3 Jul 24 - My first Wildlife Officer Role For Marinelife To Guernsey

Back at the end of Apr 24, I took part in my first Marinelife survey on the Condor Liberation bridge from Poole to Jersey, via Guernsey. It proved a lot of fun. Recently, Marinelife have asked for volunteers from their surveyors to support having a Wildlife Officer on the Liberation about once a week. I was pleased to be the first Wildlife Officer of this season. The Marinelife WLO role is very different to the surveying role. The main differences are, the WLO is on the top deck engaging with and pointing out to the public about the Birds, Cetaceans and other marine life along the route, as well as, to promote the important work that Marinelife does. However, there isn't any formal surveying during the crossing. Finally, there is the opportunity to get off in Guernsey to stretch the legs for a few hours, whereas, during the formal surveys, the surveyors stay on the bridge to Jersey.

We pulled out as the MV Pelican was coming towards the quay: The shipping channel is narrow in Poole Harbour, but the two bridge crews must have practiced this manoeuvre on many occasions

The check-in was very quick at the Poole terminal and soon we were being called to board the Liberation. I introduced myself to the information team on the ferry and they helpfully broadcast that there was a Marinelife Wildlife Officer on board. By that time, I was already on the top deck and chatting to passengers before our departure. The departure from Poole is always delightful, as the ferry passes the Dorset Wildlife Trust Brownsea Island lagoon: where there were distant views of the breeding Black-headed Gulls, Common and Sandwich Terns. This was when I felt a little bit guilty as normally I would be on Brownsea on a Wednesday. I will look forward to seeing my Red Squirrel mates this week.

The Brownsea Castle & quayside

Next we passed through the Poole Harbour mouth and the immensely beautiful Studland Peninsula, followed by Old Harry Rocks, before heading out to sea.

The Studland Ferry with part of my Studland patch in the background

There was a significant South West wind and I switched to the port side of the ship for the rest of the journey, along with a few other passengers who stayed on the top deck. There were nearby rain squalls as we left the Dorset coast, but we were lucky and the top deck stayed dry.

The weather looked ominous off Old Harry: This is the Southernmost point of my Studland patch. Fortunately, we missed the rain squalls

As the ship headed out to sea, there were a few Razorbills and Guillemots from the nearby breeding colony at Durlston and the adjacent Purbeck coastline. Surprisingly, the only other Seabird was a lone Gannet. About fifteen miles out from the Purbeck coastline, a party of five Swifts headed North: presumably a post-breeding dispersal?

Thirty minutes before we reached Alderney, I picked up a pod of three Common Dolphins jumping out of the water as they attempted to reach the Liberation before we were passed: unfortunately, they didn’t close the distance before we passed them. Another two Common Dolphins repeated the manoeuvre a few minutes later and presumably they were part of the same extended pod. It was good to be able to point them out to the hardy passengers who were still on the deck.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos on this occasion, as the sightings were brief & the priority was to point out the Dolphins to the passengers. This photo was taken during the West African Pelagic in the Bay of Biscay (9 May 18)

As we got closer to Alderney, we started to encounter feeding Gannets from the Gannet colony on Ortac Rock, which had about four hundred Gannets sitting on it.

I could see around four hundred Gannets on view on the Ortac Rock in my photos

Three hours after our Poole departure, there was a Mediterranean Gull feeding outside the harbour as we entered Guernsey’s picturesque St Peter Port.

This hazard buoy outside the St Peter Port harbour has seen clearly some grim seas

The Brehon Tower off St Peter Port: The fort is modelled on the Martello Tower design and it was completed in 1857

I joined the day tripping passengers for a look around the town. Some headed off to the shops and restaurants, but I had an enjoyable time exploring the historic Castle Cornet and its three museums. There was plenty of interesting history to see in the two hours I was there, before a gentle walk back past the harbour to the ferry terminal. There will be more on this to come.

St Peter Port: The weather had improved a bit compared to Poole, but it was still cloudy & windy

Castle Cornet: The Castle dominates and protects the St Peter Port harbour. Originally, the Castle was built on an island, but in 1860 it was connected to the main island of Guernsey and it is now connected into the breakwater

Oystercatchers: These two Oystercatchers are enjoying a nap on the outer edge of the Castle Cornet defences

After another quick check-in, I was back onto the top deck and engaging with the passengers before the prompt departure. The weather had improved for the return journey, except for the wind, but it was reasonably sheltered on the starboard side. The birds picked up as well with a Balearic Shearwater tracking alongside the ship for a few minutes, followed by two more distant Manx Shearwater and some feeding Gannets from the Ortac Rock. It was good to engage with the passengers who remained on the top deck and explain the migrations of these two species of Shearwaters and other Seabirds that occur along this route during the year.

Balearic Shearwater

The weather had improved a bit as we passed through Studland Bay. Plus, the local Marines were putting on a training session in the bay to entertain the passengers. It provided a good end to an enjoyable day which had allowed plenty of passenger engagement.

Old Harry on the way back

The Royal Marines on a training exercise

Thanks to Condor Ferries and the crew of the Condor Liberation for making me welcome on board and for their support to Marinelife.

South Haven & the Poole Harbour mouth

28 Mar 20 - Seawatching From #BWKM0

Many Birders dislike seawatches away from well recognised sites or even at them. The combination of wind & rain battered coastlines & potentially long periods waiting in the hope of getting onto a good Seabird, is enough to put many Birders off. Being a Poole Harbour Birder means I, like a number of the other Poole Harbour listers, are made of sterner stuff: we are used to disappointingly dull seawatches. I could seawatch from Durlston, where there is a proper sea-facing coastline & a track record of interesting local Seabirds flying past. But Durlston isn't in the Poole Harbour boundaries. Instead all the Poole Harbour boundaries are on the inside of Poole Bay, so generally the only interesting Seabirds occur when they get pushed well into Poole Bay if the winds are right or if they drift in by mistake during misty conditions & we are there as the mist clears. This makes for long & tediously boring seawatches on many occasions with little reward, except for knowing that if you do see something good, it will be really good for Poole Harbour.

Balearic Shearwater (no 102): By far the best Seabird on my garden list. Seen in Jan 08 when there were several around the Swanage & Studland area. A very good thirty minute seawatch hoping one would go past while I was watching Peveril Point from the house. Whilst waiting, 150 Razorbills (no 100) flew by along with a Red-throated Diver (no 101). I had previously been watching the Razorbills at Studland & had seen over 200 in a few minutes. This photo was taken in the Bay of Biscay (16 Aug 18)

But seawatching is far more tedious from my house. I have a line of sight to Peveril Point. I have what an estate agent would call sea views (i.e. distant sea views). But I don't have the downside of waves & spray crashing into my garden. It would have to be a terrible tsunami for the waves to reach that far. On the positive side, the telescope is stable, it isn't getting battered by the wind so I can increase the magnification, it's warm & comfortable & I can enjoy some music while I'm waiting & waiting for something to fly by. To be fair, I have seen some good Seabirds over the years. The last was an Arctic Skua found by Mark & Mo Constantine at South Haven in Oct 14. I wasn't going to chase it, but then Mark rang back to say it was flying South: game on. I had time to make a cup of tea, set the telescope up & 15 minutes later, Garden Tick no 113 flew through my telescope.

Arctic Skua: From the Plancius off the Portuguese coast (7 May 18)

Having decided, I'm clearly going to be confined to the house for the foreseeable future, then I decided I would try adding a few potential bonuses to the House Year & Lockdown Lists. It was the weekend so I could spare some time to try some House seawatching. The target species were Great Black-backed Gull, Shag & Gannet. It was a stiff NE wind so blowing Birds offshore & I didn't think there would be any Gannets moving offshore. Thirty minutes later, I had good evidence to confirm that expectation. I thought there was a better chance of one of the Durlston Shags flying past Peveril Point into Swanage Bay, but I was disappointed. Even a good scan of the Gulls flying over Swanage, failed to produce anything, but Herring Gulls. But one of my Gull scans, did manage to snatch success, with a Cormorant flying down the valley to the sea. I see one about every other year on average: albeit I am generally not daft enough to try seawatching from the house, more than one or twice a year.

Cormorant: How many coastal Birders really get excited about seeing a UK Cormorant. Old Harry (1 Jun 14)

At least, I know from twitter there are quite a few other Birders who are coping with the current restrictions in leaving their house, by scanning the sky or distant fields, trees or rooftops for extra house Ticks.

Check tomorrow to see the next day's wildlife sighting at when I will be confined at #BWKM0.

16 Aug 18 - Return To Biscay: Heading Home

Dawn on the final morning saw the Pont-Aven in North Biscay. Unfortunately, she had already crossed the continental shelf in the darkness of the early hours of the morning & we were only a couple of hours South of the Brittany coast. This was a sea area we had already travelled through at night on the way home on the Bilbao ferry so one of the benefits of the new route was getting the opportunity to see it twice in daylight. The Pont-Aven allows passengers to see the whole route in daylight once between Plymouth & Santander (spread over the two days), as well as, the Eastern Solent & Isle of Wight. The weather was similar to the previous morning when we were in this sea area: calm seas & heavily overcast with poor light.

The Pont-Aven takes the shortest route between the Brittany coast & the offshore islands: It was the only time the ship slowed down at sea as she passed through the relative narrow gaps between the mainland & the islands. The Northerly most island is Ushant which has had a few rarities on it over the years

About 45 minutes after dawn

Thirty minutes later the skies were more threatening: There were occasional light showers during the morning

The only Cetaceans I saw were about fifty Short-beaked Common Dolphins in several scattered pods & 4 Harbour Porpoises. All were seen in the first few hours before or as we passed the Brittany coastline. As with the rest of the wildlife seen today, they weren't close.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: This was the best photograph of the day. It's a good job the previous day had been really good

I saw at least three hundred Great Shearwaters, as well as, the best part of a hundred Balearic Shearwaters & Manx Shearwaters up until we passed the last point of the Brittany coast. Unfortunately, the light was poor throughout the morning & none of the Shearwaters were close to the Pont-Aven.

Great Shearwater

Great Shearwater: Part of a 200 strong raft of Great Shearwaters that flew as we passed. Pity none felt the urge to fly close

Balearic Shearwater: They are a bit bigger than Manx Shearwaters, bulkier-bodied & longer winged. The overall colouration was brown with a pale brown breast & vent which contrasted with the off white belly

Balearic Shearwater: Not a great photo, but it does show the underwing pattern

Manx Shearwater: They are smaller, short-winged, more compact & basically black & white. It's still hard to get my head around Balearic Shearwater was considered a sub of Manx Shearwater when I started Birding

Gannet: A nice comparison of different plumages of sub-adult & adult Gannets

We were soon in sight of the Brittany coast.

The first sight of the Brittany coast is these two tall lighthouses in the distance

Pointe de Raz is the southern-most peninsula on the Brittany coastline

The Pointe de Raz lighthouse: We hit a wall of fog & drizzle for the next 20 minutes as soon as we passed here

The stunning Pointe de St-Mathieu lighthouse & ruined abbey: This lies on the next headland & is the most Westerly point of mainland France

Looking back on the Pointe de St-Mathieu lighthouse

After passing the Brittany coast, the conditions deteriorated as the wind strength increased, the sea became a bit choppier & the wildlife dropped off. I decided to catch up on some lost sleep for a couple of hours. To be on the safe side I had been taking seasickness tablets & they always make me sleepy. When I got back on deck I found nearly everybody else had given up. However, I still had a couple of hours to see something good on the run into Plymouth especially as we were now in British waters & the light had finally improved. A few Gannets, three Fulmars & two Manx Shearwaters were about all I saw for my efforts. Still it was good to see the approach to Plymouth as it's the first time I've arrived by sea.

Gannet: In British waters

The first view of Plymouth in the distance

The Eastern defences to Plymouth Sound

Close up of the Fort Bovisand battery & Staddon Point battery (above): The Staddon Point battery was built in 1847 & Fort Bovisand was added in 1869. Both were still in use up to the end of the Second World War

The outer breakwater & fort

Drake's Island provides further protection on the Western side of the shipping route

The accommodation on the inland side of Drake's Island

The Plymouth citadel

Plymouth Hoe & lighthouse

The weather could have been better on the way home. However, the journey to Santander was excellent & having the Orca team on the ship helped getting information around the top deck about the Cetaceans. Overall, it was a great trip & I will be back next year.