|
Client Quote.... 'A wonderful trip with fantastic sightings' A & S. 2003
|
BAY OF BISCAY 17-20 AUGUST 2004
Trip Report by Graham Tucker & Chas Anderson
This turned out to be an epic trip as we encountered gales culminating in Storm Force 10 winds on the outward leg. Fortunately the winds abated for the return journey and we were able to see good numbers of whales, which were probably all Fin Whales, but the continuing rough seas meant that positive identifications were difficult. Numbers of dolphins seen were also lower than usual due to the difficult conditions, but we did see a good selection of seabirds, including the first Great Shearwaters of the year.
Tuesday 17 August
Unfortunately the trip did not get off to a good start, as the ship was a couple of hours late returning to Portsmouth due to engine problems and adverse tidal conditions in the channel. We eventually left port at about 10.30 pm, and had to postpone all but the most essential briefings until the following day. However a few of us did meet up to chat and relax over a drink or two in the Posh Bar.
Worryingly though the Captain announced that the weather forecast was not good and warned us to expect strong winds and “a bit of bumpy ride” down.
Wednesday 18 August
Encouragingly, we woke to reasonable conditions in view of the predicted weather, with a mere Force 5 or 6 south-westerly wind and a choppy sea. But with our delayed departure and continuing engine problems (i.e. running on three of the four engines) we were still in the western approaches and several hours behind schedule. It was not until early afternoon that we passed the Isle d’Ouessant off Cape Finistere and turned south into the Bay of Biscay. This area can be good for Harbour Porpoise and Minke Whale, but by then the winds had increased to Force 7-8 and conditions were very difficult for whale and dolphin watching, so it was no surprise that all we saw was a few seabirds including a couple of Great Skuas and Sabine’s Gulls.
A little later on as we progressed south over the continental shelf we had brief glimpses of a couple of small pods of Common Dolphin as they came in close to investigate the ship. But by 5 pm the winds had increased further to a consistent Severe Gale Force 9, with long, tall and breaking waves, wind blow spray and foam. In fact the ship had remained remarkably stable up to and through Force 8 conditions, with a generally slow and predictable pitching motion and little rolling. But as we hit the severe gale conditions it start to roll and lurch more abruptly. Up to this point we had remained dry, as despite the strong winds we had no rain. But as the ship hit the increasingly tall waves with a mighty thud an arc of water would be sent skywards and then blown back along and over the ship; so despite being over 100 ft up we were now being regularly doused in spray. Looking for anything in such conditions was almost impossible, so by now those of us that remained outside settled for holding on tight and watching the awesome spectacle unfolding before us. Down below it was like a ghost ship, with very few people about, presumably most seeking refuge in their cabins.
Not surprisingly we were asked to leave the upper decks for safety reasons, so we spent the rest of the evening on the lower side decks. We saw virtually nothing apart from a few Gannets and gulls. But then just as we were about to call it a day, the back of a whale and a tall fin was glimpsed; but in the fading light and poor conditions the mysterious animal was not relocated.
That evening, according to the Captain, the winds reached Storm Force 10 for several hours. Which was perfectly believable to those of us that tried to eat a meal and then have a drink in the Posh Bar. The ship was lurching about so much that everything had to be held on to – or gravity quickly took hold. Suffice to say that sleeping was not very easy either!
Thursday 19 August
What a great day, in contrast to yesterday. Our delayed departure and slow progress across the bay meant that at dawn we were several hours north of Bilbao (Santurtzi) and therefore still over deep water. Several of us therefore ventured out and found that the wind had dropped and although the sea was fairly rough at 6 am it improved rapidly soon after, probably because the ship had by then moved sufficiently far south to gain the Spanish coast’s protection from the worst of the south-westerly swell. This period of watching turned out to be very fruitful as at least one Fin Whale (and probably two others) and 3 probable Sperm Whales were seen. A distant raptor trailing three Swallows over the sea provided an appetizer for the shore excursion.
We finally docked at 9 am (2 hours late) and all opted for the customary walk to look for birds and butterflies on the nearby hills (El Mazo), albeit rather shortened due to our late arrival. It was good to be back on solid ground for a while and we were also pleased to find pleasant weather and only a moderate south-west breeze. No sooner had we got out of our taxis at the top of the hill, than we were rewarded with the sight of a Griffon Vulture hanging on the breeze. As the ship was planning to leave on time we had to head downhill almost straight away, so there was little time for looking for butterflies, but the breeze meant that it was less than ideal conditions anyway. Nevertheless, several species were seen including Swallowtail.
On the way down we were lucky enough to see several Red-backed Shrikes (including excellent views of a superb adult male) as well as a few Tree Pipits, a Nightingale and Zitting Cisticolas. And a lucky few managed to get brief views of a Wryneck.
We left port just before 1pm and were relieved to find that the conditions in the south of the bay were pretty good considering the storms that we had encountered on the way down. There was a moderate westerly breeze and a moderate swell, and only a few white caps to the waves so viewing conditions were not too bad. So we quickly got to our viewing areas to make the most of our return journey across the southern part of the Bay.
Just over an hour after leaving port a Fin Whale surfaced and dived again immediately in front of the ship. Unfortunately this was not seen by our group, but just a few minutes later we saw the characteristic tall, rather narrow and straight blow of a large rorqual whale on the port side of the ship. This was probably also a Fin Whale, but like many of the sightings over the course of the day, we had difficulties seeing the actual animal due to the swell. A little later on we saw another similar blow on the port side and then about 50 Striped Dolphins, which very obligingly swam up to the boat and then briefly cavorted in the wake, giving all of us excellent views.
The wind increased a little over the course of the afternoon to about Force 6 westerly, and the sea state deteriorated to a heavy swell with frequent white caps. This made whale and dolphin difficult again, but despite this we had a busy period of whale sightings with about 50 large rorqual type blows being seen between mid-afternoon and dark as we passed over the deep water of the abyssal plain (c. 4,000 m deep). Curiously most sightings were on the port side, which unfortunately was on the exposed side of the ship, so it was difficult to get good views of these animals. However, we did have excellent views of one breaching Fin Whale on the starboard side, which sent up huge clouds of spray. Another gave a fine display of lunge feeding, with the animal ploughing through the waves and then gulping in several tons of seawater and presumably small fish or crustacea (which would have then been then sieved out through the whale’s baleen plates).
By late afternoon we were also encountering reasonable numbers of seabirds, some of the most notable being about 50 Corys’ Shearwaters, 9 Great Shearwaters (which were the first seen by anyone this year in the Bay) and about 20 storm-petrels.
Friday 20 August
At dawn on Friday we were still in the northern section of Biscay and we did not pass Isle d’Ouessant and turn into the approaches to the Channel until about 8am. This meant that we were still in good areas for seabirds and some cetaceans of the shallower waters. There was only a moderate following westerly wind, but the sea conditions were choppy so viewing conditions for whales and dolphins were not ideal. However, we did see good numbers of seabirds up until mid-afternoon.
Storm-petrels in particular were much in evidence, and although we counted at least 50 there were probably many more in the vicinity which we missed as they flew along close to the water’s surface and often out of sight behind the waves. Some of us spent much time scrutinising each petrel hoping to see the much sought after Wilson’s Storm-petrel; and the flight behaviour of several birds did suggest that there may have been several out there. But only Chas in our group was lucky enough to see one close enough to clinch a positively identified Wilson’s. Two others were also claimed by others on the ship during the morning.
In the conditions it was not surprising that we saw no porpoises and few other whales and dolphins. But the sighting of a large rorqual type blow at 10.40 (and therefore in the outer part of the Channel) was a pleasant surprise. Again this was almost certainly a Fin Whale, but nobody in our group saw the animal properly. A little later a group of about 10 Bottlenose Dolphins appeared briefly alongside, and a little later still a small whale, which was probably a Minke, surfaced once close to the ship.
By about 4pm we were reaching the Channel proper and seabird sightings (other than gulls) slowly dropped off and no more cetaceans were seen. We therefore held our log at 5pm and then relaxed, had leisurely meals and said our goodbyes, before finally docking at Portsmouth at almost exactly 10pm.
Despite the difficult conditions, by the end of our voyage everyone had seen a good number of Fin Whales and dolphins, and a good range of seabirds. In addition, there was a great sense of accomplishment in seeing as much as we did in the challenging circumstances. So overall we had a successful trip. But we wish you many more wonderful whale and dolphin encounters in future, hopefully in calmer waters in Biscay, or perhaps farther afield.
With best wishes
Graham Tucker and Charles Anderson
Summary of sightings
Cetaceans and fish
Fin Whale 10
Prob Fin Whales 40
Prob Minke Whale 1
Prob Sperm Whales 6
Poss Cuvier's Beaked 1
Common Dolphin 15
Striped Dolphin 50
Bottlenose Dolphin 10
Unid small whale 1
Also 8 Sunfish
Birds whilst at sea
Fulmar 1 Arctic Skua 2
Manx Shearwater 5 Common Gull 1
Cory’s Shearwater 50 Mediterranean Gull 1
Great Shearwater 9 Sabine’s Gull 2
Sooty Shearwater 2 Herring Gull Present
European Storm-petrel 70+ Great Black-backed Gull 6
Wilson’s Storm-petrel 1* Lesser Black-backed Gull Present
Gannet 300+ Sandwich Tern 3
Ringed Plover 17 Common/Arctic Tern 9
Dunlin 11 Black Tern 1
Turnstone 1 Common Swift 1
Great Skua 15 Chiffchaff 1
* 2 other unsubstantiated records of single birds by others on the ship
Birds on land at Santurtzi
Griffon Vulture 1 Blackcap P
Common Buzzard 1 Whitethroat 1
Kestrel 1 Zitting Cisticola 2
Yellow-legged Gull P Cetti’s Warbler Heard
Woodpigeon P Willow Warbler 1
Collared Dove P Red-backed Shrike 3-4
Common Swift P Magpie P
Wryneck 1 House Sparrow P
Swallow P Starling P
House Martin P Greenfinch P
Tree Pipit P Goldfinch P
Wren P Linnet P
Nightingale 1
Whinchat 1
Stonechat P
Blackbird P
Butterflies at Santurtzi
Large Skipper P Meadow Brown P
Swallowtail P Gatekeeper P
Large White P Speckled Wood P
Small White P Wall Brown P
Clouded Yellow P
Small Tortoiseshell P
Red Admiral P
|
