19 Jan 23 - The Antarctica Trip - Are We There Yet?

After spending one and a half days at sea after leaving Port Stanley, we awoke on the second morning with another full day and night at sea, before we reached South Georgia. Overnight we crossed into the Antarctic Convergence Zone. This is a roughly circular zone around Antarctica of cold seas which includes South Georgia and the Southern most of the New Zealand Subantarctic islands. But it doesn't include Tierra del Fuego or the Falklands, despite these areas being as far South as South Georgia. This seems to be due to the Cape Horn current which flows West past Tierra del Fuego and whilst it is a cold current, it's not as cold as the Antarctic sea temperatures. As a consequence, the Jan sea temperatures dropped significantly from the typically nine degrees around the Falklands to three degrees around South Georgia. Some of the species we saw were repeats of those that we had seen on the first day of the crossing.

The seas hadn't moderated overnight

The view from the starboard bridge wing: If asked which was their favourite place on the ship, many of the passengers would have said the lounge, the bar, the restaurant or their cabin. For me, the clear winner for my happy space was whichever bridge wing was most out of the wind that day. The front of the bridge wing is semi-enclosed which provides some additional shelter, whilst allowing a good clear view of the sea. It wasn't unusual for me to head back up there after dinner until it finally got dark, despite spending most of the day when we were at sea on the bridge wings

The port bridge wing as we came into Grytviken, South Georgia (21 Jan 23)

Wandering Albatross

Wandering Albatross: Male. The white forewing indicates this is an Adult Male

Wandering Albatross: Male. The same individual. The staining on the back of the head is excess salt that they expel from their beak. Wandering Albatrosses have a different head shape, as the other species of Albatrosses do not collect salt deposits on their heads

White-chinned Petrel

Black-bellied Storm-petrel: They were still the commonest Storm-petrel with seventeen seen. However, I also saw ten Wilson's Storm-petrels which was another sign that we were getting closer to their South Georgian breeding grounds

Black-bellied Storm-petrel

Another sign of the colder waters were a few small icebergs.

Our first iceberg of the trip

And another one

But we also saw some species that are typical of colder waters around South Georgia.

King Penguin: This was one of five King Penguins I saw during the day. This individual was probably over two hundred miles out to sea from South Georgia. There are around fifteen hundred pairs on the Falklands, but that compares with four hundred and fifty thousand pairs on South Georgia

Antarctic Prion: The common Prion around South Georgia is Antarctic Prion

Antarctic Prion: The darker grey chest patch, the heavier bill and a stronger M on the upperparts help to separate this species from the Slender-billed Prions that we had seen in the waters around the Falklands

Antarctic Prion: The Antarctic Prions on South Georgia are darker above with darker lores and a smaller white eyebrow than their populations in the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands. Is there a cryptic species waiting to be discovered?

Antarctic Prion: These are presumably the South Georgian banksi subspecies (although to be certain you need to see one with a spray can in the foot)

Antarctic Prion

Antarctic Fur Seal: Like the King Penguin, this sleeping Antarctic Fur Seal was a long way out from its breeding ground. It suddenly woke up, dived, before reappearing to look at what had disturbed its sleep

On the two trips I've been on the Plancius, I've always opted for a bunk in the four-berth cabins. The two-berth cabins are a fair bit more expensive for a bit of extra space and a proper window. But the four-berth cabin space is adequate and basically I just need a comfortable bunk, some storage space and the built in toilet/shower area. After all, I'm not spending a lot of time in the cabin, especially when it's not getting dark till about 22:00 and in Antarctica it was light just before 04:00. All the four berth cabins are down on deck three and they only have small portholes.

The four berth cabins were fine for sleeping as Bill (front) & Alexi demonstrated: But they were a bit tight if we were all moving around at the same time. That was only ever a small problem as we got ready for landings. It would be more worrying if we were in an emergency situation where we had to grab warm clothes, life jackets etc and were potentially against the clock

A typical view from the cabin's porthole

In these seas, the porthole changes to the inside of a washing machine: I wasn't surprised to return to the cabin later on to find that the metal porthole cover had been screwed down by the crew. It wasn't unbolted until we reach the calm seas around the Antarctic peninsula, only to be secured shut again for our return crossing through the Drake Passage in a Force 8 gale

The Expedition Leader, Ali, held a mandatory briefing during the day to describe the plans for our first day in South Georgia and also to run through the biosecurity procedures. After that we were all called in groups to bring up everything we would be taking ashore so we could thoroughly clean the boots, clothes, coats, bags, camera cases etc that we would take ashore, to ensure there was no soil on anything and no seeds left over from the last time those items were used. The cleaning has to be especially thorough whenever there was any velcro strips on clothes, coats etc as they are really good at retaining seeds. Later in the trip we were inspected by a South Georgia Government official at Grytviken, who was pleased to tell Ali that he didn't find any problems. Most of the ship's passengers were also pleased when they were given a free alcoholic round with dinner for this status. Being teetotal, I wasn't worried about a free drink as I wasn't being charged for the soft drinks, but I was pleased that the ship passed the inspection. After all, none of us wanted to introduce an unwanted European, American or Argentinian plant on South Georgia.

Ali confirming we would all be seeing some King Penguins on the Salisbury Plain landing in the morning: Having visited Salisbury Plain before I knew it would be a good start to our landings in South Georgia

18 Jan 23 - The Antarctica Trip - South Georgia Here We Come

In the previous Blog Post, I focused on a pod of four gorgeous Hourglass Dolphins that appeared for only three minutes on our first full day at sea between the Falklands and South Georgia. This Blog Post will focus on the Seabirds on this first day. It was typically choppy seas throughout the day, but that didn't worry the Seabirds. With the exception of the Brown Skua, the taxonomic order is also the same as the ordering in Seabird size from largest to smallest.

The seas were fairly lively

Wandering Albatross: Adult Female. The black tail band, the lack of white on the leading edge on the inner wing and the lack of a dark line along the cutting edge of the upper mandible confirms the identification as a Wandering Albatross. The black continuing all the way to the scapulars and the lack of obvious white in the wing indicates it's an Adult Female. Perhaps the slight barring on the mantle and rump indicates it's a younger Adult

Wandering Albatross: Adult Female. The likely subspecies is exulans or Snowy Albatross, which is the breeding subspecies on South Georgia. However, separating the subspecies is often based upon range. Looking at my photographs this individual was around the ship for several hours. Situations like this, makes it difficult to count Seabirds, as they sometimes appear to go before returning thirty minutes later. It is only when photos are compared from different times of the day, that it is possible to confirm that it was the same individual that kept reappearing

Northern Giant Petrel: This monotypic species breeds on the Islands North of the Antarctic Convergence from South Georgia to Macquarie & the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands

Northern Giant Petrel: Northern Giant Petrel have a pastel red tip to their bill, whereas Southern Giant Petrels have a dark pastel green tip

Northern Giant Petrel: A close look at the bill is always needed as their range at sea overlaps significantly with Southern Giant Petrels

White-chinned Petrel: Typically, it's not possible to see the white chin

White-chinned Petrel: This monotypic species occurs in circumpolar Subantarctic waters

Grey Petrel: I saw a dozen of this nice-looking Petrel during the day

Grey Petrel: They breed in & range across the circumpolar Subantarctic seas

Grey Petrel

Soft-plumaged Petrel: With a posture like this is must be a Pterodroma Petrel. It was the commonest species seen during the day with over eighty individuals, with Great Shearwater being the second commonest species with about fifty seen

Soft-plumaged Petrel: This is presumed to be the nominate mollis subspecies which breeds on Gough, Tristan da Cunha & the Antipodes islands. The dubia subspecies breeds on Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen & Amsterdam islands and it is a bit darker with a heavier breast band

Soft-plumaged Petrel: This is one of my favourite Pterodroma Petrels

Black-bellied Storm-petrel: The dark wings and paler coverts in this photo aren't giving too many clues of which species of Storm-petrel it is

Black-bellied Storm-petrel: But when it turned, the white belly with the black central stripe immediately identifies this as a Black-bellied Storm-petrel

Black-bellied Storm-petrel: A later individual. This is the nominate tropica subspecies which breeds on circumpolar Subantarctic islands & ranges North to the tropics

Grey-backed Storm-petrel: On this view, this Storm-petrel could be one of several species: White-bellied Storm-petrel, Black-bellied Storm-petrel or Grey-backed Storm-petrel. Black-bellied Storm-petrels this far South have a black stripe down the centre. But some populations of Black-bellied Storm-petrel that breed on Gough Island & the Tristan da Cunha Islands have white-bellies and could Winter this far South. Better views are needed of this individual

Grey-backed Storm-petrel: There is grey and some mottling in the wings which rules out White-bellied Storm-petrel and Black-bellied Storm-petrel as both have black wings with paler coverts

Grey-backed Storm-petrel: As it turns, it's possible to see the medium grey wings and paler grey rump. Confirmation that this is a Grey-backed Storm-petrel in heavy wing moult

Grey-backed Storm-petrel: This monotypic species occurs in circumpolar Subantarctic waters, as far North as 35 degrees South

Brown Skua: This is the nominate antarcticus subspecies, AKA Falkland Brown Skua. They breed on the Falklands & South East Argentina. They Winter off South East South America

I will cover our second full day at sea, before we reached South Georgia, in the next Blog Post.

15 Feb 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 29 - La Coruna Is Spotless

The Atlantic crossing from the Caribbean to Spain on the Saga Caribbean Calypso was hectic and I hadn't had any time to look at options of things to do in La Coruna. Having said that, I knew there wouldn't be any potential Bird Ticks in the area. Charlotte had said that they didn't arrange any Cetacean trips out of La Coruna on her visit in the previous Autumn. Therefore, my time ashore was going to be focusing on a historical or museum visit. The Tower of Hercules and its surrounding park looking an interesting option. By the time I had looked at options after lunch, I was aware that I would be running out of light before I got back to the ship, now that we were back in the Europe mid-winter. I decided to sort some photos out and head out the following morning. The only problem was the forecast was for early morning rain, but clearing by mid-morning. I woke up to find it was dry first thing, but it was raining by the time I had finished breakfast.

The rain restarted as soon as I stepped ashore: It rained for the first two of the three hours I was ashore, before finally starting to clear up

There was an easy path along the waterfront to the Tower of Hercules and its surrounding park. The prospect of a decent six mile round walk after a week on the ship was appealing. The city had put a lot of effort into making this an interesting walk.

The Virgin of Carmel Statue

The waterfront

A closer view of the waterfront buildings

There is an interesting museum inside the Castelo de Santo Anton: That will have to wait for a future visit

Looking back on the Castelo de Santo Anton

The Abente y Lago Hospital: This old military hospital building was renovated and reopened as a cultural centre in 2012

The walk took me past these colourful murals

So much better than the mindless graffiti in many urban areas in the UK

After about an hour of walking I reach the Tower of Hercules. This is the oldest Roman lighthouse that is still in operation.

It was good to see the park around the Tower of Hercules is a protected area for biodiversity

A soggy skulking Sardinian Warbler: This is the nominate melanocephala subspecies which occurs in Southern Europe, the Canary & Mediterranean Islands, West Turkey & North Africa

Stonechat: Male. There were a pair of Stonechats around the Tower of Hercules. This is the hibernans subspecies which occurs in the UK, and along the coasts of West France & the Iberian Peninsula

The Tower of Hercules sits on a small hill to provide additional height as a lighthouse

The Tower of Hercules: I knew it was possible to climb the tower. What I didn't realise I needed to buy a ticket in advance, so I didn't get to go up it

It looks the La Coruna architects fell under the dreary concrete building spell

The next stop was La Coruna's Avebury and Stonehenge monuments.

Menhirs for Peace: Menhirs is Spanish for tall upright megaliths

Menhirs for Peace: These twelve granite stones were installed in 1994

Menhirs for Peace: You are supposed to contemplate their meaning

Menhirs for Peace: My thoughts it's a pity the holes weren't aligned to frame some interesting views of La Coruna when you look through them. This one could have been aligned so you could see the local Stonehenge as your next designation

The Monumento a Los Fusilados: The monument was erected in 1981 to remember all those killed in the Spanish Civil War especially, in the fierce fighting in La Coruna, when Franco's Nationalist forces tried to capture this key Republican stronghold

It's that Horn again

It was time to turn around and return to the Spirit of Discovery for a late lunch. I managed to see a few Birds on the return route.

Magpie: This is the melanotos subspecies which occurs throughout the Iberian Peninsula

Black Redstart: This is the gibraltariensis subspecies which occurs in the UK, West & central Europe to Crimea & North Africa

Black Redstart: It's always a good day when I see a Black Redstart

Spotless Starling: This monotypic species occurs from the Iberian Peninsula to Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily & North West Africa

Spotless Starling: I had forgotten how good-looking they are

Spotless Starling

The esplanade had these stylish lamp posts

I looked at this lamp post & saw a Sealife design

Every lamp post had a different Sealife design

Yellow-legged Gull: Adult. A few Yellow-legged Gulls for any Larid fans who read this Blog

Yellow-legged Gull: First Winter. This is the nominate michahellis subspecies that breeds on the Canaries, Madeira, North West Africa & throughout Mediterranean. This is the subspecies that visits the UK and has bred on Brownsea in the past

Yellow-legged Gull: First Winter

Yellow-legged Gull: First Winter

Almost back at the ship: Finally, the weather was starting to improve

We sailed late afternoon, which provided the chance to have another look for the Bryde's Whale. Unfortunately, both the Bryde's Whale and its Dolphin friends failed to put in another appearance.

Jan, Charlotte and I were on deck to survey as we departed: Terry was getting some peace to finalise his slides for his second talk that was scheduled for our last afternoon at sea

The ORCA team with some of our keenest Cetacean watchers: Chris, Jan, Terry, Penny, Charlotte, Sue & Les

Jan, Monica and Charlotte: Monica was another regular visitor to the top deck

We awoke for our final day on deck on the Saga Caribbean Calypso in North Biscay and getting ready to pass around the French Brittany coast. Unlike the Brittany Ferry's Pont-Aven, which passes between the French islands and mainland, we stayed about twenty or thirty miles offshore.

There was some cake on our last morning of surveying

It was a reasonable final day as we past Brittany & started to head up the Channel. The highlights were an extended pod of Risso's Dolphins which typically belted past us in the opposite direction to the one we were travelling. Risso's Dolphins do not seem to like interacting with ships. We also saw seven Short-beaked Common Dolphins. On the Avian front, there was a single Bonxie, an Arctic Skua and two Little Gulls. More surprising was a House Martin that hung around the ship for well over an hour in the late afternoon as we tracked up the Channel. A nice record for 16 Feb.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin

Short-beaked Common Dolphin

In the early afternoon, we all headed down to the lecture theatre for Terry's second and final lecture, which included photos of some of the lovely sightings we had seen during the Caribbean Calypso cruise.

A good message from Terry at the end of his lecture

A TV screen showing our route

My first ORCA Wildlife Guide role on a Saga cruise had been a fantastic trip. The ship's crew had looked after us really well, we had some excellent passenger engagement throughout the trip. We had managed to show the passengers a good selection of Cetaceans, Birds, Flying Fish and for a lucky few, a Sea Turtle or a brief Shark sighting. The weather had generally been OK, albeit some calmer seas would have been more helpful for Cetacean surveys. Terry, with a bit of help from the rest of the team, had provided a daily slide to the ship's IT team to display on the TV screens in the cabins. We had some good passenger feedback from these slides.

The restaurant team who had looked after us really well over the previous month

Finally, it wouldn't have been as much fun if I hadn't had such a lovely team to work with. Thanks Jan, Charlotte & Terry for making it a fantastic trip.

Charlotte, Jan & Terry were excellent company & great mentors as I was about to start my Team Leader training with ORCA: I'm pleased to say that I've now been signed off as an ORCA Team Leader