Oceanwide Day 6; South Atlantic - Falkland Islands to South Georgia

   Today was a full day at sea as we sailed from the Falkland Islands to South Georgia. Sadly this meant that all of the birding had to be done on the deck of our ship, and the conditions were not particularly helpful thanks to a fog that reduced visibility throughout the day. There were also periods of rainfall, and the colder weather meant that generally being on deck was not a particularly pleasant experience, but we endured none the less.

  The birding throughout the day was slow, but with a few highlights that kept the spirits high. The morning was probably the birdiest part of the day, with a couple of Snowy Albatross hanging around the ship, and our first Black-bellied Storm Petrels although we would seem more throughout the day. Sadly I tried to sneak in a shower during this first part of the day and consequently missed a Blue Petrel and a Soft-plumaged Petrel. 

  After breakfast the slow birding continued, but bits of interest continued to appear. A few Grey-rumped Storm Petrels were nice, given that we expected to leave this species behind at the Falkland Islands. Another new species was Light-mantled Albatross, and we had two individuals hanging around the ship for some time, giving a phenomenal performance. Our only cetacean of the day came during this period, with a nice close Fin Whale appearing but sadly only surfacing once. 

  Once lunch had finished the will to continue really began to be tested. There were points during the afternoon when I really considered heading inside, but in those moments something occurred to raised the spriits. The first was two Macaroni Penguins not far from the boat. But the second was the real highlight, when I picked up an Atlantic Petrel off the Starboard side of the ship. I recognized it immediately, despite it being a rare bird, and was able to stay with it as it passed despite being at distance. Our afternoon was nicely rounded out by a close flyby from a South Georgia Diving Petrel, once I had checked in the book. The fog finally closed in around 17:00, driving us inside. 

  We managed half an hour after dinner once the fog had lifted, but it had only lifted thanks to some heavy rain. This addition time yielded nothing new, and we did not take too much convincing to call it a day at that point.