25 Sep 24 - A Bonus ORCA Survey To St Mary's

Having just got back from the ORCA Sea Safari from Plymouth to Santander, I thought that I was done for surveying for ORCA for the month. However, on the 23rd, I saw an email asking for a last minute backfill ORCA Team Leader for the day trip crossing from Penzance to Scillies. I was free that day and generally I need little encouragement to go surveying on that route. The only problem is formally I haven't finished my Team Leader training with ORCA. However, I did lead a survey on the Scillonian back in July and I had been on my second survey of the year on the Scillonian III in mid-Sep. So, I felt confident I could step up to the Team Leader role. Fortunately, Ellie in the ORCA office agreed with that & I was offered the role. Cue emails that evening to the other surveyors, Gemma Rae and Sharon Scurlock, who were on their second and first ORCA surveys, respectively.

The forecast was for a blustery crossing with the prospects of rain as a front was arriving in West Cornwall that morning. However, it should be dry & sunny by the time we reached Hugh Town and the forecast looked better for the way back in the afternoon. During my journey from Dorset that morning, I had driven down through showers, some of which were heavy. It was difficult to figure out how much bad weather lay in our path, but there were still short showers in Penzance. As I walked along the promenade towards our meeting point by the aptly named Dolphin Travern by the quay, it was clear from the flags that there was still a noticeable wind blowing.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin Flag on the Penzance promenade: It was certainly very blustery. This was as near as I got to photographing a Short-beaked Common Dolphin during the day, despite seeing nine individuals in four groups

We sailed on time. I completed the pre-survey briefing just before we were invited onto the bridge and we greeted by the ever friendly Skipper Dave Redgrave and his colleagues. Within a few minutes we started surveying. The surveying takes place from the open bridge wings and so the weather can play a significant impact in the surveying. Obviously, the wind and seas impact the sea state and swell and there was a sea of white caps and a swell of over two metres. More significantly, there was a Force 4-5 SSW wind and that left the port wing very exposed, with a bit of shelter on the starboard wing. This route can be lively at times, given the combination of the Scillonian III's flat-bottomed and the choppy seas off the Cornish coast.

Just checking we were boarding the right ship

After checking Gemma was OK on the more sheltered starboard wing for our first half hour of surveying, I experimented with a few positions on the port bridge wing. I quickly found a position right next to the side of the bridge wing, which was surprisingly more sheltered that being next to the cabin. The only problem was spray was being thrown up & the best you could do was to turn away at the last moment. But I was hit by three waves of spray in the first half hour. Fortunately, the ship changes course after leaving West Cornwall and that problem soon abated. These days, I tend to measure the observing conditions and compare them to the Southern Oceans, but then the Plancius is a bigger and more stable Expedition Ship. While I felt OK, I did worry for my two colleagues who were doing their first crossing on the Scillonian III. Fortunately, they survived OK, but I think they were glad once we reached the lee of the islands.

A distant rainbow: The sea conditions were more challenging than they look in this photo

When we are surveying we typically spend eighty percent of the time scanning with naked eyes for close Dolphins, Porpoises and Seals with the final twenty percent of the time scanning the distant sea with the ORCA bins. While I was scanning with my eyes, I was keeping an eye on close Seabirds. On the crossing over I saw two pods of Short-beaked Common Dolphins, totally five and two individuals, respectively. I also saw twenty-seven Cory's Shearwaters, three Great Shearwaters, over thirty Manx Shearwaters and a close light phase Arctic Skua. I'm sure I missed more Seabirds that I would have seen with greater scanning with the bins, but I was there to survey for Cetaceans and not Seabirds, and any Seabirds on an ORCA survey are a nice bonus.

Cory's Shearwater: I saw twenty-seven on the crossing to St Mary's

An ORCA team photo with Sharon Scurlock (left), Gemma Rae, Skipper Dave Redgrave & myself

It was good to get ashore on St Mary's for about three hours. Time to have a wander down to the Old Town Church area and then loop through Lower Moors. There wasn't a lot being seen on St Mary's, but the interesting species were on other islands with a Western Bonelli's Warbler & Dotterel on Tresco and an Ortolan on St Agnes. So, I guess there weren't a lot of Birders looking on St Mary's.

I wonder if I my household insurance will give me a discount if I get one of these burglar deterrents

The Old & New: The Old Town Church with the heliport in the background

The island's War Memorial: There were nearly twice as many islanders killed in the First World War, compared to the Second World War, despite the longer length of the latter war

The Old Town Church

Old Town Bay looking from the entrance track from the church

Belladonna Lily: The Scillies & the Channel Isles are about the only parts of the UK where these cracking looking flowers grow without needing special care to get them through the winter. They are native to Cape Province in South Africa

I bumped into a Cornish based Birder, Dave, as I reached the Lower Moors hide. He was the RSPB Wildlife Officer for the day on the back deck of the Scillonian, so he had enjoyed a more sheltered position on the starboard side of the ship. I believe the RSPB put local birders on as Wildlife Officers on a weekly basis on the Scillonian for public engagement purposes. Sounds good, but sadly I'm a bit too far away to see if I could get involved in that. Dave had been looking for a Bluethroat which had been seen from the hide on previous days. Neither of us saw it. It was only seen once during the day according to RBA around 18:00. I gave it around twenty minutes before moving on. The Birding was very slow and I ended up photographing Butterflies. However, the first species was the endemic subspecies of Speckled Wood that is restricted to the Scillies.

Speckled Wood: This is the insula subspecies which is restricted to the Scillies. Compared to the tircis subspecies which occurs across the South of England, the ground colour of the Scillies insula subspecies is a deeper yellowish orange & it is more similar to the nominate aegeria subspecies of Southern Europe

Speckled Wood: For comparison, this is the regular tircis subspecies which occurs across the South of England that I recently photographed in my Dorset garden (17 Aug 24)

Peacock: Perhaps this had just emerged, as the last brood tend to go into hibernation as soon as they emerge

Finally, at the far end of Lower Moors, I ran into a party of Chiffchaffs and a Spotted Flycatcher. They were the only migrants Passerines I saw on St Mary's, ignoring Swallows: but early afternoon isn't perhaps the best time of day for Birding. After leaving Lower Moors, I headed back to grab a coffee, meet up with Sharon & Gemma, before we returned to reboard the Scillonian III. The crossing back was good with two more singles of Short-beaked Common Dolphins, as well as, eleven Cory's Shearwaters, three Great Shearwaters, six Sooty Shearwaters and sixteen Balearic Shearwaters. Again, I would have probably seen more Seabirds if I had been scanning more with the bins.

Cory's Shearwater: All the Cory's Shearwaters I saw were definite Cory's Shearwaters, rather than Scopoli's Shearwater candidates

Great Shearwater: I occasionally take Bird photographs on ORCA surveys with the technique to lifting the camera, grabbing a few photos & looking at them about a week later to see if any were OK. The result is I only lose a few seconds of survey time when the camera is in front of my eye. If I've got the camera set up OK, then this technique produces some OK photos, but I can't afford the time to look at the photos, before adjust settings to get some better photos

Despite the challenging conditions on the way over, it had been a thoroughly enjoyable ORCA survey, with some nice, if brief, views of a number of Short-beaked Common Dolphins, as well as, views of a nice selection of Seabirds that flew by as I was surveying for Cetaceans. Plus, it was good to encourage two budding surveyors who I'm sure will both be applying for further surveys in the future.

Humpback Whale Flag: Perhaps I should have photographed this before the ORCA survey, as maybe it would have resulted in us seeing a Humpback Whale. Photographing the Short-beaked Common Dolphin flag appeared to have worked OK

I would like to thank the ORCA team to offering me my first unofficial Team Leader role on this survey and to the Scillonian III's crew for making us welcome. It's a shame that the Fin Whale that Skipper Dave videoed a couple of days before didn't put in a sighting during our ORCA survey.

2 Oct 24 - Not Forgiven, Not Forgotten

On 23 Oct 12, I was Birding on Portland after a Daurian Shrike had been found at the Bill. After seeing it, I was generally Birding when I was told the previous day, there had been a suppressed Arctic Warbler in a garden at Southwell. A group of mainly, but not exclusively, locals were invited in to see it, after being told that if they let the news out, they would never be allowed to see anything else that the householders decided to suppress. That first afternoon, Brett Spencer managed to get uninvited access & I understood he rang the Obs that evening & told them, it wasn't an Arctic Warbler. The suggestion after that was perhaps it was an Eastern Crowned Warbler: so an even bigger suppression. Fast-forward another day, and there was an announcement that evening, that either a Pale-legged Warbler or Sakhalin Warbler was involved, but it had gone. Four years later, a DNA confirmed Pale-legged Warbler turned up in the UK. The only problem was it was found dead under a window on St Agnes.

On 25 Sep, an Arctic Warbler turned up at Bempton. Replicating the Portland individual, it became a probable Eastern Crowned Warbler later that day. It was relocated on 27 Sep and finally identified as the UK's first alive Pale-legged Warbler. It was reported to be very skulky. I knew it would chaos the following day and decided not to head up. Unfortunately, I was committed to a WeBS count on 29 Sep, with strong winds and rain forecast for the next day. I had an early morning dental appointment on 1 Oct, but I was free after that. The weather still looked windy with the risk of rain, but dried than the previous day. I arrived just after 16:15, to find after forty Birders looking. Most had seen or glimpsed it during the afternoon as it skulked in a patch of low trees. Occasionally, an individual would see it. But by the time they started giving precise directions of "see the big branches", it was already long gone. Suffice to say I didn't see it. I headed into Bridlington for some food, before finding somewhere to park & sleep over in the Ford Focus hotel.

I was pleased that it rained for a couple of hours from dusk, albeit, it had stopped by 20:00. I fell asleep soon after, so I had no idea of whether there was further rain that evening. I had a good night's sleep and was ready for a full day of searching. The following morning was still windy, but dry and with the prospect of better light. This was essential as it spent long periods deep in cover. I spent the first forty-five minutes of the morning watching the trees it was last seen in. However, there had been no sightings in the final hour of light & I suspected it had left those trees before dusk. But it was as good an area to try as anywhere. Fortunately, after about forty-five minutes, somebody relocated it on the other side of that section of the car park: about twenty metres from where it had been last seen. There were about seventy people present: a mixture of Birders & clueless idiots with bins. Every now and then, a small group of Birders a few metres from me were seeing it. It was a case of holding my nerve and hoping it would finally show from where I was standing. Finally, I saw it after a thirty minute wait. I immediately saw why it had been so difficult to see. It would sit still for maybe fifteen or more seconds, before moving to a nearby position and staying still again. It remained deep in cover and generally three to five feet above the ground.

Pale-legged Warbler: Finally, I got a chance to get some photos. It was skulking deep into the trees and usually three to five feet above the ground. It could go missing for five to ten minutes, before popping back into view on the same branches. It is amazing that it was relocated given how skulky it was

After a number of good views, but no photos, it moved about ten metres right and the people to my left couldn't see it. At this point, these idiots thought that the best plan was for a group of them to walk within between the Birders and the Pale-legged Warbler, as close as a couple of metres away from it. Not surprisingly, it disappeared deeper into cover. They seemed surprised to be getting blunt & completely justified comments about their lack of field craft: but not one of them bothered to apologise. Eventually, it popped out again, but I'm glad the idiots weren't in a position to see it, as that group were now all standing right next to the bushes further to my right. They should have been taken away for some basic fieldcraft lessons. Soon after that, it flicked over our heads & was back in the trees were it had been seen the previous evening. Time to relocate and I knew where I needed to be standing to get a good chance of seeing it.

Pale-legged Warbler: On a few occasions, I heard it call. To my ears, I would describe it as reminiscent of a Dunnock call, but higher pitched. Apparently, it was calling well earlier in its stay and that probably helped many Birders locate it

The Pale-legged Warbler showed on and off in these trees, always low down & keeping well back. Fortunately, the RSPB had roped off the trees, which stopped anybody from trying to get into the trees. With the poor fieldcraft on display that morning, I wouldn't have been surprised by more poor behaviour. I managed to get a few photos, but most of the time, when it showed the camera was struggling to focus on the right branch, given how far it was into the trees. Unfortunately, it was still dark under these trees and the camera was on about 10,000 ISO. I watched it on and off for about three hours, before I was happy I wasn't likely to get any better views.

Pale-legged Warbler: Soon after this, I decided I had had enough and decided it was time to head home

Normally, I spend a few minutes photographing the Tree Sparrows when I visit this part of the Yorkshire coast. However on this occasion, they were pretty much ignored, given how much focus was needed to look for the Pale-legged Warbler. Consequently, this was the only Tree Sparrow photo taken on the day.

Tree Sparrow: I only spent a minute on this occasion taking these photos on the feeders at a distance

Checking RBA, the highlights on the East Coast at that moment, were an Icterine Warbler at Flamborough and an Arctic Warbler at Spurn. I wasn't bothered enough to want to figure out more details and I was happy to start the long journey back to Dorset. Halfway home, I stopped at a motorway services and the latest news was a Two-barred Greenish Warbler and an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler had been found in Yorkshire. Fortunately, I've seen both species in Dorset, so I was happy I didn't have to consider turning around.

This trip finally took some of the pain out of Dorset’s Pale-legged Warbler or Sakhalin Warbler suppression. However, after a day of suppression, when thoughts were heading in the direction of Dorset's first Eastern Crowned Warbler, it remained suppressed. This garden had previously held a Collared Flycatcher and on that occasion, access was requested to allow Birders to stand in the field adjacent to the house to view the Collared Flycatcher. Given the interest in an Eastern Crowned Warbler this would have been a good thing to try organising. Instead a plan of catch it, identify it and release elsewhere was being considered. The Obs & co did a good job in figuring out a likely identification. It's a pity the same effort wasn't made into working out how more people might have been given the chance to see this interesting Phyllos.

Back in 1995, The Corrs released their excellent debut album "Forgiven, not Forgotten". They were only half-right with this title. I think "Not Forgiven, not Forgotten" would be more appropriate, as that's how I still feel about this suppression.

3 Oct 24 - Catching The Rays

I was pleased to see this Hummingbird Hawk Moth sitting on the side of Durlston Castle catching the rays this morning. This is only my third Hummingbird Hawk Moth that I've seen at rest, despite seeing quite a few locally each year.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth

19 Sep 24 - My First Wildlife Guide Role On An ORCA Sea Safari To Santander: Heading North

In the last Blog Post, I covered the last ORCA Sea Safari to Santander where I was one of the Wildlife Guides. We had reached Santander and just disembarked. There were two options for entertainment. Ellie, our Team Leader and the only member of the ORCA staff, had said that there was an apparently better ice cream shop than the normal ORCA Heladeria: her plan was to visit both of them & compare options. My entertainment was to look for Hummingbird Hawk Moths in the park on the way there. Fortunately, there was time to accommodate both plans. What we didn't do, was agree on which of the Heladerias was the best.

Magpie: This is the melanotos subspecies which is restricted to the Iberian Peninsula

Hummingbird Hawk Moth: I saw at least six around these flower-packed bushes in the park on the way to the ice cream shops

Hummingbird Hawk Moth

Ivy Bee: This looks like an Ivy Bee to me. It photobombed one of the out of focus Hummingbird Hawk Moth photos

The normal ORCA Heladeria

The queue for an ice cream in the second Heladeria: It was great to see a good number of willing participants in this citizen science investigation

White-speck: This is a migrant species to the UK. I only saw my first White-speck on the Scillies in Oct 23

Ice cream taste testing over, we had to head back to the terminal. We didn't have too long to wait in the Brittany Ferry terminal before we were being called to clear customs. We were quickly on deck and ready for a few hours of watching as we headed back North. We were about an hour beyond the Northern end of the canyon that heads North out of Santander by sunset.

This sandy peninsula forms the other half of the narrow harbour's entrance

Fin Whale: This was my best photo of a couple of Fin Whales that I saw in Southern Biscay after we left Santander. Note, the long back and the smooth curve of the Dorsal Fin which confirms the identification as a Fin Whale

There was a cracking sunset at dusk

The alarm went off about 06:00 for the pre-dawn drinks and breakfast. I was on deck to find it was overcast & windy. With the earlier departure compared to the day when we normally survey on this route, we were well past the Brittany coast and about half way from the coast to the UK-French border. Unfortunately, due to the wind strength the top deck had been closed. I saw the ORCA team one deck lower on the starboard side. This deck is enclosed and I found it hard to look through the spray and rain-soaked glass. I relocated to the halfway up the steps to the top deck, where it was possible to stay out of the wind, whilst being able to look over the glass. This helped to some extent, and it was possible to see a few Gannets, Cory's Shearwaters and a Manx Shearwater. Bizarrely, a Red Admiral flew past: it was presumably the same individual I had briefly seen the previous day flying around the ship.

Ellie, Neil and Moira were deep in discussion, while a few of the passengers kept watch

David and Hannah

Ellie looks like she is still thinking about the ice cream shops

After a half-hour, Ellie decided we would relocate to deck 6 on the port side. Deck 6 is lower, but it is open-sided and it provides clearer views over the sea. Ellie asked me to stay put where I was, so that any late risers would know where the rest of the group were. Eventually, I headed down to deck 6 to join the others for the remainder of the crossing. It was a better deck to watch from. There was more Gannets, another Cory's Shearwater, a few Manx Shearwaters, three Kittiwakes and regular small groups of Swallows that had decided to abandon the Channel crossing and return to Cornwall. Unfortunately, I didn't see any Cetaceans.

The sea wasn't great: However, this would be classified as a reasonable day in the Southern Oceans. But at least by mid-Channel the light improved and the seas looked bluer compared to the very grey sea of the early morning. As we got closer to Plymouth, sea finally started to calm down

One final photo of Laura (far left) and Moira (at the back), with the passengers who stayed looking to the bitter end

This is the last ORCA Sea Safari to Santander of the season. If you are interested in an ORCA Sea Safari in 2025, then you can register your interest on the ORCA website. Further details of the dates will appear in due course. Hopefully I will be able to be one of the Wildlife Guides again in 2025.

18 Sep 24 - My First Wildlife Guide Role On An ORCA Sea Safari To Santander: Heading South

I've been looking forward to this Sea Safari trip from Plymouth to Santander for a couple of months, as it was my first Wildlife Guide role on an ORCA Sea Safari. I picked up Moira Gainey in Plymouth and we arrived to find the rest of the team were already in the Brittany Ferry terminal. The team was Ellie (from the ORCA office team and the Sea Safari leader), Neil and Hannah Parkinson, Laura Bacon & David Hill. Ellie took the opportunity to give us a final briefing before we checked in. This was an earlier departure from Plymouth than the Sunday departure that I'm used to on the ORCA surveys. The advantage we would have more sea time as we left Plymouth. However, we would also be further into Biscay and the Channel on the following two mornings. So swings and roundabouts over the timing.

We promptly boarded the Pont-Aven, stowed our bags in the cabins as the ship departed on time at 15:45. We had a couple of minutes to unpack the cameras & clothing for the top deck and headed for the bar. Not for drinks, but because this was the meeting place for the thirty passengers who were booked on the ORCA Sea Safari. First up, an introduction to the passengers about ORCA and the Cetaceans we might encounter on the Sea Safari from Dawn: who is one of the two ORCA Ocean Conservationists who share the weeks on the Pont-Aven for the season. Ellie finished up with a quick briefing, introduced David & myself as the go-to peeps for any Bird-related questions, before inviting the ORCA Sea Safari passengers to join us on the top deck for the rest of the day.

ORCA Ocean Conservationist Dawn: Dawn gave an excellent presentation about ORCA, the work ORCA does and some of the Cetaceans that we could see on the crossing

We were on deck by 16:30, which gave us had a good crossing that afternoon with lots of time for engagement with the passengers. As well as looking for Cetaceans (and Birds), we were also passing the ORCA bins and an ORCA tablet around within the ORCA team, so that any Cetacean sightings could be logged, along with the regular logging of the position and sea conditions every thirty minutes (or if the sea conditions changed).

There was an excellent sunset at dusk at 19:20

There were a few Short-beaked Common Dolphin sightings that afternoon and early evening. In between these sightings, there a chance to start getting to know the passengers who had signed up on the Sea Safari. There were regular Gannet, Manx Shearwater and Cory's Shearwater sightings which allowed me to point them out to the passengers. It had been a good start to the Sea Safari. The priority on the Sea Safaris is to spot and identify the Cetaceans and to ensure the ORCA team are recording the sightings. Equally important is to ensure the passengers are seeing the Cetaceans, providing good passenger engagement and making sure the passengers are having a good time. I didn't managed to get any worthwhile photos, but getting photos is a much lower priority.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: I didn't get any Short-beaked Common Dolphin photos on the Sea Safari, so here is a photo from my last ORCA Plymouth to Santander survey (14 Jul 24)

The alarm went off in the cabin on day two of the ORCA Sea Safari at a comfortable 06:00, about forty-five minutes before we were due on deck. This allowed time to have some breakfast, wash it down with a couple of cups of tea and brew a couple of small flasks of fresh brew coffee to take on deck. All essential early morning tasks to prepare for a long session on the top deck of the Pont-Aven.

The essential drinks table: One of the passengers went to get a pre-dawn tea from the ship's vending machine, as the restaurant is closed at that time. It provided a small cup, a tea bag, but no hot water

It was just getting light when David & I got onto the deck. With the earlier departure from Plymouth, we were in central Biscay and over the deep abyssal plain. Some of the ORCA team and passengers were already there and enjoying the early morning. About fifteen minutes later, the sun decided to wake up.

Sunrise was just after seven

We also had an excellent view of the Moon

It was a bit breezy on the top deck, but it quickly warmed up in the sunshine.

Ellie & some of the passengers on the starboard side of the ship

Laura (left), Moira & Neil later in the morning

The morning's trip towards Santander was over the deep abyssal plain. The Bay of Biscay is a good area to see Fin Whales. They are the second largest animal every known to live, with only Blue Whale being larger. Northern hemisphere Fin Whales can reach up to twenty-four metres: they a bit smaller than the maximum of twenty-seven metres in the Southern hemisphere. In comparison, Blue Whales can reach up to thirty-three metres in length. They feed on small invertebrates, a variety of Fish species and Squid. They will also practice lunge fishing where they swim around in circles, blowing bubbles to compress Fish into tight shoals, before they lunge through the middle of the shoal. During the morning, we saw a number of definite Fin Whale sightings, as well as, a number of blows which were probably more Fin Whales. Unfortunately, there weren't any Sperm Whale or Cuvier's Beaked Whale sightings: both of which are often seen in Southern Biscay.

We had enjoyed a good selection of definite and probable Fin Whale sightings throughout the morning

Fin Whale: Note, the smooth curve of the Dorsal Fin which confirms the identification as a Fin Whale

Fin Whale: The same individual showing its long back and just showing the Dorsal Fin

Fin Whale: Another individual. This proved to be a gentle, dispersed blow on this occasion, which is why I'm very cautious at identifying Cetaceans from their blow

Fin Whale: Another photo of the last individual. They have an impressively broad back from this angle

Fin Whale: A third individual. This Dorsal Fin looks more upright. I'm sure some of the peeps on the Bay of Biscay would have tried claiming it as a Sei Whale on this basis. However, it's just looks more upright as it is starting to dive. The gentle curve of the Dorsal Fin confirms it as a Fin Whale. A Sei Whale would have a noticeable kink on the leading edge of the Dorsal Fin

It was hazy as we approached the Santander coast

A hitch-hiking Chiffchaff popped up briefly on a few occasions on the ferry. It will have used a lot less energy on the crossing from the UK to Spain, than if it at flown South. I also, saw a Wheatear bomb over the top deck on one occasion. They would have been pleased to see the land. Finally, we saw a few Yellow-legged Gulls close to the shore.

Yellow-legged Gull: Juv/1st Winter. This gorgeous Yellow-legged Gull kept pace with us for a few minutes

Yellow-legged Gull: Juv/1st Winter

Yellow-legged Gull: Juv/1st Winter

The entrance to Santander's port & beaches is behind this headland

We quickly tied up and within fifteen minutes of docking, the gangplank was attached and we were able to disembark. There was another few minutes to clear customs and check-in for the return crossing. We were ready to have a couple of hours in Santander, but I will cover that in the next Blog Post.

As soon as we had entered the harbour, the hazy evaporated and it was wall to wall sunshine

This is the last ORCA Sea Safari to Santander of the season. If you are interested in an ORCA Sea Safari in 2025, then you can register your interest on the ORCA website. Further details of the dates will appear in due course. Hopefully I will be able to be one of the Wildlife Guides again in 2025.