Irish man Daniel Lettice captured stunning footage of some rather playful dolphins while filming off the coast of Co Cork on May 1, 2021.
Lettice, a wildlife photographer and whale watcher from West Cork, shared the drone footage that he filmed off of Long Strand on his Twitter account, @IntoTheWild45.
The Irish man told IrishCentral how the wonderful footage came to be: “Last Saturday morning (May 1) was a perfect morning for whale watching from shore - flat, calm.
“I went to check out my usual viewing spot at Cloghna Head, overlooking the Rosscarbery and Long Strand areas.
“I hadn't even parked the car when I saw the whole bay, from Galley Head to High Island, was alive with common dolphins, 150 to 200 animals. Lucky enough some were within a few hundred metres of shore.
“The three kayakers came paddling through, I launched the drone and took the footage.
“I've seen tons of whales and dolphins in West Cork over the last 15 years whale watching but it never gets old. It blows my mind every time I see them.”
Common Dolphin with kayakers, Saturday morning, off Long Strand, #WestCork. Well worth a 1.5min watch! Big screen best. Watch out for the mother & calf pair. Enjoy! #Cork #Ireland #WildAtlanticWay @theskibeagle @CiaraRevins @Corks96FM @irishexaminer @CorksRedFM @Independent_ie pic.twitter.com/FnM8JirePP
— Intothewild Ireland (@intothewild45) May 3, 2021
Not long before he encountered the playful dolphins, Lettice shared some more mind-blowing footage of basking sharks coming in close contact with kayaker Paul Cleary off Red Strand, also along the coast of West Cork:
Basking sharks with kayaker Paul Cleary this morning off Red Strand #WestCork. Best viewed in full screen. These are the 2nd largest fish on the planet. Bigger shark here is ~20ft long. #Cork #Ireland @BaskingIrish @IWDGnews @wildatlanticway @theskibeagle @CorksRedFM @Corks96FM pic.twitter.com/jSjTKy9Lu3
— Intothewild Ireland (@intothewild45) April 20, 2021
You can follow Lettice on Twitter @intothewild45 and on Facebook and Instagram.