ATLANTIC ODYSSEY 2003

By Tour Leader Tony Marr

Wildlife Summary — From Ushuaia to The Azores - March 14^th-April 25^th 2003

Any expedition which can find three adult Emperor Penguins, 500 Snow Petrels, and 2,000 Antarctic Petrels on one day; ten days later 1,700 Dusky Dolphins, 10,000 Northern Rockhopper Penguins, 100 Tristan and 200 Sooty Albatrosses, 300 Atlantic Petrels, 1,000 Broad-billed Prions, 600 Little Shearwaters, Gough Moorhen and Gough Bunting; and three days after that, breeding Great Shearwaters and Spectacled Petrels, Tristan Thrush, Tristan Bunting and Inaccessible Island Rail, inter alia; must be worthy of serious consideration. Such an expedition took place in March and April 2003 on the ice-strengthened Russian former research vessel Professor Molchanov which operates as an expedition cruise ship in the polar regions. This was its annual repositioning trip from Antarctica back to Europe before heading north to the Arctic.

Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

A visit to the Tierra del Fuego National Park the day before our departure provided some excellent

birding, with Magellanic Woodpeckers, Spectacled Duck, Black-chested Buzzard Eagles, at least eight Andean Condors, Austral Parakeets, and Magellanic Snipe, while on the edge of town two Ashy-headed Geese and two White-throated Caracaras completed the day. On the journey down the Beagle Channel on our departure on the evening of 14 March we found several Magellanic Penguins and Magellanic Diving Petrels among the hundreds of Black-browed Albatrosses and Sooty Shearwaters and dozens of Chilean Skuas and Southern Giant Petrels.

Drake Passage

Among the regular species — Wandering, Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatross, Wilson’s and Black-bellied Storm-petrels, Southern and Northern Giant Petrels, and White-chinned Petrel — were a Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, four Southern Royal Albatrosses (from New Zealand), and (both species unusually far south in the Drake) 10 Kerguelen Petrels and 50 Soft-plumaged Petrels.

South Shetland Islands

Greeted by Cape Petrels and Antarctic Fulmars, we had time to fit in an unscheduled landing, on Aitcho Island. Here colonies of Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins were attended by Pale-faced Sheathbills, Subantarctic and South Polar Skuas and Southern Giant Petrels, while offshore a Leopard Seal was eating a Gentoo it had just killed. On the beaches were Southern Elephant Seals and the first of many thousands of Antarctic Fur Seals we were to see, and in the English Strait on our departure we watched two Antarctic Minke and 13 Humpback Whales as we headed south towards the Peninsula.

Antarctic Sound

With landings on 17^th at Hope Bay (Argentina’s Esperanza Base) in the morning and Brown Bluff in the afternoon, in bitterly cold, very windy conditions, we found a few Adelie Penguins remaining at the end of their breeding season, and our first Snow Petrels. As we threaded our way among huge tabular icebergs into the Weddell Sea towards the end of the day, we passed eight Orcas, three Humpbacks and two Antarctic Minke Whales, and just before dinner a lone Antarctic Petrel circled the ship and disappeared into the gathering gloom.

Weddell Sea

The whole of 18 March was spent in Erebus & Terror Gulf, starting at Devil’s Island and ending at Paulet Island, 43 miles to the north. The journey northwards, on a beautiful clear and sunny day, was filled with scores of Wilson’s Storm-petrels, Subantarctic Skuas and Antarctic Terns, with some Adelie and Gentoo Penguins, Cape Petrels and South Polar Skuas. No fewer than 37 Antarctic Minke Whales and a pod of five Orcas were spotted. Seals were much in evidence, with Leopard, Crabeater, Weddell and Antarctic Fur Seals hauled out of the water on icefloes. On Paulet we found just a few Adelies remaining of the 100,000 pairs which bred here, but about 1,000 Antarctic, or Blue-eyed, Shags still in their colony.

The pack ice

At sea between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkney Islands on 19 March, we found ourselves in unexpected pack ice and icebergs for much of the day. For hour after hour we passed extraordinary numbers of Snow Petrels and even more of the much scarcer Antarctic Petrel, gathered on the ice or on the tops of icebergs. We estimated 500 Snow and 2,000 Antarctic by dusk — only one of each species had been seen on the 2002 Odyssey. For many people, the highlight of the whole expedition occurred at 11.00 am, when three adult Emperor Penguins were seen on an icefloe about a mile ahead of the ship. To our unconstrained delight, they stayed put, standing upright on their floating home, until the ship was level with them, where amazing close views and photographs were obtained. We enjoyed their impressive company for 40 minutes in all. Would we ever be able to follow that?

South Orkney Islands

Some 20,000 Chinstrap Penguins on and around Powell Island were accompanied by Antarctic Prions, Shags, Fulmars and Terns as we headed out to sea through the aptly-named Iceberg Bay.

At sea between South Orkneys and South Georgia

On this one-day crossing, ten Orcas and six Hourglass Dolphins, albatrosses of four of the species already listed, and single White-headed and Grey Petrels were seen, along with the high total of 45 Kerguelen Petrels and an estimated, exceptionally high, total of 2,000-plus Blue Petrels.

South Georgia

Three days on this legendary sub-Antarctic island reinforced its reputation for an outstanding variety and volume of wildlife. We visited Grytviken where we found the endemic South Georgia Pintail; the huge King Penguin colony at Salisbury Plain; Macaroni and Chinstrap colonies at Cooper Bay; breeding Wandering Albatrosses on Albatross Island, where endemic South Georgia Pipits fed along the tideline; and Gold Harbour, where we encountered numbers of huge Southern Elephant Seals and Antarctic Fur Seals along the beach, King Penguins in a big colony behind the beach, and watched through a telescope a Light-mantled Sooty Albatross on a ledge on a nearby cliff. The numbers of birds and marine mammals here were so great that it felt as though we were taking part in a David Attenborough wildlife documentary - and on a perfect, lovely, still, sunny day at that...

At sea between South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha

This five-day journey was memorable for the variety and numbers of seabirds, many species occurring at approximately the same latitudes as on the two earlier Odysseys. Principal species were Sooty and Tristan Albatrosses; Soft-plumaged, Kerguelen, Grey, Atlantic, Great-winged, Spectacled and White-chinned Petrels; two White-headed Petrels; Great and Little Shearwaters; Black-bellied, White-bellied and three Grey-backed Storm-petrels; and Antarctic, Broad-billed and Fairy Prions, always an identification challenge. Cetaceans included Sei Whales, Minke Whales, Long-finned Pilot Whales, Hourglass Dolphins and four unidentified Beaked Whales.

Gough Island

An unscheduled visit to Gough Island, about 220 nautical miles to the south-east of Tristan da Cunha, was made possible by favourable weather conditions, especially a following wind which saved us almost a day on the journey from South Georgia. We were also fortunate that it was relatively calm at Gough itself. As we arrived from the south-west, we encountered increasing numbers of the seabirds which breed on the island, which have been estimated at over 20 million pairs. Those we saw included some 10,000 Northern Rockhopper Penguins; 100 Tristan Albatrosses of all ages (principal breeding island); 200 Sooty and 20 Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses (important breeding island for both), and even a Southern Royal Albatross (from New Zealand); 100-plus Southern Giant Petrels; 30 Kerguelen Petrels; 300 Atlantic Petrels (breeds only here and in the Tristan archipelago); 1,000 Broad-billed Prions; 30 Grey Petrels; 5 Spectacled Petrels (one of the most endangered seabirds in the world, breeding only on Inaccessible Island); 600 Little Shearwaters (of the race elegans which breeds here); 250 Antarctic Terns; and 5 Brown Noddies (southernmost breeding site in the South Atlantic islands). We were met on arrival by a vast gathering of dolphins — 1,700 Dusky Dolphins, as far as the eye could see. The cetacean watchers found also 4 Arnoux’s Beaked Whales and two Minke Whales. Along the shores of the island were an estimated 5,000 Subantarctic Fur Seals. We didn’t know where to look next. The highlight for the birders was a Zodiac cruise past The Glen on the east side, where amazingly we spotted five Gough Moorhens and five Gough Buntings from the sea — landing is not permitted. Both endemic landbirds within one hour! We managed to circumnavigate all but four miles of the 33 mile circumference of the island in the ship, saw spectacular scenery and an unprecedented abundance of wildlife. We felt very privileged to be among the few visitors who have been able to experience Gough and in particular, to see it at such close quarters and in such favourable conditions. How fully it deserves its designation as a World Heritage Site.

Tristan da Cunha

We spent the whole of 30 March ashore on what is called the remotest permanently-inhabited island in the world. Few birds are to be found here, owing mainly to rats (some of which we saw), and we watched just a few Sooty and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses cruising along the mountain ridges above the Settlement of Edinburgh. Antarctic Terns were flying over the fields, catching and eating furry caterpillars, and two vagrant Cattle Egrets were feeding around the Settlement.

Nightingale Island

A guided visit to this important seabird island, 22 nautical miles from Tristan, had been planned for 31 March, but the sea at Tristan was too rough early in the morning for the islanders to come out to the ship. Instead we made a circumnavigation of Nightingale, hoping also to have a Zodiac cruise along the shore, but the weather deteriorated and we saw very little as we rounded the island in a gale. We had better luck on 1 April, and landed with no difficulty on a calm, warm, sunny day. Tristan Thrushes, Tristan Buntings and hundreds of superb Northern Rockhopper Penguins greeted us. As the guides led us up the main path through the tussock grass, we met large young Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses on their nests, and Great Shearwaters burst out of the grass and took off down the path, where more Thrushes and Buntings were feeding. We could not find the Grosbeak Bunting however, the third endemic landbird, and noted that much of the small wood where it used to be found had been flattened by a hurricane two years ago. The island is rat-free, and home to huge numbers of seabirds.

Inaccessible Island

This well-named steep-sided island is some nine nautical miles from Nightingale, and is a Nature Reserve managed by the Tristan Government, vitally important as the only breeding site for the endangered Spectacled Petrel and the endemic tiny flightless Inaccessible Island Rail, as well as home to huge numbers of other seabirds, being rat-free. We circumnavigated it in a gale on 31 March, seeing rafts of thousands of Great Shearwaters, five Tristan Albatrosses and 125 Spectacled Petrels together on the sea when ‘chumming’ with food scraps behind the ship. As we left in the late afternoon, some 50,000 prions were arriving at the island, all along the horizon. On 1 April we made a landing on a narrow beach on the sheltered eastern side — the first expedition ship ever to be allowed to — and spent an unbelievable hour watching and photographing five Rails at a range of a few feet, while high above us circled scores of Sooty Albatrosses and Spectacled Petrels over their breeding sites. Would we ever be able to follow the Emperor Penguin experience? Many people said we just had — even bettered it!

At sea between Tristan and St. Helena

The law of diminishing returns applied to the next five days, as we left behind the seabirds of the Tristan archipelago. Small numbers of albatrosses, petrels and storm-petrels on the first morning soon dropped back and vanished, gradually to be replaced by the first of the warm water species — Cory’s Shearwaters, Arctic Terns, Red-billed Tropicbirds, Madeiran Storm-petrels and Bulwer’s Petrels, with many shoals of flying fish. On 4 April a total of 15 Sperm Whales were seen not far from a seamount where 46 had been seen on the 2002 Odyssey.

St. Helena

The St. Helena Plover or Wirebird is the island’s only endemic, which we saw soon after our arrival on 6 April. Most other landbirds are introductions, so we arranged two seabird trips during our three-day visit, one around the island and one along the sheltered western coast. These introduced us to White, Sooty, Black Noddy and Brown Noddy Terns; more Red-billed Tropicbirds; Masked and Brown Boobies; and wonderful close views of Madeiran Storm-petrels. Several huge Whale Sharks and four species of dolphin were seen — 200 Tropical Spotted, 6 Atlantic Spotted, 4 Bottlenose, and 2 Rough-toothed. A special endemic plant tour was arranged, just before which a Squacco Heron was seen, a real vagrant here.

At sea between St. Helena and Ascension Island

Bulwer’s Petrels and Madeiran Storm-petrels predominated over these two days, and Sooty Terns increased as we approached Ascension. Seventeen Sperm Whales were seen near the Grattan Seamount, swarms of flying fish, and a lone Wilson’s and the first two of many Leach’s Storm-petrels.

Ascension Island

Sooty Terns, or Wideawakes, were breeding, not seen in 1998 or 2002, and a very enjoyable visit was made to their colony where thousands were seen. Green Turtles were seen during a late evening visit to Long Beach, and a female watched laying eggs under the light of the moon. Highlight of the two-day stay was a circumnavigation of the island, with over an hour spent Zodiacing round Boatswainbird Island, another rat-free island covered with seabirds. At least 5,000 endemic Ascension Island Frigatebirds; 1,000 Masked, 200 Brown and 30 Red-footed Boobies; 35 Yellow-billed (White-tailed) Tropicbirds; and hundreds of White Terns and Black Noddies were seen in a spectacular snowstorm of birds. A dramatic moment was when the ship’s anchor was dropped noisily and 3,000 Frigatebirds lifted off the top of the island together, to hang in the wind overhead like soaring raptors on migration. This was an exciting finale to the trip for the 16 passengers who flew out on the evening of 12 April to England at the end of their Atlantic Odyssey, which included most of the WildWings group and several other keen birders.

At sea between Ascension and Cape Verde Islands

This was another stretch of five days, which included the very hot, humid crossing of the Equator, and where bird and marine mammal life was not very conspicuous in these extremely deep waters. We soon left behind the Ascension boobies, noddies and Sooty Terns, and began to see a daily mixture of Arctic Terns, Bulwer’s Petrels and Madeiran and Leach’s Storm-petrels. Cory’s Shearwaters now included a few of the grey-billed form, formerly of the race edwardsii and now considered to be a full species, Cape Verde Shearwater. Several Minke Whales, up to 50 Short-finned Pilot Whales, and hundreds of flying fish and dolphins (mostly unidentified) were seen. On the afternoon of 14 April, in a heavy tropical downpour soon after we crossed the Equator (and had to pay our respects to King Neptune who came aboard), we encountered two big flocks of Long-tailed Skuas, and just over an hour later another flock, in all totalling about 400, chasing Arctic Terns. Most of the skuas were immatures. Two distant Sabine’s Gulls and two adult Long-tailed Skuas passed north on 15^th, with another Sabine’s on 16^th, a Hammerhead Shark and three Sunfish. A distant phalarope passed north on 17^th and a Whale Shark was seen.

Cape Verde Islands

Good Friday, 18 April, was spent on Santiago, where the birders hired a separate minibus and went after the endemics. Cape Verde Sparrow, Cape Verde Swift and Cape Verde Cane Warbler were all found easily, and many of the other interesting local species were also seen well. These included Red-billed Tropicbird, Cream-coloured Courser, Black-crowned Finch-lark, Bar-tailed Desert Lark, Spanish Sparrow, Brown-necked Raven, Spectacled Warbler, and the colourful Grey-headed Kingfisher, the national bird. On the way into Praia Harbour in the early morning, we had close views of a lovely adult Sabine’s Gull, but it was a real surprise to find later that there are no other gulls on the island. Time was spent inland trying to find the local form of the Purple Heron, considered by some to be a distinct species, and we succeeded in locating a large tree which contained a dozen recently-used nests (in one of which was a dead juvenile) — but no adults were seen. We sailed off northwards in the evening accompanied by a dozen Pilot Whales and 120 Cape Verde Shearwaters, with later some 90 dolphins, a Brown Booby, three Little Shearwaters and one Fea’s Petrel before darkness fell.

We spent Easter Saturday, 19 April, on the much smaller island of Sao Vicente, and again the birders hired their own minibus to tour the island. The local sewage treatment works held good numbers of waders, including about 100 Turnstones, 15 Ringed and 30 Kentish Plovers, 10 Whimbrel, one Green, 15 Wood and 12 Common Sandpipers, 5 Greenshank, one Common Redshank, 10 Grey Plover and 30 Sanderling. At the airport, a group of nine Cream-coloured Coursers were watched through the perimeter fence, feeding along the edge of the runway, and an Osprey and Cattle Egret flew over. Four Kestrels, four Brown-necked Ravens, five Cape Verde Swifts and a few Cape Verde and Spanish Sparrows were found, plus 10 House Sparrows, a trip tick!

At sea between Cape Verdes and Azores.

The four-day crossing started with our saying goodbye to Red-billed Tropicbird, Little Shearwater and Fea’s Petrels on 20 April, our first day heading north from the Cape Verdes. In a strong north-easterly wind, we saw 24 Arctic Terns and a distant phalarope also heading north, towards their arctic breeding grounds, while the by-now regular Bulwer’s Petrels peaked at 60 and there were occasional Leach’s Storm-petrels and Cory’s Shearwaters still with us. Two Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Risso’s Dolphins and six Spotted Dolphins were also seen. The following day produced far less — a Grey Phalarope in winter plumage, close enough to confirm the identity; a Long-tailed Skua chasing a Bulwer’s Petrel; and 30 more Spotted Dolphins were the highlights. The next day, 22 April, gave us just 14 birds of three species: 12 of these were Arctic Terns, the other two an unidentified storm-petrel and an unidentified skua! This scarcity of birds continued on 23^rd, when four early-morning Pomarine Skuas and two close Fin Whales provided the excitement of the day.

The Azores

We arrived early on 24 April at Vila do Porto, capital of the small island of Santa Maria, and enjoyed a bus tour of this attractive, very green island on a lovely sunny day. We saw dozens of Common Buzzards (and many Rabbits, which are their principal prey), Turnstones, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, Starlings and Canaries, with a few Yellow-legged Gulls, Common Terns and Grey Wagtails. Some of these are endemic sub-species, but there are no endemic species of birds here. We saw Cory’s Shearwaters as we arrived in the early morning, but missed Roseate Terns which are said to breed on a nearby islet. Overnight we voyaged north some 50 nautical miles to the much larger island of Sao Miguel, where the endemic Azores Bullfinch was searched for on last year’s Odyssey but not found. From here Tony Marr flew home to England early on 25 April.

Background information