15 Jun 26 - From The Biggest To The Smallest Expedition Cruise Day 6 - New Cetaceans For The Trip

After a reasonable night's sleep, I was ready for a second full day at sea as we sailed from the Shetland Islands to Jan Mayen Island. I spent a lot of the day on the deck and it proved worthwhile for Cetaceans. The first species seen was a Northern Bottlenose Whale, but frustratingly I didn't manage to get any photos of it.

We were still sailing NNW towards Jan Mayen Island

The next Cetaceans seen were a couple of Humpback Whales, which we thought was a female with a calf.

Humpback Whale: A Humpback Whale just after it had blown

Humpback Whale: The distinctive dorsal fin with the second Humpback Whale showing through the water

Humpback Whale: A better view of the dorsal fin

Humpback Whale: Finally, I managed to get a photo of both of them

Humpback Whale: Humpback Whales have a distinctive dorsal fin

Towards the end of lunch there was a broadcast that the Plancius was stopping as one of the expedition staff had seen a Fin Whale during their bridge watch. I had just finished eating and so it was time to head back up to the bridge wings.

Fin Whale: Note, the reasonable-sized dorsal fin and long relatively-flat body

Fin Whale: A close crop of the dorsal fin showing it is has a smooth-curved leading edge confirming the identification

Fin Whale: This photo shows that it has a broad body

Fin Whale

Fin Whale: Another photo showing the broad body

We saw few Bird species during the day. Virtually, all the Birds I saw were Fulmars, but there was also a Long-tailed Skua, four Kittiwakes and the first two Brunnich's Guillemots. I expected to see lots of the latter species during the trip, however, it was good to see the first ones, especially as the only one I had previously seen was literally on its last legs and two days later, it was found dead in Anstruther harbour, on the Scottish East Coast.

Brunnich's Guillemot: They are short-bodied than Guillemots, are blacker-coloured and have a broader-based bill

Brunnich's Guillemot

Brunnich's Guillemot

Brunnich's Guillemot

Brunnich's Guillemot

Later in the day, I saw another couple of Humpback Whales. In the early evening, I saw a brief blow, but never saw the Whale. Looking at photos that others took, it was another Fin Whale. I decided to knock the watch on head at 21:30 and get an early night. We were due to have a few hours on the following morning as we approached Jan Mayen Island and I was hoping this would be more productive for Cetaceans. I will cover this final approach in the next Blog Post.

1 Dec 25 - Antarctica 25 - Sailing Away

After dropping my bags with Oceanwide Expeditions and walking around the Urban Reserve on the waterfront, I headed for the port area. The walk takes you past the Saint Christopher. It is a good place to look for Flightless Steamerduck: I've seen it there on two of my three visits to Ushuaia in recent years.

The Saint Christopher

SH Vega is at the front, with Ortelius in the middle and Ushuaia at the back: SH Vega is a polar strength cruise ship which carries about one hundred and fifty passengers in cruise ship type cabins, but I would book on Oceanwide Expeditions ships in preference every time

As I walked past the Saint Christopher, there was a pair of Flightless Steamerducks feeding in front of the boat. Note, the paler head of the male, the heavier orange bill and shorter wings, compared to the Flying Steamerducks (in the last Blog Post).

Flightless Steamerduck: This monotypic species occurs from Southern Chile to Tierra del Fuego

Neotropic Cormorant: This is the brasilianum subspecies which occurs from Costa Rica South to Tierra del Fuego

Night Heron: This adult Night Heron was preening itself on the remains of nearby boat

Some of the local Gulls for the Seagull fans.

Kelp Gull: This is the nominate dominicanus subspecies which occurs in coastal Southern South America, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Southern Australia, New Zealand & it's Subantarctic Islands

Kelp Gull: Adult. Note the long green legs. This isn't the subspecies that has occurred in the UK

Kelp Gull: Presume this is a First Summer individual

Dolphin Gull: The best Gull species I've seen

After another short walk, I arrived at the port area. I knew we wouldn't be allowed onboard Ortelius for at least another ninety minutes. However, getting there early would mean I would get a seat in the small waiting area. Plus, I would be in the perfect position to be able to board quickly, once we were allowed in. Being in a four berth cabin, it's first come, first choice of bunks. I wanted a lower bunk to allow me to get up quickly and quietly, so I could get on deck for some early morning watches.

Ortelius: My home for the next ten nights

Getting familiar with the lifeboat drill before we sailed

Good to see the IAATO rules for viewing Whales and Seals

The IAATO rules for viewing Whales and Birds

One of the key meetings at the start of the cruise was to meet Pippa, the Expedition Leader, and the rest of the Expedition staff.

The Expedition Team (left to right): Shan, Allan, Saskai, Jess, Sam, Beth, Wei and Gary. The Deputy Expedition Leader George isn't in this photo

After introducing the Expedition team, Pippa went onto provide some details on the likely route. The original plan was to sail South in the Weddell Sea until we were close to the Emperor Penguin colony on Snow Hill Island. However, there had been exceptional amounts of sea ice in the Weddell Sea this season and it didn't seem likely that we would be able to get close enough to Snow Hill. When travelling to extreme locations on expedition ships, I've learnt the weather doesn't always allow the original plan to be achieved.

Pippa, our Expedition Leader

I had bumped into a couple of Expedition staff from one of the other ships in the Urban Reserve and they had said only one ship had managed to make it to Snow Hill about a month earlier. Pippa confirmed that the first two trips on Ortelius hadn't been able to get far South in the Weddell Sea. She did mention that the latest weather forecasts, suggested the ice could move and open a window for us to get closer to Snow Hill Island by the time we reached the Weddell Sea. However, that forecast could and did change into one that wasn't going to allow us to head even as far South as I reached in Jan 23.

Our planned route for the South Shetland Islands to the Weddell Sea: I've coloured Snow Hill Island red

Despite the news about the sea ice, I was still travelling to Antarctica early enough in the Summer season to have a reasonable chance of seeing Emperor Penguins on the sea ice. We would have four days in Antarctica to look, which is a lot longer than most Antarctica trips. It was Oceanwide's key reason for this trip and the route. We knew that the bridge crew would be keeping a close eye out for Emperor Penguins when we reached the Weddell Sea, even if I, some of the keener passengers and the Expedition staff weren't looking due to meal times, the long days etc.

The orange is the Antarctic Peninsula and associated islands: There was exceptional amounts of sea ice (pink) in the Weddell Sea this season and we were wanting to sail about fifty or sixty miles down on the East side of the Peninsula. It didn't look promising

First we had to get down the Beagle Channel. Finally, about 18:30 all the mandatory meetings were over and I went up to the top deck, rather head down for the first evening meal. It wasn't going to be dark until about 21:30. Having seen the pod of Commerson's Dolphins the day before, I was keen to have another look for them. I scanned hard, but the calm conditions of the morning had changed to more typically choppy weather. This made looking for an unobtrusive Commerson's Dolphin harder, if they were still around. I didn't have any joy. However, I did well for Whales after we had passed Martillo Island: with three Humpback Whales, followed by two Sei Whales and finally a Fin Whale. There was also repeats of all the Seabird species I had seen the day before on the Martillo Island trip.

Passing Martillo Island, with some Argentinian mountains in the background

At least a half hour after we passed Martillo Island, the pilot left Ortelius. Once he had departed, the bridge and the bridge wings were opened to the passengers. I switched to the starboard bridge wing and as dinner was over, I was joined by one of the Expedition team, Jess. Jess used to work for ORCA as a seasonal live-aboard surveyor on one of the UK ferries. She had a good Cetacean background and was very familiar with the surveying I do for this excellent charity. She had missed the first two groups of Whales, but she arrived in time to see the Fin Whale. We also had brief sightings of the only Dolphin in the Beagle Channel that evening. It didn't give long views as it raced into to play in the wake of the bow. However, we saw enough to be sure it was either a Dusky Dolphin or a Peale's Dolphin: with the former species being the commoner Dolphin, from my experience in the Beagle Channel.

Fin Whale: Unlike the distant tail-slapping group of Humpback Whales and close, but brief, Sei Whales, this Fin Whale stayed on the surface long enough to get some photos

Fin Whale: With a dorsal fin and a lot of back showing, the likely species in these waters are Fin Whale or Sei Whale. The extent of the back will rule out the smaller Whale species like any of the potential Beaked Whales or an Antarctic Minke Whale

Fin Whale: There is a nice smooth curve on a broad-based dorsal fin which fits well for a Fin Whale. Sei Whale have a proportionally narrower-based dorsal fin, as the dorsal fin is thinner and taller, with a distinctive kink on the leading edge

Fin Whale: Another view of the back and the dorsal fin

About thirty minutes the light was going and it was time to head below and socialise with some of the passengers I had met when we first came on board. Then it was time to turn it as I had set my alarm for an early start.

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.