3 Feb 26 - ORCA Canaries Cruise - Vigo: Another Unplanned Spanish Destination

We departed from Madeira, knowing we were having to divert to Vigo, Spain, rather than the planned destination of Lisbon. We spent the first day at sea in six to seven metre swells. The Captain explained the complications that stopped us getting to Lisbon. The port has a depth of not much over six metres at the shallowest point and the Spirit of Discovery had a similar draught. With the full six metre swell continuing close to the port, there was a risk that the ship could ground as we entered port. The only safe way to arrive was to enter overnight on the highest point of the high tide. While he thought we could arrive early for the overnight high tide, our departure would also be delayed to the following overnight high tide. This would have meant we would arrive several hours late in Pompey. The decision was taken we would head to Vigo instead.

Not surprising the seas were rough in the six to seven metre swell

The first day at sea was best forgot. In addition to the six to seven metre seas, the sea state was seven, which meant that we couldn't do any Cetacean surveying. However, we still stayed on deck looking, in the hope, we would at least see something. Twelve Kittiwakes were meagre pickings for my efforts from the back of deck 10. We continued to support the couple of one hour drop-in sessions each day, when passengers were able to meet one of the team on one of the lower decks for a chat about Cetaceans or Birds we had been seeing. Additionally, we were still producing the daily ORCA slides for the ship's TV system, so the passengers still would be aware of what we were seeing, even if we met few on deck.

Two of our regular passengers, Dorset-based Denise and Ian checking in with Fiona at the back of deck 10

The six to seven metre swell hadn't dropped at the start of the second day at sea, but at least the sea state had dropped to a six, which allowed us to resume surveying. We were twenty to thirty miles off the Portuguese coast. As we sailed North and came closer to the coast, the swell and sea state slowly moderated during the morning, but both still made surveying difficult. Additionally, there was still a thirty knot wind and the top decks remained closed, so we were again restricted to surveying from the back of deck 10. The highlight of the morning was I saw only the second Whale blow of the trip. There were only a couple of blows and like the first Whale, frustratingly I didn't see the body. Now we were closer to the coast, we were seeing more Kittiwakes, along with a few Gannets, Yellow-legged Gulls and distant unidentified Auks.

Gannet: One of two seen during the second morning at sea

We finished the morning's surveying with this lovely rainbow: A few minutes later it was chucking it down, but fortunately, that coincided with our lunch break

The seas calmed down a bit as we crossed into Spanish waters as we started to get closer to Vigo. But due to strong winds, we were still restricted to the back of deck 10. The highlight was when I saw a couple of Short-beaked Common Dolphins breach on the starboard side of the ship. Unfortunately, after a couple of breaches, they were too close to the side of the ship and I lost sight of them. I hoped they would come down the side of the ship, but if they did, we didn't see them. The numbers of Gannets, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Yellow-legged Gulls picked up as we made our final approach into the Vigo estuary.

The Cies Islands lie at the entrance to the Vigo estuary: They have been a nature reserve since 1980

This large bridge spanned the estuary beyond Vigo

There were large Oyster farms in the estuary

Vigo has a large industrial port

We were finally tied up and able to go ashore

Vigo didn't look like it was going to be as attractive a city as Santander or La Coruna to walk around

The ship had laid on a couple of coach tours around Vigo and the neighbouring town of Baiona. I decided to skip these options and walk up to the Fortress of El Castro which dominated the high ground over the port. The Fortress had a park around it, so I was hoping to see a few Birds as well. Vigo is built on three surrounding hills and everywhere you go from the port seems to be a steep uphill walk. It was a good excuse to stretch the legs.

Yellow-legged Gull: This Yellow-legged Gull was hanging around tables outside a cafe hoping for some food. It is the nominate michahellis subspecies which breeds in breeds Portugal, Spain, Morocco and the coastal & inland Mediterranean from Belgium East to Poland & Turkey. The other subspecies breeds on the Azores, Canaries & Madeira

Looking back down one of the old streets

Vigo has a novel idea to help people get around the city on foot: There are currently twelve escalators in the city and more are planned. The plan is this will help encourage people to walk, rather than drive, in the city. The escalators only go uphill, so you still have to walk downhill. Some were very well designed and a lot more colourful than this one

I ran into a bird flock as I reached the woods in the park around the Fortress of El Castro. A quick bit of pishing produced a good response.

Coal Tit: This is the nominate ater subspecies which occurs from Europe to Siberia, Mongolia, Sakhalin & North East China

Firecrest: This is the nominate ignicapilla subspecies which occurs in West, central & South Europe to Asia Minor

Wren: This is the nominate troglodytes subspecies that breeds in Europe and Turkey

Robin: This is the nominate rubecula subspecies which breeds from Europe & West Turkey East to the Ural Mountains, South to North Morocco, the Azores, Western Canaries & Madeira

Chaffinch: This is most likely the nominate coelebs subspecies which breeds from Europe East to central Asia, South to West & North Turkey & North West Iran. However, it's possible it's a wintering gengleri subspecies that breeds in the UK & Ireland

The Fortress of El Castro was built in 1665 to defend the region from potential attacks by English forces. It is actually a combination of the Fortresses of El Castro and San Sebastian along with the city wall. It saw action in the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702, when a combined English and Dutch fleet defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet. The Fortress, along with the city of Vigo itself, were captured by British forces as part of the capture of Vigo in 1719. In 1809, the Fortress was occupied by the French Imperial Army during Peninsular War, before being recaptured by Spanish forces.

The outer ramparts of the Fortress of El Castro

These three anchors commemorates the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702: The battle was fought by the Anglo-Dutch navy and Spanish-French fleets and dozens of ships were sunk in the Vigo estuary

Old cannons within the Fortress

Black Redstart: This Black Redstart was feeding around the walls of the Fortress

Black Redstart: It is the same gibraltariensis subspecies that we see in the UK, which occurs throughout Europe, Turkey and Northern Africa

Chiffchaff: This Chiffchaff was feeding around the walls of the Fortress

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

More of the outer walls

Looking at the inside of the Southern gate to the outer walls

Inside the walls

The gate on the inner Southern walls

The gate on the inner Southern walls

Inside the inner Fortress

Inside the Fortress' Northern gate

The Fortress has a good view over the port

We spent the night moored in Vigo port and I booked on the coach tour to Baiona for the following morning. I will cover that in the next Blog Post.

28 Jul 26 - Blue-eyed Devil Hawker

This morning I received a call from Graham Armstrong. I expected Graham to say he had seen an interesting Bird species at his local South Haven patch at the Northern most tip of the Studland Peninsula. I was half right, as Graham said he had seen five Southern Migrant Hawkers in the dried up pool there. I believe this is a new Dragonfly species for the Studland National Nature Reserve. Needless to say I headed down later that morning with the camera. I wasn't disappointed.

Southern Migrant Hawker: My first individual

As soon as I arrived at the dried up South Haven pool, I saw my first Southern Migrant Hawker. The bright blue colouration, brighter that a Migrant Hawker and the bright blue eyes quickly confirmed the identification. It landed in a bush next to some Sedges and posed for a few photos. However, it didn't give me the time to increase the aperture and so the wings aren't pin-sharp. This individual was disturbed by a second Southern Migrant Hawker and the two flew around in the first of several territorial disputes. It took a while of waiting, but finally what I think was the first individual landed again in the same area and this time it posed for longer.

Southern Migrant Hawker

The South Haven pool was totally dried out. When I saw the first local Southern Migrant Hawkers at Lytchett Bay in July 2018, they were hanging around some rapidly drying up small pools. What I think was happening was the Female Southern Migrant Hawkers were preparing to lay their eggs in the dried up pools, knowing that the pools will refill over the Winter. This would allow the larvae to hatch into the water, with little other competition. I'm now more convinced this is probably typical for their lifecycle.

Southern Migrant Hawker

I found a total of ten Southern Migrant Hawkers including individuals visible from the boardwalk. All of the South Haven pool is now dried out and I expect there would be more present, if I had explored the larger dried out Southern end of the pool. Given the numbers present, it's likely that these Southern Migrant Hawkers had hatched this Summer and this is at least the second season they have been present at South Haven.

1 Feb 26 - ORCA Canaries Cruise - Sightseeing On Madeira

I decided to hire a car to explore Madeira. Chris and Fiona decided to join me and the first stop had been the delightful Palheiro Gardens on the edge of Funchal, which quickly produced good views of the three Madeiran endemics Landbirds. After an hour and a half wandering around the Palheiro Gardens, it was time to head back and meet up with Fiona at the car. We still had a couple of other locations to visit.

Looking towards Funchal from Cabo Girao

While I was looking at places to visit and things to do on Madeira, I came across Cabo Girao. This is one of the highest coastal viewpoints in the Western Palearctic and also the Cetacean boat trips often seemed to head in this direction. I was hoping that we might get to see a Whale or a pod of Dolphins from Cabo Girao. We had to return through Funchal and head about twenty minutes West of the city. We arrived at the site, but we found it too touristy and we didn't think it was worth the entrance fee to walk down to the viewing platform.

Looking inland a bit from Cabo Girao: Note, the raised section of motorway to Funchal before it went into another tunnel. I spoke to a couple of English tourists in Palheiro Gardens who visited Madeira forty years ago. They said it took over two hours to get to Funchal from the airport. On this trip, the motorway took them twenty minutes

We could see a lower local road from Cabo Girao which wound below and just to the East of the viewpoint, so quickly diverted to try that road instead. We couldn't see any Cetaceans, but a group of three Canaries appeared and one posed for some photos.

Canary: This monotypic species occurs on the Azores, the Western Canaries & Madeira

It was time to try our third destination of the day. This was to Curral das Freiras or the Valley of the Nuns. After Madeira was settled by the Portuguese, Funchal and the other neighbouring small coastal towns were under threat from marauding pirates. When pirates were seen, the civilians fled inland over the mountains. One popular hiding spot was the hidden valley of Curral das Freiras, which couldn't be seen from the sea. Eventually, a nunnery was built in this valley and it was named the Valley of the Nuns. It is now one of the most scenic locations on the island. It is easy to see why.

The village of Curral das Freiras

Curral das Freiras is surrounded by mountains: The road from Funchal passes through a tunnel that is over one mile long to access the village

With mountains like these, it is easy to see how it took so long to locate the small breeding colony of Zino's Petrels on Madeira. The population is believed to be stable, but there are only around eighty pairs and maybe two hundred individuals in total. Having seen a couple at sea, I'm glad I don't have to consider returning to Madeira for the night time walk to the colony along the infamous narrow mountain tracks.

Note, the large patches of tree die off: Presumably wildfires are the cause of the tree die off

We had a quick drive around the Valley of the Nuns, before deciding to head back to Funchal. We had enjoyed our tour of the island and figured we could get back on the ship before the end of the extended lunch at three. In reality, we only had just over another hour left anyway. The ORCA team are members of the entertainment team and we have to be back on board with sufficient time to ensure we are not the reason why there is a late departure. In Madeira, the gangplank removal was scheduled for four-thirty.

An impressive-looking church on the route back to Funchal

In the end, our departure was delayed by nearly thirty minutes as the Costa Fortuna left port just before us. However, we were soon out of the port and able to start surveying for the final ninety minutes of light. We saw a couple of groups of Manx Shearwaters, but no Dolphins that evening.

Looking at the Desertas Islands in the late afternoon

The Captain said that evening that we had six to seven metre swells to look forward to as we headed towards our final planned destination of Lisbon. The port has a depth of not much over six metres at the shallowest point and the Spirit of Discovery had a similar draught. With the full six metre swell continuing close to the port, there was a risk that the ship could ground as we entered port. Due to the high swells which would continue up to the port, we had to enter the Lisbon port on the highest point of the high tide. While we could have arrived for the high tide, our departure would have been delayed to the following overnight high tide. This would have led to us arriving late into Pompey, with all the logistical challenges of changing the times for the eight hundred passengers getting off, up to one thousand passengers being rescheduled to arrive later to board the ship, as well as, all the other logistical changes to food arrivals etc. The result was the Captain told us, he had replanned for us to visit the Spanish port of Vigo instead and we would have an overnight stay in Vigo. I will cover that in the next Blog Post.

Saying goodbye to Madeira: It was getting too dark to keep surveying

1 Feb 26 - ORCA Canaries Cruise - Cleaning Up Madeira's Endemic Landbirds

I've been wanting to visit Madeira for a few years now, since I sailed past the island on the West African Pelagic back in 2018. However, after I started to get offered surveying roles on Saga cruises, I was hoping I would be able to visit Madeira on one of these trips. Finally, I would get to step ashore on this Portuguese territory.

The Pilot's boat coming out to meet us

There are three endemic Landbirds on the island: Trocaz Pigeon, Madeira Firecrest and following the recent split, Madeira Chaffinch. Zino's Petrel also breeds around one the highest peaks on the island, but fortunately, I had seen two on the West African Pelagic, as we left the nearby Desertas Islands in May 2018. Unfortunately, we were too early for the Desertas Petrels that breed on those islands, so there is still one endemic Seabird left to see.

Funchal port

Dawn over the Desertas Islands

Funchal was a pretty city

Funchal has a lot of narrow and very steep back streets: It was fun when the Sat Nav decided that some of the local roads were better to follow than perhaps a main road

This thought provoking fish made us think: It was made from rubbish that looks to have been washed up on beaches

We were tied up next to the Costa Fortuna which had arrived just before us: Did Del Boy name her?

To get around the island, I booked a hire car for the day. The car was a mere ten quid, but the full insurance cover increased that to thirty quid. Chris and Fiona decided to join me on the day and therefore, it ended up as the cheapest car hire I've had for many years. It was a pleasant fifteen minute walk from the Spirit of Discovery.

The Santa Maria de Colombo: She was built in 1998. One website claims she is an exact replica of Christopher Columbus's flagship, which appears to be proof that Colombus used engines to cross the Atlantic

75mm Schneider-Canet Model 1904 Field Gun: This Field Gun was used by Portuguese Army for many years and is close to Madeira's military museum

An old park close to the car hire office

Looking at eBird, my best options were to head to the nearby Palheiro Gardens or the Monte Palace Gardens. Both had areas of native forest in their grounds and all three endemics were regularly seen at the two sites. In the end, I found a website that said that the Trocaz Pigeons were commonly seen on the ground at Palheiro Gardens, whereas, they were tricky to see in the forests in the North of the island. I suspect they will be as tame in the Monte Palace gardens, but I couldn't confirm that. I decided on the Palheiro Gardens as the first stop, having been put off Monte Palace Gardens with all the references to their lovely Flamingos and Black Swans.

A big patch of white Arum Lilies just inside the entrance gate

We arrived at Palheiro Gardens to find there were only a few cars parked by the entrance booth. It's good that the parking area was fairly empty, as there wasn't room for a lot of cars. We agreed a time to meet up, as Fiona decided to take a walk outside of the gardens.

Palheiro Gardens

The gardens were more formal than I was hoping for, however, that wasn't a problem as the Trocaz Pigeon and Madeira Chaffinch were easy to find. The Madeira Firecrest took a bit more effort, but if you know the trees where they hold territory in the UK, then they are not hard to find.

Palheiro Gardens

We were now in the formal gardens

After about ten minutes of walking into the gardens, I saw a Pigeon land in a tree. A quick look confirmed it was my first Trocaz Pigeon. After we left it, we encountered more Trocaz Pigeons feeding on the lawns like Woodpigeons in the UK. This was a big improvement on the White-tailed Laurel Pigeons flight views in the Canaries.

My first Trocaz Pigeon: This endemic species is restricted to the Laurel forests on Madeira

Before I left the UK, I looked at options for Birding in the Madeira. I spoke to the local guiding company, Windbirds, to see what they would charge for a half day to look for the three endemics, as an alternative to hiring a car or chartering a taxi. Their response was a five hour guided trip would be three hundred Euros. Their website said they ran guided trips for a minimum of four people for sixty Euros each. I pointed out that if I was paying for four people, it would only be two hundred and forty Euros. I asked for a revised price out of principle, albeit I had already decided that I was not going to use them. The endemics didn't need any specialist knowledge or access to private land to find them. They didn't bother to respond. For me to have use them they needed to be about the same price of hiring a car or a chartered taxi and clearly they were just looking to rip me off. Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend visiting Birders forking out to use their services. Even if I had paid for the car and fuel in full and the entrance fee to the gardens, my trip was still under their sixty Euro charge, let alone their piss-taking three hundred Euro quote.

Trocaz Pigeon: They are lovely when seen close up

Trocaz Pigeon

Trocaz Pigeon

This IPhone photo shows the level of fieldcraft needed to get the previous photos

Just after seeing the first Trocaz Pigeon, I found the first of five Madeira Chaffinches.

Madeira Chaffinch: This is now a single island endemic

Madeira Chaffinch: Note, the green on the mantle which is different to the Canary Islands Chaffinch

Madeira Chaffinch: The song is different to the UK Chaffinches, but when heard you immediately know it's a Madeira Chaffinch

Madeira Chaffinch: This is presumably a first winter male

Madeira Chaffinch

Just after seeing these Madeira Chaffinches, I saw some Holm Oaks. As hoped, there were a pair of Madeira Firecrests in the area. They were just as active as any of their UK cousins and just as tricky to photograph. Despite a few opportunities, I ended up with just one Madeira Firecrest photo and I didn't get any decent photos of the second pair of Madeira Firecrests we saw.

Madeira Firecrest: This was the last of the three Madeiran endemic Ticks. All were seen within about forty-five minutes of arriving. It was a good decision to try the Palheiro Gardens site. As a bonus, there were few other visitors, so we didn't have many other visitors disturbing the Birds we were watching

Blackbird: This is the cabrerae subspecies which occurs on the Western Canaries & Madeira

Blackbird

With the Birding pressure off, it was time to enjoy walking around Palheiro Gardens. Chris and I agreed that it would have been a good location to spent most of the day wandering around on a future visit. I'm sure I will revisit the Palheiro Gardens, if I return to Funchal.

Palheiro Gardens with the tea room in the background

Palheiro Gardens are adjacent to the golf course: This provides a more expansive area of habitat close to Funchal

The historic St John's Chapel lies within the Palheiro Gardens

The Palheiro Gardens also produced a Madeiran Wall Lizard and an introduced Iberian Green Frog.

Madeiran Wall Lizard: This is the only Lizard species on Madeira. There are also a couple of Gecko species

Iberian Green Frog: This is the only Frog on Madeira and it is thought it was introduced in the 19th Century. It is a variable species, with some having a strong green base colour, whilst others look like this individual, but with a central pale green stripe and finally some do not even have a pale stripe

Speckled Wood: There were a few Speckled Woods in the Palheiro Gardens. Another Butterfly species that I regularly see in my UK garden

It was time to head back to meet up with Fiona. We still had a couple of other locations to visit which I will cover in the next Blog Post.

I wish my garden was bigger to allow me to build a similar pond feature