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.

15 Feb 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 29 - La Coruna Is Spotless

The Atlantic crossing from the Caribbean to Spain on the Saga Caribbean Calypso was hectic and I hadn't had any time to look at options of things to do in La Coruna. Having said that, I knew there wouldn't be any potential Bird Ticks in the area. Charlotte had said that they didn't arrange any Cetacean trips out of La Coruna on her visit in the previous Autumn. Therefore, my time ashore was going to be focusing on a historical or museum visit. The Tower of Hercules and its surrounding park looking an interesting option. By the time I had looked at options after lunch, I was aware that I would be running out of light before I got back to the ship, now that we were back in the Europe mid-winter. I decided to sort some photos out and head out the following morning. The only problem was the forecast was for early morning rain, but clearing by mid-morning. I woke up to find it was dry first thing, but it was raining by the time I had finished breakfast.

The rain restarted as soon as I stepped ashore: It rained for the first two of the three hours I was ashore, before finally starting to clear up

There was an easy path along the waterfront to the Tower of Hercules and its surrounding park. The prospect of a decent six mile round walk after a week on the ship was appealing. The city had put a lot of effort into making this an interesting walk.

The Virgin of Carmel Statue

The waterfront

A closer view of the waterfront buildings

There is an interesting museum inside the Castelo de Santo Anton: That will have to wait for a future visit

Looking back on the Castelo de Santo Anton

The Abente y Lago Hospital: This old military hospital building was renovated and reopened as a cultural centre in 2012

The walk took me past these colourful murals

So much better than the mindless graffiti in many urban areas in the UK

After about an hour of walking I reach the Tower of Hercules. This is the oldest Roman lighthouse that is still in operation.

It was good to see the park around the Tower of Hercules is a protected area for biodiversity

A soggy skulking Sardinian Warbler: This is the nominate melanocephala subspecies which occurs in Southern Europe, the Canary & Mediterranean Islands, West Turkey & North Africa

Stonechat: Male. There were a pair of Stonechats around the Tower of Hercules. This is the hibernans subspecies which occurs in the UK, and along the coasts of West France & the Iberian Peninsula

The Tower of Hercules sits on a small hill to provide additional height as a lighthouse

The Tower of Hercules: I knew it was possible to climb the tower. What I didn't realise I needed to buy a ticket in advance, so I didn't get to go up it

It looks the La Coruna architects fell under the dreary concrete building spell

The next stop was La Coruna's Avebury and Stonehenge monuments.

Menhirs for Peace: Menhirs is Spanish for tall upright megaliths

Menhirs for Peace: These twelve granite stones were installed in 1994

Menhirs for Peace: You are supposed to contemplate their meaning

Menhirs for Peace: My thoughts it's a pity the holes weren't aligned to frame some interesting views of La Coruna when you look through them. This one could have been aligned so you could see the local Stonehenge as your next designation

The Monumento a Los Fusilados: The monument was erected in 1981 to remember all those killed in the Spanish Civil War especially, in the fierce fighting in La Coruna, when Franco's Nationalist forces tried to capture this key Republican stronghold

It's that Horn again

It was time to turn around and return to the Spirit of Discovery for a late lunch. I managed to see a few Birds on the return route.

Magpie: This is the melanotos subspecies which occurs throughout the Iberian Peninsula

Black Redstart: This is the gibraltariensis subspecies which occurs in the UK, West & central Europe to Crimea & North Africa

Black Redstart: It's always a good day when I see a Black Redstart

Spotless Starling: This monotypic species occurs from the Iberian Peninsula to Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily & North West Africa

Spotless Starling: I had forgotten how good-looking they are

Spotless Starling

The esplanade had these stylish lamp posts

I looked at this lamp post & saw a Sealife design

Every lamp post had a different Sealife design

Yellow-legged Gull: Adult. A few Yellow-legged Gulls for any Larid fans who read this Blog

Yellow-legged Gull: First Winter. This is the nominate michahellis subspecies that breeds on the Canaries, Madeira, North West Africa & throughout Mediterranean. This is the subspecies that visits the UK and has bred on Brownsea in the past

Yellow-legged Gull: First Winter

Yellow-legged Gull: First Winter

Almost back at the ship: Finally, the weather was starting to improve

We sailed late afternoon, which provided the chance to have another look for the Bryde's Whale. Unfortunately, both the Bryde's Whale and its Dolphin friends failed to put in another appearance.

Jan, Charlotte and I were on deck to survey as we departed: Terry was getting some peace to finalise his slides for his second talk that was scheduled for our last afternoon at sea

The ORCA team with some of our keenest Cetacean watchers: Chris, Jan, Terry, Penny, Charlotte, Sue & Les

Jan, Monica and Charlotte: Monica was another regular visitor to the top deck

We awoke for our final day on deck on the Saga Caribbean Calypso in North Biscay and getting ready to pass around the French Brittany coast. Unlike the Brittany Ferry's Pont-Aven, which passes between the French islands and mainland, we stayed about twenty or thirty miles offshore.

There was some cake on our last morning of surveying

It was a reasonable final day as we past Brittany & started to head up the Channel. The highlights were an extended pod of Risso's Dolphins which typically belted past us in the opposite direction to the one we were travelling. Risso's Dolphins do not seem to like interacting with ships. We also saw seven Short-beaked Common Dolphins. On the Avian front, there was a single Bonxie, an Arctic Skua and two Little Gulls. More surprising was a House Martin that hung around the ship for well over an hour in the late afternoon as we tracked up the Channel. A nice record for 16 Feb.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin

Short-beaked Common Dolphin

In the early afternoon, we all headed down to the lecture theatre for Terry's second and final lecture, which included photos of some of the lovely sightings we had seen during the Caribbean Calypso cruise.

A good message from Terry at the end of his lecture

A TV screen showing our route

My first ORCA Wildlife Guide role on a Saga cruise had been a fantastic trip. The ship's crew had looked after us really well, we had some excellent passenger engagement throughout the trip. We had managed to show the passengers a good selection of Cetaceans, Birds, Flying Fish and for a lucky few, a Sea Turtle or a brief Shark sighting. The weather had generally been OK, albeit some calmer seas would have been more helpful for Cetacean surveys. Terry, with a bit of help from the rest of the team, had provided a daily slide to the ship's IT team to display on the TV screens in the cabins. We had some good passenger feedback from these slides.

The restaurant team who had looked after us really well over the previous month

Finally, it wouldn't have been as much fun if I hadn't had such a lovely team to work with. Thanks Jan, Charlotte & Terry for making it a fantastic trip.

Charlotte, Jan & Terry were excellent company & great mentors as I was about to start my Team Leader training with ORCA: I'm pleased to say that I've now been signed off as an ORCA Team Leader