dolphin watching.

These relatives of the bottlenose dolphins are sometimes seen on our wildlife tours, but usually from a distance. They can be hard to spot as they are shy and like stay lower in the water and nearer to shore. They are much smaller than the dolphins, about 2 metres in length and 60kg in weight, and they usually avoid their larger cousins and do not leap to announce themselves.

These charismatic mammals are another firm favourite on our marine wildlife tours!

The scientific name of these seals means “hook nosed little sea pig” – but we think that’s just rude! We think they are quite handsome and their babies are adorable.

Cardigan Island is an important nesting area for a variety of sea birds. Particular favourites are the rather dapper razorbills and guillemots, both members of the auk family and relatives of the puffins who are found at other locations along the coast (but not within our area of operation.) These intrepid birds are true maritime dwellers, spending their entire lives out at sea and only coming to land to nest on the rocky coast in the spring and early summer months.