22 Apr 2025

28 Jun 15 - Turkey - A Scary Bush Cricket

In late June 15, I travelled to Turkey on a one week trip with Nigel Jones, Simon Ingram and Bob Marchant. This was my second trip to the country after a three week trip back in late Spring 1986 with Dave Unsworth, Mark Ponsford and Nigel Goodgame. We travelled in an anti-clockwise direction around the whole country after arriving in Istanbul. After successfully seeing our first main target species, Brown Fish Owl, on the first morning, we travelled onto the small town of Akseki in the hills to the North East of Antalya, on the Turkish South Coast. Our first stop was to check some dry grassy fields before the town. The couple of hours in this area provided to be a worthwhile stop for Birds and Insects.
These short grassy fields were packed with Grasshoppers, Bush Crickets & Locusts
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler:
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler:
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler:
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler:
Masked Shrike
The short grassy fields were covered with several species of Grasshoppers and Crickets.
Turkish Black-spotted Grasshopper
Pyrgodera armata
Bush Cricket sp.: This looks similar to a pale Roesel's Bush Cricket, but I can't figure out the exact species
Saga natoliae: This massive and scary looking Bush Cricket was too big to fit on the palm of my hand, not that I was to see if it was friendly
Saga natoliae: The Western Palearctic range covers the Balkan Peninsula & Turkey
Snake-Eyed Lizard: They occur from the Eastern Balkan Peninsula to numerous Eastern Aegean islands, Turkey to Central Asia
Snake-Eyed Lizard
Saga natoliae
Saga natoliae: This is probably the last thing many Grasshoppers and Crickets see, as it is a predator of other Orthoptera
Beetle sp.
We drove through the town, before stopping to check an area of small stone-walled fields on the far side. I will cover this final site at Akseki in the next Blog Post.

20 Apr 2025

31 Jan 23 - The Antarctica Trip - Returning Along The Beagle Channel

This is the final Blog Post from the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica trip. The previous Blog Post covered the large Whales and a few Birds that were seen as we entered the outer part of the Beagle Channel. We still had the rest of the afternoon and early evening until we were in sight of the port of Ushuaia. I stayed on deck, barring a quick dash for coffee, biscuits and a toilet break until I could see Ushuaia. I had missed the final late afternoon's drinks with the Captain and the starter at dinner, before I finally raced into the restaurant for my final dinner. I was hoping for a repeat sighting of Barna's Burmeister’s Porpoise, that he had seen and photographed on the first evening, but it didn't happen. Another reason to consider another trip to the Southern Oceans.
Hungarian Wildlife Guide Barna: Barna photographed a Burmeister’s Porpoise in the Beagle Channel on the first evening of the trip which was an excellent sighting and a frustrating dip for the rest of us who were still socialising at dinner. I will do my best to avoid making that mistake if I can get back to Ushuaia again
The Azamara Pursuit heads down channel to Antarctica: With the capacity to carry seven hundred passengers and another four hundred crew, this ship is far too large to allow the passengers ashore. But would they want to be distracted from the onboard casino and other attractions
The Argentinian side of Tierra del Fuego
A distant lighthouse on the point of the Chilean Barlovento Island
Another view of the same lighthouse
As we carried on up the Beagle Channel we passed the historic Estancia Harberton area, where there is a large Magellanic Penguin colony. This excellent site can be visited by road or on one of the many tour boats that can be booked from the Ushuaia waterfront.
Magellanic Penguin: Part of the Estancia Harberton Magellanic Penguin colony. More details of this colony can be found in a previous Blog Post
Magellanic Penguin: Adult
Magellanic Penguin: Juveniles don't have the black face of adults
The Argentinian Mountains to the East of Ushuaia
Black-browed Albatross: I saw about four hundred Black-browed Albatrosses in the Beagle Channel
Black-browed Albatross: The boats to Estancia Harberton must be one of the most accessible ways to get great photos of Black-browed Albatrosses
The historical Cemetery at Mejillones on the Chilean Navarino Island: This cemetery dates to the first half of the 20th Century and contains the remains of the indigenous Yahgan people who were associated with an Anglican mission in this area
South American Sealion colony: These colonies can be easy seen on one of the Ushaia boat trips
Chilean Skua: We were back in range for Chilean Skuas
The clear highlight of the Inner Beagle Channel were the pods of Dusky Dolphins. Many of the closer pods came into bow wave and swim alongside the sides of the Plancius. It was an excellent finale to a fantastic trip.
Dusky Dolphin: They are a small Dolphin no more than two metres in length with a very short, black beak, dark eye, distinctive markings and a pointed falcate dorsal fin with a paler grey rear edge to the fin
Dusky Dolphin: They were clearly identifiable underwater
Dusky Dolphin: They occur around the coasts of Western South America, Tierra del Fuego, the Falklands, the Southern-most coast of South Africa, the coasts of the Southern half of Australia and New Zealand
Dusky Dolphin
Dusky Dolphin
Dusky Dolphin
Dusky Dolphin
Dusky Dolphin: These two Dusky Dolphins were just logging at the surface
Finally, everybody else left for the free drink with the Captain and I had the top deck, the Dusky Dolphins and the Black-browed Albatrosses to myself.
Finally, Ushuaia comes into view: It was time to race to the restaurant for my final dinner
Although we were docked in Ushuaia, we stayed onboard that night and didn't disembark to the following morning. I spent the morning in an internet cafe catching up with the news after nearly three weeks of no wifi connection. The wifi was prohibitively expensive on the Plancius and I can't see why I would want to be online, when I could be on the bridge wings. Early afternoon, I headed off to the airport for my evening flight back to Buenos Aires. I had a pre-paid hired car booked which I had to collect at an airport hotel. I got to the hotel to find that car company had pulled out of using the hotel several months earlier and were only in the city centre, over an hours' drive away. With no prospect of a hired car, I booked into the hotel for the night. The following morning I returned to the airport, but the handful of other car hire firms had their cars booked out. So, the rest of the day was spent at the airport catching up on my Birding notes. After several months, the pre-paid car hire money was finally refunded by my credit card.
A final photo of Tierra del Fuego from the Plancius: It's tradition to finish on a sunset. But this out of focus photo, which looks a bit artistic, will have to do. As I was sorting my photos, I found a number of distant photos were out of focus. It wasn't to a week into my next trip to New Zealand, that the problem was identified. The mounting bracket on the 100 - 400 mm lens was lose and sometimes the camera wasn't focusing properly at infinity. Fortunately, this was an easy fix and my glasses screwdriver also works on the camera lens

18 Apr 2025

31 Jan 23 - The Antarctica Trip - Entering The Outer Part Of The Beagle Channel

Our final day at sea and the seas had moderated compared to the previous couple of days. However, many of the passengers who had disappeared two days earlier in the rough seas and Force Eight gale around the South Shetland Islands, were slow to return to view. Around breakfast time we were still South East of Tierra del Fuego, but by late morning we could see the Chilean coast.
Grey Phalarope: This Grey Phalarope well out to sea from the Tierra del Fuego coastline wasn't on my expected species to see on the trip list. They Winter all along the full length of the South American Pacific coast, but there are a few eBird records that have occurred off the Tierra del Fuego & Falklands coast
Southern Giant Petrel: No real surprise that we started to see Southern Giant Petrels given they are a common species in the Beagle Channel
The Southern-most part of Chilean Tierra del Fuego: The outermost part of the Beagle Channel can be seen in the right hand side of the photo
A closer view of the Southern-most part of Chilean Tierra del Fuego
The Argentinian Tierra del Fuego coast
By early afternoon, we could see the outer part of the Beagle Channel. The seas continued to moderate now we were closer to land, until finally the water became calm in the Beagle Channel. But it was to take the rest of the afternoon and early evening until we were in sight of the port of Ushuaia. There was a good selection of Whales, as we entered the very outer part of the Beagle Channel.
Antarctic Minke Whale: The distinctive thin dorsal fin of an Antarctic Minke Whale. Unfortunately, this was the only photo I managed to take of this individual
Antarctic Minke Whale: More of the body of a second, and more distant, Antarctic Minke Whale
Antarctic Minke Whale: The uncropped photo showing how distant the second Antarctic Minke Whale was from the Plancius. It is just visible in the middle of this photo and close to the coastline
Sei Whale: A Sei Whale also put in a brief appearance, showing its distinctive crooked dorsal fin
The real Whale stars were a couple of Fin Whales which put on a good show as they kept resurfacing closer to the Plancius. It's a pity the other two species seen weren't as close.
Fin Whale: The first Fin Whale on the surface with its blow still visible
Fin Whales: A second individual popped up
Fin Whale: The first individual
Fin Whale: A close up showing the classic dorsal fin shape of the first individual
Fin Whales: A close up of the more angular and irregularly-shaped dorsal fin of the second individual, as the second individual appears and starts to blow
Fin Whales: Showing the full height of the blow
Fin Whales: A good view of the head ridge and the blow-hole
Fin Whales
Fin Whale: Close up of the left-hand individual with the classic dorsal fin shape
Fin Whale: Close up of the right-hand individual showing the unusual dorsal fin shape, which, if this individual was seen on its own could suggest to be a Sei Whale
Fin Whale: A final view of the individual with the classic dorsal fin
There were also some Birds in the outer part of the Beagle Channel.
Southern Giant Petrel
Imperial Shag: As we passed the Chilean parts of Tierra del Fuego we started to see the first parties of Imperial Shags
Imperial Shag
Black-browed Albatross: Unfortunately, this flock of Black-browed Albatrosses were sitting on the water in the direction we started to pass into the outer Beagle Channel
We still had a few hours to travel along the Beagle Channel and I will save that for the final Blog Post.
My Birding cabin mate, Steve Preddy: Catching up on lost sleep after the Whales, whilst ensuring he was ready if there was a final interesting shout from the top deck