12 Jun 26 - From The Biggest To The Smallest Expedition Cruise Day 3 - The Bullers Of Buchan

The Plancius docked in Aberdeen about breakfast time, to allow more passengers joining us that afternoon. Oceanwide Expeditions had laid some activities for the passengers who had joined in Vlissingen. We spent the morning with some lovely Grey Seal encounters at the Ythan estuary, before heading onto the Seabirds cliffs at the Bullers of Buchan. We were dropped in the car park and it was only a few minutes' walk to the cliffs and the two sheltered coves.

There were a few fisherman's cottages next to the coves

There were two narrow channels, where the sea had cut deep into the coastline and therefore, it was possible to view the Seabird colony from the North or South sides or a narrow central ridge. I chose the latter option. There was a good selection of East Scottish Seabirds nesting on the cliffs.

Looking across the Northern channel

Looking across the Southern channel

The majority of the passengers headed to the Northern path

Ellen was one of the Inezia Bird guides

There was a good selection of East Scottish Seabirds nesting on the cliffs.

Fulmar: Pair

Eider: Pair

Razorbill

Razorbill and Kittiwake colony

There was a Puffin above the Kittiwake nests

A harsh crop of the same Puffin

We had an American couple Nick and Catherine on board. Catherine, said that morning that her main target was to see a Puffin. I was surprised by this given the likelihood of seeing Blue Whales and Polar Bears on the trip. Having found this Puffin, I looked round and Catherine was the nearest passenger and was delighted to see her first Puffin. She would have been the first passenger to see her number one target on the trip and after sightings of a number of other species, she fortunately, wasn't the last happy passenger.

Catherine is in the pink: Svalbard (27 Jun 26)

Puffin: There were a few pairs of Puffins nesting at the very top of the colony

Puffin

I spent some time trying to get some photos of the Kittiwakes. The nesting individuals weren't hard, but trying to get flight shots was more challenging.

Kittiwake nests

Kittiwake: Adult

Kittiwake: Adult

Kittiwake: Adult

After about ninety minutes at the cliffs, it was time to head back to the coaches. It was time to return to Aberdeen and reboard the Plancius. I will cover our departure in the next Blog Post.

12 Jun 26 - From The Biggest To The Smallest Expedition Cruise Day 3 - Exploring The Ythan Estuary

Day 3 of the North Atlantic Odyssey saw the Plancius arrive into Aderdeen, where we were due to pick up the rest of the mainly British passengers. We were due in port around breakfast time and I headed up to one of the bridge wings for our approach, as we had been briefed to expect a local welcome. Just outside the port, were at least two hundred and fifty Kittiwakes and about three times the number of Guillemots.

Kittiwake: Adult

Guillemot

It was time for us to head into the harbour.

The Girdle Ness Lighthouse

Aberdeen harbour and the waterfront to the North

Entering the harbour

Eider: Trips to Scotland are good as I rarely see Adult Male Eider in Dorset

Eider: There were around fifty by the harbour entrance

Scaup: Male. I Wasn't expecting to see a Scaup. RBA doesn't mention many Scottish sightings in June, so this appears to be a reasonable record

Unfortunately the main welcome committee hadn't shown up, but they appeared for our departure: which will be covered in a future Blog Post. We were called for breakfast just after we entered the harbour. The ship has laid on a couple of coaches to take us to the nearby Ythan Estuary and the cliffs at the Bullers of Buchan. This seemed a much better option that walking around Aberdeen. I had to do that once and wasn't enamoured by the city centre. Once the ship had cleared customs, we were called to disembark. This sole piper was there to greet us. Perhaps the other local pipers had headed off to cheer Scotland on in the World Cup.

This wee lassie did a good job piping us ashore

After a twenty-five minute journey, we arrived at the Newburgh Inn on the South side of the Ythan Estuary. A site I remember well, having travelled to see my first UK Sooty Tern in the Tern colony in July 2018. It was a three quarter mile walk down to the sandy estuary. We walked down the car park track and onto a boardwalk, until we reached the final Seal viewing area. There is a Sandwich Tern and Arctic Tern colony about half a mile further upriver on the North bank of the estuary, but the colony is too far away for good photos. I decided against walking upriver to get closer. Both Tern species flew distantly along the channel to the sea, along with four Little Terns (which also breed locally).

The upper part of the Ythan estuary close to the Seal viewpoint

Looking up the estuary from the Seal watching beach

There was a large group of Eider with fourteen Goosanders roosting over one hundred metres away on the sands on the North shore opposite our viewpoint.

Some of the Goosander with the larger Eider flock

The key attraction of the estuary was the Grey Seals. There is a big colony here with individuals basking at various points on the beaches on the North side of the estuary. Some of them were swimming past, while others were stopping and looking at us.

Grey Seal: This one was checking us out

Grey Seal: An inquisitive Grey Seal

Grey Seal: This individual is showing off the classic Alsatian-like head shape of a Grey Seal

Grey Seal: Another inquisitive Grey Seal

Grey Seal: They have the ability to close their nostrils

Grey Seal: On views like this, they can be separated from Common Seals by having parallel nostrils

Looking towards the seaward beach on the North side of the estuary

Grey Seal: There was a large group of Grey Seals on the seaward-facing North beach

I walked along the beach to join expedition guide Esther who I travelled with to Antarctica in Jan 2023. At one point, this small Grey Seal pup appeared right next to the beach to have a look at Esther and myself. It was right in the tide line and a bit worrying that it was checking out the Southern beach where the public are allowed to visit, whereas the North beach seems to be reserved for wildlife.

Expedition guide Esther enjoying the Grey Seals

Grey Seal: Pup. This gorgeous pup decided to check out the Southern beach

Grey Seal: Pup. It looked like it was wanting to come out onto the beach

Grey Seal: Pup

Grey Seal: Pup. Soon after this, the Grey Seal pup headed back into the channel

At one point, a lot of the Terns started alarm calling. It didn't take long to spot the culprit: a fishing Osprey. Clearly, these local Terns had still not appreciated that Ospreys are never going to be a threat to anything other than a large Fish.

Osprey

Finally, it was time to head back to the coaches. But we still had an afternoon visit to the Seabird cliffs at the Bullers of Buchan ahead of us. I will cover this visit in the next Blog Post.

18 Feb 24 - Making A Spectacle Of Itself

On 13 Jan 25, news broke that a male Spectacled Eider had been found on the island of Texel, in Holland (pronounced Tessel). This is only the seventh Western Palearctic record of this mythical Seaduck. There are five previous accepted records being seen high in the Arctic: three records from Finnmark in North Norway and two Svalbard records. In early Nov 24, A male was also briefly seen near Reykjavik, Iceland, but it wasn't relocated. I wonder if this is the Texel individual.

I was immediately interested in a trip to see the Spectacled Eider, if it stuck around. However, there were two problems stopping me heading off. One was the pale phase Booted Eagle had been found the day before in Cornwall and due to prior commitments, I had been unable to head West to look for the Booted Eagle until 16 Jan. The second was I was due in Pompey on 20 Jan, as I was one of the Wildlife Guides in the first ORCA team on a Saga Cruise in the 2025 season. Before I headed off for the cruise, Pete Moore had asked if I was thinking of heading to Texel and we hatched the beginnings of a plan for a trip during the Feb half term.

I was keeping track of the news on the Spectacled Eider which I was on the cruise and was pleased to see it was being seen daily along the East side of Texel. When I returned, I discussed dates with Pete for his first European twitch. To be honest, I've only been on one mainland European twitch to see the gorgeous and confiding Hawk Owl that turned in Zwolle in Holland in Nov 13. But I've been on eleven twitches to Ireland over the years.

If you have a few days available, a mini-break trip to Holland provides plenty of Birding and sight-seeing options. We favoured heading over on the evening of Mon 17 Feb and taking the ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. While this was a bit more expensive that travelling via Calais or Dunkirk, it would be only be a couple of hours journey to the Texel ferry and it would give us about seven hours of sleep. I was happy to drive as I'm insured to take my car to Europe for three months in a year. The car's built in European Sat Nav is a nice advantage. Our plan was to have a day and night on Texel, before heading off to Lelystad to the North East of Amsterdam for a Pygmy Cormorant, which would be a bonus Tick for Pete. I would then drop him to catch a train into Amsterdam to meet up with his wife, Claire and youngest son, Rowan. I had a rough plan for an extra day or two in Europe, but more of that in future Blog Posts.

Green ideas, Dutch style: There were a lot of wind turbines across the country, especially in the more open Western side. Even, the car is being transported in a green way

I picked Pete up in his Wareham house about 15:30 and we were soon heading for Harwich. The check-in for the 23:00 ferry to the Hook of Holland closed forty-minutes before the ferry's departure. We thought we had an hour of time when we could find some food that evening and still arrive well in time for the ferry. We expected to hit the M25 around the rush hour, but being half term, we were banking on the traffic to be lighter than normal. As we got close to the M25, Pete said there was a two hour or so delay on the North bound route and my Sat Nav was showing heaving congestion on the South bound route. We weren't going to risk the long delays on my preferred route, so I would have to head for the Dartford Tunnel and add the toll into the cost of the trip. It was a slow crawl through Surrey and again at the Tunnel, but finally the traffic improved once we were North of the Thames. We arrived at the port about 21:30 and we were quickly through immigration. Surprisingly, we didn't have to wait for the next hour before could board the Stena ferry. By 22:15, we had had a look around the ship, found our cabin and bunked down for the night.

After about two & a half hours driving, we were in Den Helder: The ferry to Texel departs from the North end of the town

The alarm was set for 07:00 European time, to give us an hour for some breakfast and drinks in the cabin before our arrival. However, the ferry decided to wake us thirty minutes earlier, to advertise the restaurant was open. Still we had had a good night's sleep. We were quickly off the ferry and through the Dutch immigration with just one small worry. My car had the old GB numberplates. One of the million or so failures that Johnson's was responsible for, was the GB numberplates are no longer legal in Europe. We needed a UK sticker or new UK numberplates without the EU symbol on them. Due to a misunderstanding, the metallic sticker Pete brought along was also a GB one. I was worried I would get pulled over by the police at some point in the trip, but fortunately that didn't happen. I will have to get a new UK metallic sticker before I head off abroad again.

HNLMS Tonijn (S805): This is one of the main exhibits in this interesting-looking Naval Marine museum in Den Helder. Something I will have to check out if I get back to Texel

HNLMS Tonijn (S805): She was commissioned in Feb 1966 and decommissioned in Jan 1991

The Texel ferry departs from Den Helder on the half hour, for the twenty minute crossing to Texel. It was clear that it was going to be very tight to connect with the 10:30 ferry, having encountered slow traffic as we left the Hook of Holland. I wasn't wanting to race to try to catch that ferry while I adjusted to driving a UK car on the wrong side of the road. But we could take it steady and easily arrive in time for the 11:30 ferry. The Texel ferry is very impressive as it is a community-owned, not for profit ferry to benefit the islanders. Such a contrast to the Studland ferry which is owned by a hotel chain that wants to massively increase ferry prices to prop up the struggling hotel chain. Pete had been pre-warned by James Lowen, that we should pre-book the ferry. The twenty-eight euro return ticket was valid for a mid-week departure on any ferry. They have numberplate to speed up the check-in process. Perhaps the Scottish government should get the TESO company to run the ferries to the outer islands, as these ferries would be a massive improvement on the current Calmac fleet.

The Texel ferry approaching Den Helder: There is a ten minute loading and unloading time and a twenty minute crossing time, with a second ferry ready to cope with busy times of the year

Inside the Texel ferry: There is a spacious top deck area, with a cafe, plenty of seating, free phone charging and good toilets

Inside the Texel ferry

Spoonbill sign: Spoonbills and Little Terns breed on Texel

Texel Island dated : The island is about fifteen miles long and six miles at its widest. There were clearly a lot of ships wrecked on its seaward side

There are large sandy beaches at the Southern end of Texel

We were quickly off the ferry and heading for the Spectacled Eider site. Since it was found, it has been feeding on the East side of the island about three or four miles North of the coastal town of Oudeschild, with a large, scattered flock of Eider. Over the several hours we were there, it drifted North as it was feeding, before finally drifting South again to the Iron Cape Monument (shown as IJzeren zeekaap on Googlemaps). It was easy to locate where we needed to park, as it was the only place on the road next to the seawall, where there was more than a couple of cars parked.

The Texel fields are well below sea-level

This shows how low the fields are below the top of the seawall, which is another five to ten metres above the road

The parked cars for the Spectacled Eider twitch were next to this gorgeous-looking house

The Iron Cape Monument: This modern-looking structure was designed and built in 1854 as a daytime beacon to shipping. it was moved and strengthened when the seawall was raised in 1977. The Spectacled Eider was feeding in the first mile North of this obvious landmark, which is only visible once you walk up to the top of the seawall

The outer side of the seawall had a good cycle track

It was good to see this sign promoting the wildlife

It was a small twitch, but there were generally about ten birders and toggers throughout the time we were there

Eider: A small group of the hundred or so Eider feeding offshore

Spectacled Eider: Male. Although I located the Spectacled Eider quickly with the scope, it proved harder to pick up with only a 100 - 400mm lens on the camera in the choppy seas. Frequently, when I did see it, it became hidden behind waves in the time it took to take a batch of photos

Spectacled Eider: Male. Most of the time we were there, the Spectacled Eider kept near to, but separated from, the Eider

Spectacled Eider: Male. The Spectacled Eider was noticeably smaller than the Eider, with a smaller beak and lacking the long, sloping forehead of the Eider

Spectacled Eider: Male. Given they have a limited range around Alaska and the now out of bounds, adjacent Russian territory, this is a species I never thought I had much chance of seeing: especially, as the cost of the trip to Alaska is very expensive and they are not easy to see once you get there

Spectacled Eider: Male. On a number of occasions, it half rose out of the water

Spectacled Eider: Male. This is easily my favourite species of Wildfowl that I've seen & there are only fifteen species that I've not seen

Black-necked Grebe: This Black-necked Grebe popped up close to the shoreline and closer than I'm used to at Studland

Black-necked Grebe: It was good to see around ten Black-necked Grebes offshore

The photos are all very deceptive as it looks to be a nice sunny Winter's day. What they don't convey is there was a bitterly-cold twenty mile an hour wind coming straight into our faces and there was no shelter from the wind. By mid-afternoon, it was clear that the Spectacled Eider wasn't going to come any closer and I headed off to find a shop to get some food. But first, I nipped a quarter of a mile North. The coastal road is called Lancasterdijk (Lancaster Dyke), as it has a memorial to the one hundred and eighty-nine Allied aircrew who were killed on and around Texel during WW2. Many of the night-time bombers stationed in Lincolnshire and the Yorkshire coast, would have used the Dutch islands as a final landmark before heading out over the North Sea.

The Lancaster Monument: The memorial has the propeller from Lancaster ND363 PM-K which crashed here on 15 Feb 1944, after being shot down on its return from a Berlin air raid with the loss of its seven man crew

Texel honours the Allied war pilots with this monument. Died on or near Texel during the Second World War

The memorial also commemorates Eugene Darter of the US Air Force, who was killed on Texel on 16 Dec 1943

A windmill in Oudeschild

Confirmation in Oudeschild where babies come from

The best-looking biscuits in the Spar and fortunately, we weren't eligible to buy them: I did wonder if I should get some for those Birders who were checking out a rumoured Wallcreeper in Cornwall at the time, given that report came to nothing

After returning to pick Pete up, we headed out in search of Geese. Not a hard target, given there are many thousands of them on Texel. I will cover the Geese in the next Blog Post.