Although I have a bit of birds news to tell, that's going to have to wait for another post as the star of this blog post deserves its very own post!
The first any of us knew of a Leatherback Turtle in Seaton Bay was this post and video on Facebook, taken from a Lyme Regis based boat late afternoon on Wednesday 18th June...
![]() |
Link to video here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AoDME2R9K/ |
Soon after we were aware of this, news came through (again via Facebook) that a large Turtle was off Seaton Beach. And am glad to say it stayed for the rest of Wednesday and all of Thursday, delighting so many people - mostly locals but others who had come some way to see it.
Personally I was absolutely thrilled to see such an incredible creature off here. Nothing prepared me for the first view I had of its head coming up out of the water - really emphasising just how big an animal it was!
![]() |
What a beast! |
![]() |
A nice view of its leather back |
At times it came really close to the beach, although from my viewpoint the views were occasionally obscured by a fellow patch birder...
![]() |
No prizes for being to identify that distinctive look! |
And am pleased to say that any boats/paddle boarders that came over for look seemed to be respectful enough...
![]() |
This photo shows its size well! |
Many locals, although pleased to see it, were concerned about its presence, asking whether it should be here and why it was here. Well the sheer number of Barrel Jellyfish in the bay recently was probably the answer to that... am sure it enjoyed munching on these!
This is the third land-based sighting of Leatherback Turtle from Seaton as far as I know. Phil A saw one several decades ago, plus there was one that we all missed that did a swim past in front of one lucky observer about ten years ago. There probably has been a few others too, but it felt incredibly special to be treated to such prolonged and good views of this pelagic animal so close to Seaton Beach.
Absolutely amazing. And I have to say, in my books it even beats the Northern Bottlenose Whale of Sept 2018 to the accolade of being the best sea creature I have seen from the patch!