Rochdale Canal at Todmorden

  Whilst I was away in the news came through of a European Shag on the canal in Todmorden. While opportunities to increase my Halifax list are few and far between these days as a consequence of my spending most of my time away, this was a species I really want to see but had to anxiously wait to see if it would linger. There was a few days break in sightings about a week before I returned, before it was relocated further up the canal, before apparently going AWOL again. Fortunately on boxing day it was reported again, and so I headed down on my first morning back to try track down this Halifax rarity. 

  Unfortunately I misread the location of the bird, so I parked at the Haugh Street Bridge then proceeded to walk all the way to lock 21, instead of bridge 21 which was the complete opposite way. Once I realised my error and had walked all the way back to where I started, it became apparent that bridge 21 would mean another hour walk on the canal, but that I had no choice if I actually wanted to see the bird.

  Fortunately as I passed under the Haugh Street Bridge, I spotted the bird sitting on the bank below Lock 16, right next to the footpath! It was completely unconcerned by my presence and I was able to get a fantastic look and photos as it sat there, alert but relaxed as people passed by. To my knowledge this is only the third Halifax Shag in my lifetime, and an excellent species to connect with for the area. 

 

Oceanwide Day 17; South Atlantic - South Georgia to Ushuaia

   The morning brought poor weather and more back and forth movement up and down the entrance of the Beagle Channel. With the required pilot not reaching us until midday, we had to kill the morning and consequently there was not much to report in terms of sightings. The poor weather did not help on this front, with strong winds and rain keeping us mostly indoors. Just before lunch there were several whale blows not far away from the boat, but we could not manage to see the animals making it very frustrating. 

  Fortunately, the afternoon was much better, with a stunning show from a pod of Peale’s Dolphin just after lunch. They were right in front of the boat and readily going under the prow. On two occasions we got to see an animal completely breach, it was probably the best dolphin encounter of the whole trip. Not long after the dolphins departed, we had a sudden appearance of a Sei Whale about 100 metres off the boat, giving us a clear view of the whole animal. However, the encounter was so quick that I failed to get a photo. 

  The main journey up the Beagle Channel was badly hampered by bad weather and we saw very little. A small group of Magellanic Penguins sat in the water and some Snowy Sheathbills distantly on a rock in the middle of the channel. 

  We finally docked in Ushuaia at 21:30, bringing to an end our enjoyable but also undeniably disappointing cruise around the South Atlantic, minus Antarctica. A few of us headed to the Irish bar in Ushuaia for a few celebratory drinks, and enjoyed an excellent night out. I returned to our lodging on the ship for the final time at 02:30 in the morning, before disembarkation in the morning. 

Oceanwide Day 16; South Atlantic - South Georgia to Ushuaia

   After two slow days at sea, today finally got interesting. Now within the sheltered waters of the mouth of the Beagle Channel there was good numbers of birds again, albeit mostly common species. Before lunch we had a few more Great Shearwaters, including an individual very close to the boat, and had some head scratching to do with some passing black and white shearwater species. Although we initially thought they were Subantarctic Shearwaters, the more we saw the more we began to think they were Manx Shearwaters, and that was our final decision. An unexpected surprise was a Least Seedsnipe that flew over the boat, a rarity out in the Atlantic and an excellent record for our trip.

  The highlight of the day also came in the period before lunch. After a few days without cetacean action, it really came back with a bang. We had a group of possibly up to eight, but certainly at least six Hourglass Dolphins playing in front of the boat for around 10 minutes. We rushed down to the bow and were able to watch them swimming right beneath us and surfacing frequently. We have seen Hourglass Dolphin four times on this trip when travelling at full speed, and they showed no interest in the boat. But as we trundled along at 6mph, the boat suddenly became of great interest!

  Because we arrived at the Beagle Channel earlier than expected, we had to kill most of the day going back and forth over about two kilometer distance, significantly reducing our chances of a new encounter. After lunch there was a lull in activity, so much so that I headed back to do my notes. A classic error, as about half an hour later a pod of dolphins was announced on the tannoy. Fortunately I made it outside in time, to get views of three Dusky Dolphins swimming behind the ship, although not close. 

  In the evening we returned to the deck and enjoyed a very pleasant evening. It started with some distant Peale’s Dolphins leaping into the air, followed by them bow-riding a large tanker ship. From there, we also spotted several distant whale-blows. We enjoyed watching the whale blows, but spotting the animals themselves proved very tricky. In about an hour we spotted the whale itself on just a couple of occasions, always very distant but enough to identify the animals of Sei Whales. 

  After this, we returned inside for dinner, and afterwards we enjoyed a fun karaoke evening with the cruise staff and participants, a fun end to our final full day on the Plancius.

-Hourglass Dolphins

Oceanwide Day 15; South Atlantic - South Georgia to Ushuaia

   Today we continued to make progress on our return to Argentina, and by evening we were within sight of the outermost of the islands of Tierra del Fuego. On the mammal front there was no improvement from the previous day, with a whale blow being the only sighting but sadly no sign of the animal at all.

  Fortunately the birding improved somewhat. Before lunch it continued in much the same vein as the previous day, with very little seen but I persisted regardless. Immediately after lunch things picked up, with a Northern Royal Albatross circling the ship before heading north being the first of the trip. During the afternoon we encountered many Southern Royal Albatross and by the late afternoon I had even managed a new species, with a distant Great Shearwater flying past the ship, albeit rather distantly. Additionally we had a group of 10 Macaroni Penguins sat on the sea, probably the last time we will encounter the species on the trip.

  By nightfall we were well within sight of our final destination, leaving us with the daunting prospect of needing to complete 3 hours of distance in a day and a half, setting us up for a very slow day in the morning.

Oceanwide Day 14; South Atlantic - South Georgia to Ushuaia

   Today really was a slow day as we continued across the ocean towards Ushuaia. Birds were quite slim pickings, with a few Snowy Albatross the only species of note that we realty observed. Cetaceans were at even more of a premium, with a single unidentified dolphin fin being the only sighting. For the excitement of entering new waterways on our unexpected return to Ushuaia, it has so far only compounded the rather disappointing end to our adventure. 

Oceanwide Day 13; South Atlantic - South Georgia to Ushuaia

   It was another day at sea as we dragged our broken ship onwards on its journey back to Argentina. Because of this there was little to break down in turn of events that occurred during the day, but there were a few rewards for the effort we put in on the deck.

  During the morning there was nothing especially different. Two Hourglass Dolphins passed just under the front of the ship, but they never surfaced, we just saw their patterned bodies moving under the waves. The birding was spectacular but only in terms of numbers, with hundreds and hundreds of Slender-billed Prions circling the boat throughout the morning.

  In the afternoon the wind picked up, and the ship started rocking, but there came many more birds in these fresher conditions. It started with the Light-mantled Albatross showing phenomenally around the ship, with occasionally additional Grey-headed Albatrosses and at one point a nice juvenile Snowy Albatross. In one half hour period we spotted eight Soft-plumage Petrels passing distantly, which was an exciting addition to our afternoon and to our cruise overall. Sadly none were ever particularly close but we could readily identify them through their contrasting underside.

  As evening rolled around the conditions continued to deteriorate, with the ship rocking significantly throughout the evening. There would be no spectacular late whale encounter today.

Oceanwide Day 12; South Atlantic - South Georgia to Ushuaia

   The weather today was nice and clear, with a few snow flurries reducing visibility but otherwise cool and crisp conditions to be on deck. Sadly, the improvement of the weather was matched by abosultely devastating news that a technical malfunction within the ship meant that it was no longer possible to make the voyage to Antarctica, and the crew had been instructed to turn back to Ushuaia immediately. This was obviously a devastating development, but the lack of clarity surrounding any compensation amplified the concern of the situation, but fortunately it was resolved rather favourably later in the day. But as a consequence of this development we now faced several days at sea as the ship slowly made its way back to port, hoping for no adverse weather to further delay our arrival. 

  Among the chaos of the day, there were a few seabirds on offer. Most of the selection was the usual species, with two Kerguelen Petrel being the most interesting species of the day. It was also good to sea both King Penguin and Macaroni Penguin from the boat, as the swam in the open sea.

  The real highlights of the day were the cetaceans, specifically the first sighting. Sheltering from the wind, we birded from the back of the ship when two fins appeared in front of us. They were not large whales, and in the immediate moments there was some confusion as to what we were looking at. But fortunately, the head and blowhole were soon visible and we realized we were looking at two Southern Bottlenose Whales. My first beaked whale, and a fantastic species to encounter. Our second encounter was a pod of three distant Hourglass Dolphins, but we saw little apart from the animals fins, so it was not a particularly exciting encounter. 

  After an emotional rollercoaster of a day, the seastate at sunset was flat calm, almost like a millpond, quite bizzare to witness. We hoped for a whale to emerge in the superb conditions but sadly it did not happen. That was the case until I was already in bed, when a call came over the tannoy of whales outside. I threw on some clothes and dashed onto deck, just in time to see a group of at least six Southern Bottlenose Whales regularly surfacing at the back of the ship. Even in the dull light their beaked whale profile was well observed! 

Oceanwide Day 11; South Georgia - Gold Harbour & Drygalski Fjord

  We had a busy morning for our final day on South Georgia. The plan was to visit the beach at Gold Harbour before breakfast, followed by a zodiac cruise around Cooper Bay and then head southwards towards Antarctica. But best laid plans can never fully account for the weather, and it played another significant part in how the day transpired. 

  The morning at Gold Harbour saw us wake up at 05:30, and be onshore by 06:00 in very snowy conditions. Towards the end of our 90 minutes on the beach the snow began to fall even harder, with it settling and covering all over the beach. The many King Penguins did not seem to mind too much, and they were certainly the highlight of the morning. It was quite special to see them in these different conditions, even it did cost us the views of the landscape. A Brown Skua tugging at Jonah’s trousers and trying to catch snowflakes was probably the other highlight.

  The trip to Cooper Bay was not as successful, and the swell there meant that we could not safely board the zodiacs. We still managed to observe the colonies of Macaroni Penguins and our first Chinstrap Penguins from the main ship, but it was not as intimate as would have been nice. As compensation we took the ship up the Drygalski Fjord not far from the bay to see the hanging glaciers which were very spectacular. The birding was highlighted by excellent numbers of Snow Petrels, sometimes flying incredibly close to us on the ship. At the end of the channel we also saw our first Weddel Seals hauled out here.

  The rest of the day was spent on deck as we took the ship south as we began our voyage to Antarctica. This was probably the birdiest stretch of water for the entire trip, with excellent numbers of commoner species and even good numbers of species such as Snow Petrel and Blue Petrel. An unexpected Grey-rumped Storm Petrel was one of the bonus birds we encountered, as were the four Kerguelen Petrels we saw. The first was very distant, but with each new individual the sighting came closer and the final two were very easy to identify, despite not being especially close. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, with other goodies including four species of Albatross and some Macaroni Penguins in the open sea. 

  On the cetacean front, it was good to finally get back to the action after two blank days. There was not a huge number of encounters, and even the one encounter we were actually identify was very brief, but it was still enough to confirm that it was two Fin Whales, quite close to the ship but not surfaced long enough to get good photos. 

  The evening was highlighted by a rather stunning sunset, our first sighting of the sun for almost a week. Next days will be spent at sea before we reach the continent of Antarctica.  

-King Penguin

-Southern Elephant Seal

Oceanwide Day 10; South Georgia - St Andrews Bay & Godthul

   It was another day of low cloud and snowfall on South Georgia, but fortunately there was no wind and very limited swell, which meant that our planned itinerary could proceed without issue. 

  And what an itinerary it promised to be, with the highlight being the morning visit to St Andrews bay, the largest King Penguin colony on the island with an estimated 250,000 birds at its peak. That said, this year the number was estimated at between 150 – 170,000 and I estimated around 100,000 in total. But it was still by far one of the greatest wildlife spectacles I have ever witnessed. There were penguins everywhere, but the staff had planned a route up to a small hill overlooking the main colony, and when you looked down upon the scene below you, it was truly overwhelming. The noise especially was really something, the sounds of thousands of penguins filling your ears. There were several comedic moments, including chicks charging around and crashing into adults and the squabbles of the parents. Truly one of the most incredible places I have ever been.

  The penguins were everything here, but there were other birds as well. Nothing notable, but it was very nice to see a Brown Skua chick, which was truly delightful. I finally got a good view of a white form of the Southern Giant Petrel, with one sat on the beach among the usual shades of grey and other Northern Giant Petrels. 

  In the afternoon we visited the bay of Godthul, where the staff offered a few options. There was a high up to a mountain overlooking the bay, a short stroll looking at the Gentoo Penguin colony, although it involved a steep climb through tough tussock grass, or a zodiac cruise. I opted for the second option, which meant more relaxed birding and enjoying the penguins.

  It is a good thing I did take this option, as I had the most incredible views of South Georgia Pintail and a single South Georgia Pipit. Both species showed exceptionally well, the Pintail especially were very confiding. The solitary pipit individual was not as confiding but was confidently feeding out in the open for much of the time we were there, sometimes less than a couple of metres away. An excellent performance, giving walk away views. 

  The Gentoo Penguins here were the main draw and we spent some time watching their antics. There were several ages of chicks, ranging from very small to medium sized chicks. We got to see them being fed by the adults, while the adults also ran around stealing nest material from each other. It was brilliant to watch, like an Attenborough documentary on display right in front of us.

  At 18:30 we were back on the ship, ready for our dinner and a debrief, after another incredible day on South Georgia. 

Oceanwide Day 9; South Georgia - Hercules Bay, Fortuna Bay & Grykonen

   After yesterdays relentless issues trying to land on South Georgia, today we managed to squeeze in three different excursions, enjoying the very best of what this spectacular island had to offer. Whilst the persistent fog refused to fully budge, the overall situation had improved but we had now an issue with persistent snowfall which had covered the island in a blanket of white, and continued to fall throughout the morning. 

  Our first excursion was a before breakfast zodiac ride around Hercules Bay. This bay had very steep sides, which despite not being able to see the tops of the mountains was made spectacular by the snowfall. The choice of location was for a colony of Macaroni Penguins in the tussock grass here, but where birds sat out on the open where they could be viewed from the boats. We saw a hundred or so individuals, although the swell of the zodiac made viewing a little tricky. In addition, there were a few King Penguins also sheltering in the bay.

  We returned for breakfast at 07:00 and then made our way around the corner to Fortuna Bay, one of the most spectacular sites on our itinerary. On the way we passed some amazing icebergs and stunning glaciers, made all the more atmospheric thanks to the fog and snowfall. The bay here has a King Penguin colony of some 20,000 birds, and it was indeed quite the site to witness. The whole vista was a little much to take in, such was the volume of birds on show. 

  I spent an hour with the King Penguins, but for the final hour of the excursion I fully focused on location a South Georgia Pipit. Maddeningly, one had been seen by the first team onshore, but when I passed the area it was crowded and there was no sign. Nevertheless, with most people now at the Penguin colony, I returned to the location and after an anxious wait, during which time I entertained myself with the South Georgia Pintails, I finally got distant views of the Pipit on the rock face. 

  Fortunately, the bird then descended into the tussocks and was soon feeding right in front of us, just a couple of meters away. At one point it even made its way on to the beach, but its time here was too fleeting for good photos. After making me sweat, in the end I had walkaway views of the species. Although not a particularly striking bird to look at, its status as the worlds most southerly passerine made it my most wanted species for the trip.

  With the relief of the Pipit under the belt, I was able to relax a bit more. We made our obligatory visit to the Grykonen whaling station, where the government of the island is based. There was no wildlife to see here, instead visiting to Shackleton’s grave and the island museum. It was an interesting afternoon, full of history. However, there is always wildlife, and we enjoyed quite a show from the Antarctic Fur Seal and Southern Elephant Seals present around the shore, with one of the Elephant Seal pups rolling of a small cliff being a particular highlight. 

  I returned to the ship at 18:15 after a long day, and after my notes spent the evening relaxing. Or that was the plan, but the crew had planned a BBQ for the enitre ship, so the evening was spent drinking, dancing and chatting with the staff. It was an excellent way to round out an excellent day.