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 18; Ushuaia

   For the final time we left the Plancius and headed into Ushuaia. It was not a particularly exciting morning, grey and drizzly. We had a flight early afternoon, so first went for a drink at a coffee shop in Ushuaia with a few of the guys from the ship, before they headed off for their respective flights.

  Before we headed to the airport I returned to the lagoon near Ushuaia, hoping that the Red Shovelers that according to eBird data were supposed to be common there might have finally turned up. It took a bit of time, but we eventually walk round far enough and managed to pick out a smart pair of these ducks among the rafts of Yellow-billed Teals and Crested Ducks. It was a relief, and the final tick of our Tierra del Fuego adventure.

  The flight to Buenos Aires from Ushuaia was fairly uneventful, as was the evening we spent in the city. Obviously a disappointing end to our Oceanwide adventure, but it was still a relief to have the option to come to the warm sunny capital rather than Ushuaia! 

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. 

-Sei Whale

-Peale's Dolphin

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 kilometers 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

-Hourglass Dolphin

-Dusky Dolphin

-Peale's Dolphin

-Sei Whale

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 absolutely 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; 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 Petrels being the most interesting species of the day. It was also good to see both King Penguin and Macaroni Penguin from the boat, as they 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 sea at sunset was flat calm, almost like a millpond, quite bizarre 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. 

  Although there was something amiss about them, as I discussed with the whale specialist onboard after the animals had departed, he relieved my concerns, and the animals were left identified as Southern Bottlenose Whales. That was until I got around to uploading them to iNaturalist. The response here was overwhelmingly that the animals were Strap-toothed Beaked Whales, and looking at the photos, the white beak, longer forehead, and the pale back on one of the animals all seem obvious now! This is a really rare animal, and one I am very excited to have recorded on our trip! 

-Strap-toothed Whale

-Southern Bottlenose Whale

-Hourglass Dolphins

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 though 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, as the swell there prevented us from safely boarding 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 it would have been nice. As compensation, we took the ship up the Drygalski Fjord, not far from the bay, to see the hanging glacier,s 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 Weddell Seals hauled out here.

  The rest of the day was spent on deck as we took the ship south 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 delightful 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 only one encounter was prolonged enough to get identifiable photos, but it was a good one; another Blue Whale!

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

-King Penguin

-Southern Elephant Seal

-Blue Whale

-Weddell 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 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. 

-Gentoo Penguins

-South Georgia Pipit

-Antarctic Fur Seal

-Southern Elephant Seal