20th December 10.35pm - At sea to the Antarctic peninsula. 56 degrees 18.90' South/61 degrees 42.29' West, dry, part cloudy, wind SE force 2 (yes, force 2!), air temperature 10 degrees, water temperature 7.2 degrees.
After a memorable day at West Point Island yesterday most of today was spent watching for seabirds from my "office" on the starboard side of the back deck of the boat. I was talking to two of the ships officers this evening and they said they have rarely seen the ocean so came on the edge of Drake Passage, it was almost flat calm. Lets hope it stays that way, but I doubt it. We came across seabirds concentrated in patches with much of the time only seeing a few Giant Petrels and Cape Petrels following in the wake of the boat. As has been the case since we left Port Madryn in Argentina we occasionally come across large clumps of seaweed floating on the surface, this dispels the myth for me that once you started seeing seaweed you had to be close to land. I had to do some work in my cabin this afternoon for an hour and a half and while I was there three Sei Whales were seen not far from the boat - a classic KitKat moment! For those classes following my trip can I wish you a happy Christmas and New Year. I hope the information I have been posting has been of use and I will keeping up the blog during your holidays. Tomorrow is mid-summer's day here (mad, I know!) and this evening sunset was at about 10 o'clock and it was still bright at half ten. Bye for now.
Species seen today:
Sea Mammals
Peale’s Dolphin 20+
Sei Whale 3*
Birds
Wandering Albatross 1
Royal Albatross 1
Wandering/Royal Albatross 3
Southern Giant Petrel 30+
Northern Giant Petrel 1 *
Black-browed Albatross 80+
Southern Fulmar 1 *
Cape Petrel 50+
Antarctic Prion 1
Thin-billed Prion 10+
Unidentified Prion 60+
Grey Petrel 2 *
Sooty Shearwater 100+
Wilson’s Storm Petrel 10+ *
Black-bellied Storm Petrel 4 *
Unidentified Diving Petrel 7
White-chinned Petrel 10+
Magellanic Penguin 8
* New Species for the Cruise.
Note: No Great or Manx Shearwaters today and no large numbers of Prions at dusk. Towards the evening all the Giant Petrels had stopped following the ship.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
19th December 6.56am - Anchored a t West Point Island in the Falkland Islands/Malvinas - 51 degrees 22.11' South / 60 degrees 40.18' West, Air Temperature 9 degrees, water temperature 8.5 degrees, wind South west force 2, Overcast and Drizzly clearing to sunshine in the afternoon and fog in the evening.
Today I died and went to heaven (for a while at least) I spent the day with the rest of the expedition team marshaling most of the 417 passengers and showing them the mixed Rockhopper and Black-browed Albatross colony on the island. This colony holds 14,500 Black-brows and a few thousand Rockhoppers. It was hard to believe how these birds, which must have been photographed a million time, from a matter of only a few feet away, behaved as if we weren't there. As the fog and rain lifted the scene was beyond description. Rockhoppers, two feet high, climbing the well worn path, 250 feet up the side of a cliff to get to the nests, Albatrosses all around and flying within a foot of my head, so low you could feel the breeze as they passed. A Striated Caracara (hawk) landing less than three feet from me in the hope of stealing my lunch and out in the mirror calm bay between 800 and 1,000 Imperial Shags in tight flocks, some numbering over 100, diving together to catch fish and then flying east to their colonies in very long V's or lines and to finish off the day on the way back to the liner in the zodiac we had a flock of about 20 Rockhopper Penguins washing and diving close to the boat. Apart from the stunning wildlife and scenery one of my main memories of the Falklands was the amount of Landrovers to be seen, they were everywhere. We are now heading south for the Antarctic Peninsula so I hope to work on some images if I get a chance and will post up as soon as possible. Thanks for all the comments much appreciated. Felix - Tell your dad he as become an honourary member of the expedition team. Following an incident today I used a saying that Paddy told me a few years back - "No point in being stupid if you don't show it" It was just what the doctor ordered and the expedition team were so taken with it they are thinking of getting tee shirts printing up with the saying on it! - today was a very long and privileged day for me today. The birds seen today are listed below. Bye for now.
Giant Petrel 40+
Black-browed Albatross – lots of them!
Cape Petrel 7
Antarctic/Thin-billed Prion – at dusk, thousands.
Great Shearwater 11
Manx Shearwater 3
Sooty Shearwater 200+
White-chinned Petrel 4
Magellanic Penguin 50+
Rockhopper Penguin – a lot of them too!
Gentoo Penguin 70+
Rock Shag 10+
Imperial Shag 800-1,000
Upland Goose 60+
Flightless Steamer Duck 10+
Crested Duck 10
Turkey Vulture 3
Variable Hawk 1
Striated Caracara 4
Falkland’s Brown Skua 5
Kelp Gull 10+
South American Tern 20+
Tussacbird 2
Dark-faced Ground Tyrant 4
Austral “Falklands” Thrush 6+
Falklands (Correndera) Pipit 1
Black-chinned Siskin 4+
Long-tailed Meadowlark 2
Today I died and went to heaven (for a while at least) I spent the day with the rest of the expedition team marshaling most of the 417 passengers and showing them the mixed Rockhopper and Black-browed Albatross colony on the island. This colony holds 14,500 Black-brows and a few thousand Rockhoppers. It was hard to believe how these birds, which must have been photographed a million time, from a matter of only a few feet away, behaved as if we weren't there. As the fog and rain lifted the scene was beyond description. Rockhoppers, two feet high, climbing the well worn path, 250 feet up the side of a cliff to get to the nests, Albatrosses all around and flying within a foot of my head, so low you could feel the breeze as they passed. A Striated Caracara (hawk) landing less than three feet from me in the hope of stealing my lunch and out in the mirror calm bay between 800 and 1,000 Imperial Shags in tight flocks, some numbering over 100, diving together to catch fish and then flying east to their colonies in very long V's or lines and to finish off the day on the way back to the liner in the zodiac we had a flock of about 20 Rockhopper Penguins washing and diving close to the boat. Apart from the stunning wildlife and scenery one of my main memories of the Falklands was the amount of Landrovers to be seen, they were everywhere. We are now heading south for the Antarctic Peninsula so I hope to work on some images if I get a chance and will post up as soon as possible. Thanks for all the comments much appreciated. Felix - Tell your dad he as become an honourary member of the expedition team. Following an incident today I used a saying that Paddy told me a few years back - "No point in being stupid if you don't show it" It was just what the doctor ordered and the expedition team were so taken with it they are thinking of getting tee shirts printing up with the saying on it! - today was a very long and privileged day for me today. The birds seen today are listed below. Bye for now.
Giant Petrel 40+
Black-browed Albatross – lots of them!
Cape Petrel 7
Antarctic/Thin-billed Prion – at dusk, thousands.
Great Shearwater 11
Manx Shearwater 3
Sooty Shearwater 200+
White-chinned Petrel 4
Magellanic Penguin 50+
Rockhopper Penguin – a lot of them too!
Gentoo Penguin 70+
Rock Shag 10+
Imperial Shag 800-1,000
Upland Goose 60+
Flightless Steamer Duck 10+
Crested Duck 10
Turkey Vulture 3
Variable Hawk 1
Striated Caracara 4
Falkland’s Brown Skua 5
Kelp Gull 10+
South American Tern 20+
Tussacbird 2
Dark-faced Ground Tyrant 4
Austral “Falklands” Thrush 6+
Falklands (Correndera) Pipit 1
Black-chinned Siskin 4+
Long-tailed Meadowlark 2
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tuesday 18th December 6.36am – 51 degrees 14.38 West / 57 degrees 57.51 South, Wind Southwest 6, overcast and showers dying out mid morning, water temperature 8.8 degrees, air temperature 9 degrees.
Houses at Port Stanley.
Me under an arch made of Blue Whale jaw bones.
A male Upland Goose.
A Dolphin Gull.
Flowers near Port Stanley
Variable (Red backed) Hawk nesting on a sea cliff neat Port Stanley.
Another flowering plant near Port Stanley.
Yet another beautiful flowering plant near Port Stanley.
Magellanic Penguin Colony at Gypsy Cove near Port Stanley.
Arrived in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands at 10am. We were escorted in by over 40 Giant Petrels, 5 Cape Petrels and over 80 Black-browed Albatrosses, come coming within 20 feet of the ship. Over 75% of the world’s population of Black-browed Albatrosses breeds on the Falkland Islands. As we got closer to Port Stanley we began to see more and more Magellanic Penguins in the water and then saw a few Gentoo Penguins “porpoising” away from the ship like stones skimming along the top of the water. From the sea Port Stanley looks very like Reykjavik in Iceland. Many of the houses have blue, red or white corrugated roofs and brightly coloured walls. The islands also reminded me a bit of Iceland because the landscape was devoid of trees and bushes, outside of town. European Gorse was in full bloom, an introduced species that is spreading quickly in some parts and causing a threat to some of the islands wild life. Spent the day in and around Port Stanley and saw a great selection of birds and plants. Most of the birds were very tame and not at all wary of humans. Bird highlights included Variable Hawk, Upland, Ruddy and Kelp Goose, Long-tailed Meadowlark, Falklands Flightless Steamer Duck (found nowhere else in the world), close views of Magellanic Penguins in their nesting burrows with young and a flock of about 200 on a sandy beach, Blackish Oystercatcher and Dolphin Gulls which are beautiful birds, and a totally albino White-chinned Petrel. I think I got some good video and will hopefully upload a selection of images in the next day or two. Need to get some sleep now as we have an early and busy day tomorrow at the Black-browed Albatross and Rockhopper Penguin colony at West Point Island on the west side of the Falklands, weather permitting – fingers crossed! Bye for now.
Houses at Port Stanley.
Me under an arch made of Blue Whale jaw bones.
A male Upland Goose.
A Dolphin Gull.
Flowers near Port Stanley
Variable (Red backed) Hawk nesting on a sea cliff neat Port Stanley.
Another flowering plant near Port Stanley.
Yet another beautiful flowering plant near Port Stanley.
Magellanic Penguin Colony at Gypsy Cove near Port Stanley.
Arrived in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands at 10am. We were escorted in by over 40 Giant Petrels, 5 Cape Petrels and over 80 Black-browed Albatrosses, come coming within 20 feet of the ship. Over 75% of the world’s population of Black-browed Albatrosses breeds on the Falkland Islands. As we got closer to Port Stanley we began to see more and more Magellanic Penguins in the water and then saw a few Gentoo Penguins “porpoising” away from the ship like stones skimming along the top of the water. From the sea Port Stanley looks very like Reykjavik in Iceland. Many of the houses have blue, red or white corrugated roofs and brightly coloured walls. The islands also reminded me a bit of Iceland because the landscape was devoid of trees and bushes, outside of town. European Gorse was in full bloom, an introduced species that is spreading quickly in some parts and causing a threat to some of the islands wild life. Spent the day in and around Port Stanley and saw a great selection of birds and plants. Most of the birds were very tame and not at all wary of humans. Bird highlights included Variable Hawk, Upland, Ruddy and Kelp Goose, Long-tailed Meadowlark, Falklands Flightless Steamer Duck (found nowhere else in the world), close views of Magellanic Penguins in their nesting burrows with young and a flock of about 200 on a sandy beach, Blackish Oystercatcher and Dolphin Gulls which are beautiful birds, and a totally albino White-chinned Petrel. I think I got some good video and will hopefully upload a selection of images in the next day or two. Need to get some sleep now as we have an early and busy day tomorrow at the Black-browed Albatross and Rockhopper Penguin colony at West Point Island on the west side of the Falklands, weather permitting – fingers crossed! Bye for now.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
17th December 2007 - Today we sailed south towards our next stop, the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas). At 6.30am our position was 45 degrees 04.05 South / 62 degrees 39.81 west, recent showers clearing later in the day with one fog patch over the continental shelf edge, water temperature 13.3 degrees, air temperature 13.0 degrees, wind Northwest Force 3 later turning South force 1-2, almost flat calm at times.
A Giant Petrel following the ship south to the Falkland Islands.
At about half seven this morning we saw 6 Southern Right Whales in a fairly small area. It was amazing to see so many of them together in a fairly small area. The are on their migration south to Antarctic waters. We saw 15 in total today. I also saw a Sperm Whale and about 10 Peale's Dolphins and one Sea Lion. It was incredible to see a total of at least 12 Magellanic Penguins in the middle of the ocean. We also saw Great Shearwater 20+, Manx Shearwater 2, Sooty Shearwater 3, Giant Petrel 50+, White-chinned Petrel 100+, Black-browed Albatross 80+,
Royal Albatross 9, Wandering Albatross 8+,Magellanic Penguin 15+
Arctic/Long-tailed Skua 1, Pomarine Skua 1, Falkland’s Brown Skua 1, Cape Petrel (Pintado Petrel) 5 and Prion Species (unidentified) 9. Another breathtaking day, I am definitely dreaming and should wake up and minute. Bye for now.
A Giant Petrel following the ship south to the Falkland Islands.
At about half seven this morning we saw 6 Southern Right Whales in a fairly small area. It was amazing to see so many of them together in a fairly small area. The are on their migration south to Antarctic waters. We saw 15 in total today. I also saw a Sperm Whale and about 10 Peale's Dolphins and one Sea Lion. It was incredible to see a total of at least 12 Magellanic Penguins in the middle of the ocean. We also saw Great Shearwater 20+, Manx Shearwater 2, Sooty Shearwater 3, Giant Petrel 50+, White-chinned Petrel 100+, Black-browed Albatross 80+,
Royal Albatross 9, Wandering Albatross 8+,Magellanic Penguin 15+
Arctic/Long-tailed Skua 1, Pomarine Skua 1, Falkland’s Brown Skua 1, Cape Petrel (Pintado Petrel) 5 and Prion Species (unidentified) 9. Another breathtaking day, I am definitely dreaming and should wake up and minute. Bye for now.
Monday, December 17, 2007
16th December - Our position at 7.15am was 42 degrees 52.77 S / 63 degrees 38.96 West. Water temperature was 13.5 degrees (Celsius!) and the wind was Northwest force 5, clear skies and sunny.
Female Southern Elephant Seals, hauled out to moult on a beach at the Valdes Peninsula.
The slaughter of Sea Lions at the Valdes Peninsula in the early 20th century
A compelte skeleton of a young Southern Right Whale at the Valdes Peninsula Centre
A summers sunday afternoon at Port Madryn, Argentina
Sunset over the Valdes Peninsula
We reached Port Madryn at 10am. On the way into the port in the bay to the south of the Valdes Peninsula we saw three Southern Right Whales close to the ship. Interestingly we had an Eared Dove (smaller than a Collared Dove) following the ship all the way from Montevideo. It probably roosted on the ship as we left Montevideo in the evening and when it woke up it found itself a hundred miles out to sea. It spent last night roosting on top of one of the lifeboats and it was last seen flying ashore at Port Madryn this morning just before we docked. We spent the day exploring the Valdes Peninsula. This peninsula was made very famous by Charles Darwin who spent time here during the voyage of the Beagle and what he saw helped him to formulate his theory of evolution. Highlights of a great day included over 30 Guanacos (relatives of the Llama), Burrowing Owls, Turkey Vultures, Lesser Rheas, over 100 Southern Elephant Seals, South American Sea lions and a colony of Magellanic Penguins. The maximum temperature today was 30 degrees. As it was Sunday there was lots of people in Port Madryn swimming at the local beach. I still cannot believe its nearly Christmas, the weather here as been so hot and sunny. I also cannot believe that in a few days time I will be in the freezing cold looking at icebergs. Still not having much joy with images and even getting a signal to upload to the blog and sending emails is hit and miss. I am not sure how things will go in the next week. When we get to Ushuaia I should be able to put on some images. Bye for now.
Female Southern Elephant Seals, hauled out to moult on a beach at the Valdes Peninsula.
The slaughter of Sea Lions at the Valdes Peninsula in the early 20th century
A compelte skeleton of a young Southern Right Whale at the Valdes Peninsula Centre
A summers sunday afternoon at Port Madryn, Argentina
Sunset over the Valdes Peninsula
We reached Port Madryn at 10am. On the way into the port in the bay to the south of the Valdes Peninsula we saw three Southern Right Whales close to the ship. Interestingly we had an Eared Dove (smaller than a Collared Dove) following the ship all the way from Montevideo. It probably roosted on the ship as we left Montevideo in the evening and when it woke up it found itself a hundred miles out to sea. It spent last night roosting on top of one of the lifeboats and it was last seen flying ashore at Port Madryn this morning just before we docked. We spent the day exploring the Valdes Peninsula. This peninsula was made very famous by Charles Darwin who spent time here during the voyage of the Beagle and what he saw helped him to formulate his theory of evolution. Highlights of a great day included over 30 Guanacos (relatives of the Llama), Burrowing Owls, Turkey Vultures, Lesser Rheas, over 100 Southern Elephant Seals, South American Sea lions and a colony of Magellanic Penguins. The maximum temperature today was 30 degrees. As it was Sunday there was lots of people in Port Madryn swimming at the local beach. I still cannot believe its nearly Christmas, the weather here as been so hot and sunny. I also cannot believe that in a few days time I will be in the freezing cold looking at icebergs. Still not having much joy with images and even getting a signal to upload to the blog and sending emails is hit and miss. I am not sure how things will go in the next week. When we get to Ushuaia I should be able to put on some images. Bye for now.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
15th December - Today we are sailing from Montevideo in Uruguay to Port Madryn in Argentina. We are due to arrive in Port Madryn at about 11 o’clock tomorrow morning. Our position at half four was 39 degrees 49.59 South and 59 degrees 00.35 West. The weather has been sunny, wind force 4, temperature 18 degrees. The seabirds were amazing. I saw my first albatrosses!!!!!!!! – over 100 Black-browed and 5 Royal Albatrosses. The Royal is the bird with the largest wingspan of any flying bird and nothing could prepare me for what they look like, unbelievable. We also had hundreds of Great Shearwaters and smaller numbers of Manx Shearwaters, Giant Petrels, Pomarine Skuas, Magellanic Penguins and one Atlantic Petrel. We also had an small Eared Dove, like a miniature Turtle Dove, which flew along side the ship from dawn up until about 4 pm. It must have roosted on the ship when we were leaving Montevideo and woke up to find the land had disappeared! Strange thing it never attempted to land on the boat all day. We also had four pods of Peale’s Dolphins, the largest being of about 60 individuals. The crew and passengers on the ship are fantastic as are the rest of the expedition team. Gave my first lecture of the cruise also today and went down well. Having trouble getting images up on-line but hopefully will upload some soon. Bye for now.
Friday, December 14, 2007
13th December - The voyage begins!
We spent yesterday in Buenos Aires. It was a bit weird seeing a giant Santa Claus outside a city centre shopping mall in 31 degree and blue skies. They have some tree lights but not much in the shops to make you think it was Christmas. On any open green area there were hundreds of dragonflies flying about one metre off the ground. Went to the local nature reserve next to the port and the sounds of so many strange and new birds was amazing. I also managed to see two large lizards, over 80cm in length. We sailed from Buenos Aires yesterday evening and after dusk we had dragonflies flying around the boat and also some large insects that looked like crickets or grasshoppers.
Santa Claus in 30oC in Buenos Aires
Incredible detail on bronze sculptures on the top of pillars in Montevideo
A converted railway station near the port in Montevideo
Spoon figures at a stall in Montevideo
The view form the back deck of the liner heading south from Montevideo
This evening we sail south to Port Madryn and I give my first lecture to the passangers tomorrow. I will spend tomorrow seawatching, fingers crossed for an Albatross!
Santa Claus in 30oC in Buenos Aires
Monarch Butterfly in local wild life park in Buenos Aires
Today we spent the day in Montevideo, Uruguay. A much smaller city than Buenos Aires and with an older feel to it. Temperature was again over 30 degrees and no real signs of Christmas decorations.
Incredible detail on bronze sculptures on the top of pillars in Montevideo
A converted railway station near the port in Montevideo
Spoon figures at a stall in Montevideo
The view form the back deck of the liner heading south from Montevideo
This evening we sail south to Port Madryn and I give my first lecture to the passangers tomorrow. I will spend tomorrow seawatching, fingers crossed for an Albatross!
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