21 Jan 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 4 - Joined By Some Pilots

We opted for an early breakfast on the third morning at sea, as the combination of being further West & the ship's clock time meant was a late sunrise. As a result, we saw the sunrise from the restaurant. This meant we would be able to have a longer period of the morning surveying from the deck. At sunrise, we were just North of Gibraltar and the entrance to the Mediterranean, however, we were about 250 miles West of Gibraltar.

Sunrise was on the breakfast menu

A breakfast table by the window was always good for the possibility of a Cetacean: We saw a lone Pilot Whale sp. from the restaurant that morning. There were several other Cetacean sightings from the restaurant during the trip, which was a sign of us always looking out of the window, rather than very long meal breaks

Around mid-morning, we saw a pod of at least seven Pilot Whales. Unfortunately, we were in an area where both species could occur and they had to remain as unidentified Pilot Whales.

Pilot Whale sp.: This pod was seen at the Southern-most part of the range for Long-finned Pilot Whales and within the range of Short-finned Pilot Whales, so they had to go down as Pilot Whale sp.

Pilot Whale sp.: The best way to separate the two species of Pilot Whales is to see the length of their fins on the underside of the body. However, despite having seen many Pilot Whales of both species, I've never seen these fins. Consequently, my previous sightings have been identified based upon the range with Long-finned Pilot Whales being a cold-water species, while Short-finned Pilot Whales prefer more tropical waters

Pilot Whale sp.: Male. This can be identified as a male due to the broad dorsal fin. Note, how small the blow is when it surfaces

Pilot Whale sp.: Male

The warmer weather meant we had more passengers joining us on deck: Overall, we had better passenger engagement than on previous cruises that the others had been on

The end of the day noticeboard: It had been a more successful day than my photos suggested, but if I was surveying on the other side of the ship, I only abandoned my position for photos if it was a more interesting sighting and one of the others was happy to backfill my position

20 Jan 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 3 - Sweet & Sower By The Ship

We were back on the top deck for first light on our second day at sea on the ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso. The Spirit of Discovery was about two hundred & fifty miles West of La Coruna on the North West corner of Spain. We were getting into the swing of the surveying and life at sea. It was good to find the ship was comfortable and stable at sea. We managed to get two or three half hour survey rotations in before heading down for breakfast. The only problem so far had been the absence of any Cetaceans on the first day at sea as we passed well to the West of the Bay of Biscay. But the deep oceans have a smaller number of Cetacean species compared to the continental shelf and unless you are on a Whale migration route, there can be long spells when you don't encounter any Cetaceans. After breakfast, we returned to the deck again. Being further South, it wasn't as cold as it had been on deck for the first day.

Around late-morning, I was surveying from the starboard side & chatting to Chris, who was another of our regular top deck passengers. Chris & I saw a distant splash several miles ahead of us & to the starboard side. We scanned the area for the next five minutes, but we didn't see it again or any blows. There wasn't anything we could do with the sighting and being a lone splash, I couldn't be sure if we had seen the splash of a Whale or a lone Tuna: I wrote it off as probably the latter option.

When I had lost all hope on the splash reoccurring, there was a shout from one of our regular passengers, Penny, of a Cetacean breaching on the port side about half a mile in front of the ship. I got onto it quickly. It looked too big to be a Dolphin and looked like a slim Beaked Whale. Beaked Whales are some of the most trickly Cetaceans to identify and good photos are often required to both identify the species and to convince others you have made the correct identification. I quickly lifted the camera and started to take photographs as it repeated breached, before it splashed down into the water. In total, I saw it beach five times, before it stopped. I lowered the camera to have another look with the bins, but I couldn't find it again.

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: Beaked Whales are often tricky to identify, however, the slim body and the long thin beak is unique & diagnostic among the North Atlantic Beaked Whales

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: Was this the cause of the splash that Chris & I had seen several minutes earlier. We will never know, but I like to think it was, given we hadn't seen any other Cetaceans or Tuna up to this individual

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: They can grow to about 5.5 metres long for males, with females being slightly smaller at 5 metres

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: The big splash

I joined the others who were on the port side having had a quick look at the photos. These confirmed my suspicions that it was my first Sowerby's Beaked Whale. I've seen similar photos of Sowerby's Beaked Whales breaching like that in the Bay of Biscay. But as they are an uncommon species in the Bay of Biscay, it was a species I never expected to see.

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: The start of the second set of breaches for the camera

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: Sowerby's Beaked Whale is the forty-fifth Cetacean species that I've seen. I have now seen over half of the extant eighty-nine Cetaceans: following the taxonomy in the excellent Marine Mammals of the World Edition II handbook

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: Another & a better splash

This was the third & final set of breaches, I managed to photograph.

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: Showing the flipper

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: The dorsal fin appears as well

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: It is thought these breaches might help to knock off parasites from their bodies

Sowerby's Beaked Whale: The final splash

A couple of hours later, we were on our final thirty minute survey, before heading off to lunch, when we saw a pod of Dolphins. They were quickly identified as eight Striped Dolphins. It had been a good morning for sightings.

Striped Dolphin: Showing the thin black line through the eye & onto the body which gives the Striped Dolphins their name

Striped Dolphin: The rear of the body of the same individual. The pale stripe going up towards the dorsal fin is another useful identification feature, along with the tall, narrow & falcate dorsal fin

Striped Dolphin: Then there was three individuals

Striped Dolphin: A fourth individual has just popped up

Striped Dolphin

Striped Dolphin: It's been over five years since I last saw these gorgeous Dolphins and it was great to see some more

After a superb morning, the afternoon was quieter. However, by the end of the day, we had also seen brief views of another unidentified Beaked Whale, a pod of eleven Short-beaked Common Dolphins, another pod of six unidentified Dolphins and a lone Risso's Dolphin. The only Birds I saw during the day were two Kittiwakes & six Little Gulls.

Little Gull: Adult

The end of day noticeboard: Charlotte did an excellent job keeping the noticeboard up to date with sightings & it was always a popular spot for passengers to stop and read

18 Jan 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 1 - A Wonderful Survey Opportunity

For the last couple of years, I've taken part in a number of Cetacean surveys for the charity ORCA. Towards the back end of 2023, I applied to train as a Team Leader for ORCA in 2024. When my application was confirmed, I was invited to apply for one of the ORCA survey teams on the Saga ships, Spirit of Discovery & Spirit of Adventure in 2024. Saga very kindly allows ORCA to supply teams of four surveyors onto some of their cruises. This is an arrangement that has been running for the last decade or so. The ORCA teams are there for dawn to dusk surveying from the deck, as well as, in a passenger engagement role. The passenger engagement includes pointing out Cetaceans & other wildlife to the passengers, as well as, providing information about the wildlife being encountering both on deck and with lectures, workshops and daily slides.

I was very excited in mid-December to receive an email from the ORCA team offering me a place on the very first Saga cruise of 2024. This was the Caribbean Calypso Cruise on the Spirit of Discovery departing from Portsmouth on 18 Jan and returning thirty days later on 17 Feb. The other members of the ORCA team were Jan Storie (Team Leader), Terry Carne (Wildlife Officer) and his wife Charlotte Bright. Charlotte & I were the two Wildlife Guides for the cruise. The other three are all experienced ORCA Team Leaders, who had been on Saga cruises before. Consequently, I would have three really helpful mentors to kick start my Team Leader training. This is my personal account of the trip.

In the lead up to the Calypso Cruise, we had a useful video call with Lucy & Ellie from the ORCA head office team, which was a good chance for me to get to know everybody, as well as, reinforcing the key tasks we would be involved with on the cruise. I met up with Jan, Terry & Charlotte in Portsmouth at lunchtime on the 18th. After a quick coffee & a chat, we swiftly completed the check-in tasks and were on a bus heading for the Spirit of Discovery.

The first view of the Spirit of Discovery from the bus

We had a few hours before we were due to sail, which allowed us a bit of time to unpack, as well as, to get to know the rest of the team. It was great that we immediately bonded and even better that we all were firm friends at the end of the trip.

Talking of old friends. My first job after leaving university was working in the Portsmouth based Ferranti offices on the Type 42 Destroyer Command Control Systems. This was easily the best job in my IT career, as it allowed us regular visits on the Type 42 Destroyers in harbour & at sea, to test the new software releases prior to handing them over to the Royal Navy. On my fifth day at work, I joined my boss on my first visit on the Type 82 HMS Bristol. HMS Bristol was a one off ship that was built as a platform for some of the weapons that would ultimately be deployed on the Type 42 Destroyers. It was good to see HMS Bristol again. She is looking like a few licks of paint wouldn't hurt: but she won't be getting any as her days are numbered.

The now decommissioned HMS Bristol: She was decommissioned in 2020, having been used as a training ship since 1993. She is to be sold for scrap

A happier looking HMS Bristol: HMS Bristol before an ORCA mid-cruise to Santander & Plymouth (14 Aug 18). There are several Posts on this mini-cruise starting with this one

That afternoon we met up with the Cruise Director, Paul and his deputy, Charlie. We attended a briefing with all the other varied entertainers from singers, dancers, magic performers, art & craft experts and a variety of lecturers. Although we were on from a surveying perspective, we were classified as part of the entertainment team. Fortunately, we weren't expected to do any singing, albeit there were the occasional dance moves seen on the top deck to aid communication & improve humour within the team: the less said about the better.

I can't complain about the quality of the cabins

This was well above the standard of cabin I'm used to at sea

The level of detail in the cabin was superb: This was one of the lamps

We sailed early evening, as the Captain was keen to get going as there was another storm due to hit the English Channel & Southern UK and he wanted to be heading South past Brittany, before that storm hit. Fortunately, this plan worked and we had a very calm passage to the West of the Bay of Biscay for January. But we got use to 3 to 4 metre swells throughout the Atlantic crossing, which wasn't ideal for Cetacean surveying.

Sunrise on the first morning: We were around a hundred miles offshore & a bit South of Ushant on the Brittany coast

We were all wrapped up well on deck on the first day at sea, as it wasn't warm. The ship was well-designed with large glass panels to provide protection from the elements, but with gaps between each panel, which allowed for better vision for surveying & photography. Apparently, these gaps were recommended by the ORCA team and it worked well.

Jan (left) & Charlotte taking sunrise photos from the port side of the top deck, just before we started the first survey

Over the first few days, we were to meet & get to know a number of the passengers who were keen on enjoying the wildlife. A number confirmed that they had only booked on this particular cruise as they knew there was an ORCA survey team onboard.

Jan (left) and Charlotte talking to one of our regular top deck visitors Penny. Penny was delighted to find Jan in the team as they had travelled together on a previous cruise. Terry is surveying on the port side, whilst also talking to passengers: a skill we all practiced during the trip

Unfortunately, our first day at sea wasn't successful and we didn't see any Cetaceans. Birds were equally elusive with only a Gannet, a Bonxie and four Kittiwakes seen. But this first day was a good opportunity for me to get use to recording using the ORCA tablet. On the ORCA ferry surveys we record sightings using paper forms which works well in an enclosed bridge. On the Saga cruises, we use a tablet, which eliminates the problems of trying to use paper sheets on an open deck in all weathers. When we are surveying, we follow the normal thirty minute rotations of the team from through port observer, recorder, starboard observer & off-duty. In reality the recorder and off-duty members are generally very passenger focused as an additional role. At the start of a thirty minute session, the recorder notes the time & GPS position and records the sea conditions: state, swell, visibility, direction of any glare and precipitation. All these factors will have an impact on how likely we are to see Cetaceans. The sea conditions are updated if any of these conditions change.

When we get a sighting, the time and GPS position is recorded, as well as, the reticle distance (a vertical measurement from the horizon using the ORCA bins), the species, number and behaviour of the Cetaceans, other Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles or notable Large Fish like Tuna, Sun Fish or Sharks. The main differences between the ferry surveys is we don't record the angle to the initial sighting to the ship's heading and the time and GPS position are automatically recorded by the tablet. The final advantage is after reviewing all the sightings after a survey, then it is possible to submit the morning or afternoon's survey back to the ORCA head office over the ship's wifi.

All ready for Terry's ORCA talk: Taken just before Paul came on stage to introduced Terry

During the afternoon, we all went down to the playhouse theatre as Terry was giving a lecture on the role of ORCA as a charity, what we were hoping to achieve during the cruise and the Cetaceans we were hoping to see. It was a good chance to introduce the ORCA team to the passengers who attended. The talk was videoed and this allowed other passengers to watch the talk later on from the TVs in their cabins. What was clear was there were always a lot of activities simultaneously taking place on the ship and not every passenger would be able to see the talk live, due to clashing activities.

28 Oct 24 - It's Long-tailed Tit Season Again

Long-tailed Tits are easily my favourite European species. I enjoy looking at them throughout the year, but especially so in the late Autumn, when their calls might end in attracting a more interesting migrant to join the flock.

Long-tailed Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Long-tailed Tit

This party of Long-tailed Tits only had a few Blue Tits, a couple of Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest. But they were still worth watching.

Long-tailed Tit

Maybe my next Long-tailed Tits flock will have a stripy Warbler with them.

27 Oct 24 - Two American Species In Dorset On The Same Day?

I had spent the morning watching the Durlston Red-eyed Vireo which showed erratically, but regularly in the field, after we saw it released. I left at lunchtime, to nip home for a quick lunch, before heading to Brands Bay for my 13:00 WeBS count.

The Durlston Red-eyed Vireo

Once the WeBS count was completed, I left for Portland Castle, where a Red-necked Grebe had been on view since it was found about Friday lunchtime. It should have been too far to travel for a Red-necked Grebe, but this individual has been suggested as potentially the American holbollii subspecies. Strictly, this is incorrect as it also occurs in North East Asia, including Mongolia, China, South Korea & Japan. The main range of the nominate subspecies is the Western Palearctic, but there are eBird records from as far East as Kazakhstan.

Red-necked Grebe: holbollii. On the face of it, this looks good for holbollii with a longer, largely yellow bill and it also appears to be longer-necked. However, based upon the comments from BBRC, it seems like it will be a tough job to prove it and get it accepted

I didn't know much about the American subspecies, which is sometimes referred to as Holboell's Red-necked Grebe. A bit of digging on the internet revealed there are two accepted UK records:

• Gruinard Bay, Ross & Cromarty, shot (Sep 1925)

• Quendale Bay, Shetland (Feb 24). This individual washed up dead a few days later & was confirmed by analysis of biometrics and DNA of the specimen.

Red-necked Grebe: grisegena. This is the nominate grisegena subspecies photographed at South Haven, Studland (4 Jan 15) which looks significantly shorter-billed

I also found this information from BBRC.

• Identification of holbollii is problematic. It may show on average more yellow on the bill in breeding plumage, but firm subspecific identification rests on biometrics, holbollii being larger than the nominate subspecies. Claims of holbollii should include biometric evidence or details from a ringed or marked bird.

Red-necked Grebe: grisegena. This is the nominate grisegena subspecies photographed at Kuusamo, Finland (1 Jun 16) which again looks significantly shorter-billed

The Portland Castle Red-necked Grebe looked bigger in the field, but to be fair there were no other species with it to make a judgement. So, my comment is based upon many days of checking this Autumn's Great Crested Grebes in Brands Bay at varying ranges, including similar ranges on some occasions. It certainly looks longer-billed than the Red-necked Grebes I've seen around Studland over the last nearly three decades. Additionally, there is clearly a lot more yellow on the bill.

Fortunately, there are some excellent photos of the Portland Red-necked Grebe from the local toggers, including Pete Coe. Perhaps it would be possible to blow one of those photos up and do some measurements on the bill which would help to confirm the identify. While it wouldn't be possible to measure the exact bill length, the ratio of the bill length to the eye, compared to the bill depth at the nostrils might be possible to calculate. This could be included in the record, if it ends up getting submitted to BBRC. I think it looks to be a good candidate for holbollii. But I also think it's unlikely to be accepted by BBRC, based upon their criteria stated above.

Whatever happens to this record, it was an interesting individual to see. If it is proven to be holbollii, then seeing two different American rarities on the same day in Dorset would be impressive, as Dorset is the poor cousin of Scillies, Cornwall & Devon for American vagrants. The other thought I had whilst writing this Blog Post, I better make an effort to get some reasonable photos of the next Red-necked Grebe that turns up at Studland.

27 Oct 24 - All REV'ed Up

I had thought I had updated my mobile so that it wouldn't automatically change the clock for the end of British Summer Time, so the pre-dawn alarm went off at the correct time. That didn't work and the phone's alarm went off as it was starting to get light. By the time I had finished my breakfast, I realised I wouldn't be able to cover the St Aldhelms patch as thoroughly as I had planned before my 13:00 WeBS count at Brands Bay. I decided on Plan B: to head to Durlston for a few hours in the hope of a stripy-warbler. My departure time changed rapidly when I got a text saying Red-eyed Vireo trapped at Durlston & will be released at 08:15. That was in fourteen minutes time. Fortunately, the Durlston car park is about eight minutes drive away from my house and the release point was by the old info centre, which is right next to the car park. I picked up my coat, bins & camera and arrived in time to see Poole Ringer, Ian Lewis, walking happily towards where the only local Birder, Rob Johnson, was standing. With no sign of the Durlston ex-warden and only other Birder on site, Hamish Murray, Ian produced my first Dorset Red-eyed Vireo.

Red-eyed Vireo: An unexpected Dorset Tick on my doorstep

This is only the sixth Dorset record of a Red-eyed Vireo and the commonest American Passerine seen in Dorset over the years:

• Portland Bill (23-24 Sep 23)

• Portland Bill (14 Oct 16)

• Littlesea, The Fleet (10 Oct 1995)

• Southwell, Portland (3-5 Oct 1988)

• Hengistbury Head (12 Oct 1987).

Red-eyed Vireo

Ian released the Red-eyed Vireo in the bushes by the car park. We saw it briefly perched in one of the trees, before diving into cover. I expected that would be the last we would see of it. Trapped & released Birds tend to disappear after being released. Albeit they sometimes remain in the area, as they pop up again in mist nets a day or two later. After about fifteen minutes, I tried some pishing and saw a bird with a big creamy supercilium near the top of the nearest Sycamore. It was too brief a sighting to see any other features, as it was skulking well inside the leaves, but it looked promising. I put Rob onto the area. Another round of pishing & it popped up and gave a clear enough view to confirm it was the Red-eyed Vireo: phew. Fortunately, Rob also got onto it, but it was too concealed for a photo. Thirty minutes later, we saw some Blue Tits appear and while watching them, again picked up a very skulky Bird deep in the leaves. I saw it fly & then relocated it sitting right in the open on a bare branch. I quickly called the directions to the small group of locals present as I raised the camera. Fortunately, everybody in the small group there got onto it & it remained long enough for some photos.

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo: It's that stare again

Red-eyed Vireo: A photo from a later sighting that morning

Over the rest of the morning, it showed about eight times for the slowly increasing group of Birders. Finally, at lunchtime, I had to call it a day as I needed a quite bite before I headed off for my WeBS count. It had been a great morning, especially given the almost complete absence of American Passerines in the UK this Autumn.

The twitch ninety minutes after it was released: If only more twitches were this low key