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.

5 Aug 25 - I Love This Time Of Year

I do love this time of year, as it's a time to make some new friends. Many of the local breeding Passerines, seem to feed the youngsters for a few days before abandoning them. The local Robin pair are typical. This year there are two young Robins around and after a bit of territorial squabbling, one seems to have taken control of my back garden. It was initially shy, but by late July would come closer as I was doing a bit of gardening.

IPhone Robin photo

It's grown in confidence with me and now flies into the area close to my conservatory when it sees me, as it knows I will be putting some food out for it. It will quite happily sit a couple of feet above me as I put some food out for it on a chosen rock.

A closer crop

Normally, come the Autumn the youngsters will be driven out of the territory by the dominate pair. However, as the adult Robins haven't been coming in much to my garden this year, it would be great if this uber-friendly Robin was to be allowed to stick around. It will be easy to tell given it's behaviour.

15 Jul 22 - Some Clearer Air On The Jurassic Coast

Three nights ago there was a superb sunset along the Jurassic coast from St Aldhelms.

Jurassic Sunset from St Aldhelms (12 Jul 22)

I popped out again for the evening sunset after another long session earlier in the day of trying to return the garden to looking like a garden, rather than the neglected grassland that the flower beds had become. The garden Birds seem to be enjoying being able to get into the more open garden.

Robin: An IPhone photo of one of my adult Robins which was looking for food & distracting me from gardening. There were also two independent juvenile Robins enjoying the bonus food

After several hot hours in the garden, it was good to get a decent walk in at dusk. There has been some fresher air since the first photo was taken & a lot of the dust in the atmosphere must have been blown away. The view was a lot clearer & the sunset lacked most of the red skies from earlier in the week.

Jurassic Sunset from St Aldhelms coastpath

Jurassic Sunset from the St Aldhelms coastpath

One of the best decisions I ever made was twenty-six years ago when I decided that I was going to stop renting in Southampton & start buying my own house in the stunning Isle of Purbeck. All those years of having to commute back to Hampshire for work were worth it.

10 Jul 22 - Meeting The New Neighbours

I'm keeping with the themes of the last two Blog Posts of low-angle photography & the garden. It's always good to meet the new neighbours as I catch up with the long overdue removal of weeds from my gardens. This is one of five Robins that have been checking out the area I've been gardening for some bonus food in the last few days. The others are a couple of adults, one of which is tailless, a second similar-aged juvenile Robin and a juvenile Robin from an earlier brood, that is going through a body moult & is developing a red breast. While this juvenile Robin tolerated the adults, it was quick to drive off the other juveniles.

Robin: Juvenile. It became more confident with me today & approached to within about six inches of the IPhone

Robin: Juvenile

Robin: Juvenile

1 Aug 18 - The Start Of The Autumn Migration

I doubt that you will get a clear date for the start of the Autumn migration from any group of South Coast UK Birders, as it will depend on their Birding preferences. Many will say the end of June or start of July when the first returning Waders appear. But that's subjective as the first heading South are likely to be failed breeding Birds. By the second half of June I was seeing good numbers of Curlews back in Poole Harbour. Around that date, I found a local Great White Egret which could have been a non-breeding individual or a post breeding individual wandering across from the continent or down from the Somerset Levels. Perhaps the date be based on returning Waders from further afield? Maybe, it should it be around the start of July when the Swifts start to depart & the first Sand Martins start gathering to head South. Alternatively, should it be when the Passerines start moving towards the end of July. Personally, I like to work on the start of Aug as that is when the Passerines start moving, although I do enjoy the arrivals of the early Waders. On the first of Aug I was Birding around Littlesea as I was still trying to find the Purple Heron. I had no joy with the Purple Heron, but I was happy to find both a Pied Flycatcher & a Spotted Flycatcher at Littlesea. Both were skulky & not easy to get views of them which is typical when they are on their breeding grounds. So, they were still behaving as if they were on their breeding grounds. Both species are migrants through the Studland area. Spotted Flycatchers are relatively regular and Pied Flycatchers are always scarce with just a small handful of records mainly in the Autumn. So, it was good to see that the Autumn Passerine migration had started.

Pied Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

Robin: Juvenile. A locally breed individual close to where the two Flycatchers were feeding

Robin: Juvenile

Red-eyed Damselfly: Pair. Preparing for next year's generation (3 Aug 18)

Water Strider: The large size & upturned spurs at the end of the abdomen confirms the identification (3 Aug 18)

12 Oct 14 - Launch Of The New IQ30 Bird Club

Following the recent voting success in Clacton for UKIQP, the political wing of the IQ40 club, the IQ40 Club is pleased to announce today the launch of the new IQ30 Club. This will be a Bird Club for  supporters of UKIQP. So if you are fed up of all those Foreign Birds coming over here & getting all the attention, then this is the Bird Club for you. The rules are simple. You will be only be allowed to tick British Birds. Some are obvious such as Blackbirds & Robins. 

Blackbird: Juvenile. Clearly no problem ticking this resident Blackbird. This Studland Blackbird is 100% pukka as it was clearly born here (31 May 14)

Robin: Nearly all Robins are fine, but beware the greyish backed European Robins on the East coast in the Autumn, as they won't be tickable. Old Harry (4 Sep 14)

But other British Birds you can Tick are those which have long winters abroad like the Swallows & House Martins before coming home again to breed.

House Martin: These bred here, but like to have long holidays abroad in the winter & they are still tickable. Studland (6 Sep 14)

Also the British breeding Warblers such as Chiffchaffs & Whitethroats are obviously tickable. After all who doesn't enjoy their Winter holidays in the sun. 

Chiffchaff: IQ30 Birders will obviously have to ensure they aren't wrongly ticking a Siberian Chiffchaff as these will not be tickable. Studland (7 Oct 14)

Whitethroat: Clearly tickable, especially as this was born here. Old Harry (4 Sep 14)

But you will not be able to tick those European Birds that come here without permission and should be sent back to Europe. So out go the Redwings, Fieldfares & Waxwings which come over here in the Winter & eat our British Bird's berries.

Waxwing: Waxwings wouldn't be tickable as they are a European species that only come here to exploit our berries and not contribute anything. Poole (12 Dec 10)

But don't worry about not being able to Tick these common Winter visitors the spokesman for the IQ30 Club said. You can sign up now for one of our exclusive IQ30 Summer Tours, where in addition to the Scottish Specialities, we will take you to our special & secret sites, where you will be able to Tick breeding Snow Buntings, Redwings and Fieldfares. These trips will be timed to see the British chicks, as well as their British parents. You will all be expected to buy & wear our special IQ30 blindfolds so you cannot reveal our secret sites. He finished by saying they double up as exclusive bandanas, in a desperate attempt to woo back former members of the IQ40 club.

Fieldfare: Winter Fieldfares won't be tickable, but our special Tours go to our secret & exclusive sites where they breed & all Tour participants will get a certificate to prove they have a tickable Fieldfare on their IQ30 Club lists. This Fieldfare photographed at Dungeness wouldn't be tickable (8 March 14)

The IQ30 spokesman also said you won't be allowed to Tick the gaudy European Birds that arrive here every year without permission. He said we will made clear statements of what can & can't be ticked. For example, Bee-eaters are clear European & can't be ticked. But the Isle of Wight 8, referring to the 8 babies that were born in the UK are fully tickable. He confirmed their parents are not countable. The beaming smile on his face indicated he clearly has this major IQ30 Club Blocker on his list.

Bee-eater: Gaudy adults like this would not be tickable, although the spokesman said the Isle of Wight 8 would be fully tickable. Beit She'an, Israel (12 April 14)

For years UKIQP have argued that these European Birds should be caught by Ringers. Once caught they should be quickly bagged and put on the next Eurostar before being released. Their leader, Mr Farfetched, says they will hold the balance of power after next year's Bird Elections and the old parties such as BUFO (British Union For Ornithology) and BOT (British Ornithology Trust) have had their day. After all he argued, how can you trust organisations that are named after the Common Toad or rude parts of the body, to represented today's Birders. We are the organisation of the future and we will send these Foreign Birds back, suitably marked with a special ring to show they have been deported. That way if they return, it will be obvious they won't be tickable.

Subalpine Warbler: This is a classic species that would be deported if caught by a ringer according to the UKIQP manifesto. Velji Do, Croatia (5 May 14)

The IQ30 spokesman announced they were pleased to hear the news that following the successful campaign to keep Scotland part of the UK, by the Bigger Together team, that Scottish Birders realised the threats to their lists and voted to keep those English & Welsh Birds on their lists.

Corn Crake: Scottish Corn Crakes are still fully tickable now Scottish Birders voted for the Bigger Together campaign in the recent Scottish Birders referendum organised by SNIP, the Scottish Nationalist Independence Party. They wanted to drastically snip the Lists of Scottish Birders & stop them ticking English & Welsh Birds. Balranald (4 June 12)

Critics have been quick to respond how will we know what we can Tick. This has already been full thought out by the President of the IQ40 Club, and new IQ30 Club, said their spokesman. He went on to say short term visas will be introduced to allow the American Birds to be ticked. The President will also judge which of these birds will get visas allowing them to be ticked & which will be extended to give them automatic rights to be ticked on future Year Lists.

Mourning Dove: This American visitor would be is likely to get a visa allowing it to be ticked. But it's possible that being on a distant island, a visa might be ruled out: depending on whether members of the IQ30 Club committee travelled to add it to their IQ30 Year List. Rum (30 Oct 13)

He said some of the British Wildfowl will become fully tickable: Black Swans and Bar-headed Geese which were clearly born here will be eligible for ticking. He said BUFO need to allow these species. But he said with a smile, clearly enjoying his own joke, the organisation was old & warty and he is looking forward to the day it croaks for the last time.

Bar-headed Goose: British born Bar-headed Geese would be added to the IQ30 List. Bharatpur, India (27 Jan 14)

So join the IQ30 Club now as we have a special offer at the moment, with a 50% discount on the membership fees for members of UKIQP or for subscribers to the Daily Birding Mail.