The distinct form moseleyi of Rockhopper Penguin
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Saturday 26 October
....a fantastic sea crossing to Nightingale Island. Birdwatching was excellent on this leg, with fifteen species of seabird logged on the way over.
.....I arranged our own zodiac. First call was a Rockhopper Penguin colony. These birds were the race moseleyi, sometimes called the Northern Rockhopper Penguin, very distinct with incredibly long head plumes, one of the features for potential splitting from the Rockhopper of further southern latitudes. We did find some finches, and certainly those seen well, from a bouncing zodiac, were Nightingale Finches. The Tristan Thrushes were in good numbers around the rocky coastline.
....Next destination for us....Gough Island. The birding again was excellent, and the sea was like the proverbial millpond. By the end of the afternoon we had logged 25 seabird species for the day with highlights being tens of thousands of Broad-billed Prions, more than fifty Little Shearwaters, hundreds of Common Diving Petrels, and both Atlantic and Great-winged Petrels. A pod of beaked whales were seen very well also - these can be a very difficult group to see and identify but the colouration of these was quite distinct, these were Cuvier's Beaked Whales.
Sunday 27 October
....The distant peaks on Gough Island were on the horizon. As we approached the island yet another pod of beaked whales surfaced. These were indeed very unusual in colouration, one individual having a slate grey body and a noticeable pale grey head. The beak projected from the water as it surfaced for air. The beak was long and obvious, similar in shape to that of a dolphin....Trip, one of the staff lecturers, was looking at a cetacean field guide. We had both seen the same features and came to the same conclusion that we had seen Shepherd's Beaked Whale, a very rare species and one on which little is written and not much is known. There have been about twelve specimens stranded in total, but observations at sea have been few. Remarkable….a lucky sighting for everyone! (Click here to read the note submitted for publication).
....Soon the zodiacs were launched for our cruise along part of the Gough Island coastline. We were not allowed to land (nor is anybody else) due to the special environmental status of the island. The ornithological prize here is the Gough Island Finch, found only on this island.
....zodiac took us to some small rookeries of Northern Rockhopper Penguins. Above us, many Sooty Albatrosses were displaying - some in synchronised flying, others calling from cliff ledges which soon would be nest sites. Later from the ship I counted over one hundred and fifty Sooty Albatrosses in the air along these same cliffs. And, yes, a couple of finches were seen in flight!
....Ahead lay the long journey to South Georgia. The birding became excellent, then improved further to become absolutely astonishing! We called the area affectionately 'Pterodroma Alley' as Kerguelen Petrels, Soft-plumaged Petrels and Atlantic Petrels came in numbers past the bow. In only two hours we logged more than twenty each of the first and second, and forty of the latter - eighty and more of these desirable birds. Some of the group caught up with both White-faced and White-bellied Storm-Petrels, and we added our first Black-bellied and first Grey-backed Storm-Petrels.
....More cetaceans were seen late afternoon. A pod of Long-finned Pilot Whales were being accompanied by Southern Right Whale Dolphins – the shape of these striking dynamic dolphins resembled flying cigars shooting through the air.
Monday 28 October
....a juvenile Long-tailed Skua was unusual this far south. Most attention was being paid to the albatrosses and the gad-fly petrels. Four albatross species came by, or lingered in the wake - Wanderer, Sooty, Yellow-nosed and our first Grey-headed, a juvenile bird. Pterodroma petrels were regularly shooting by at speed, often as if they had been fired from catapults. Their mastery in the air was something to behold.
Tuesday 29 October
....We were into low pressure, a depression, where the sea was Force 7, Beaufort Scale. The Captain had reduced speed to 9 knots. With 'white horses' on the sea many birds were disappearing into troughs
....The albatrosses as ever though sauntered by, handling the wind effortlessly. Kerguelen, Atlantic, and Soft-plumaged Petrels came past us at speed, like bullets.
....The temperature dropped noticeably during the day - from 11° in the morning to 4° late afternoon, when an extra layer of clothing was needed. We added two further 'tubenoses' to our list with the first Light-mantled Albatross and a single Blue Petrel.
....The albatrosses were gathering at the stern when I returned to my cabin at dusk. There were at least ten, of various species, plus the Giant Petrels and White-chinned Petrels.
Wednesday 30 October
....Nicholas was the first aboard to spot an iceberg and won a bottle of champagne as a prize from the ship. As we headed towards it a Great-winged Petrel came past the bow. In the lea of the 'berg a number of birds were feeding in the flat calm water - Southern Fulmars, a single Kerguelen Petrel, and many Cape Petrels and Wilson's Storm-Petrels.
....Diving-petrels started appearing, and the total was into hundreds by late afternoon. We were happy that we had identified the mysterious South Georgia Diving-Petrel after looking at dozens to see the tram-lines down the scapulars, a good identification pointer even if not 100% foolproof.
....Another bird of the day was the Blue Petrel - we saw more today than we had prions. On most trips we have to identify one amongst hundreds, even thousands, of prions. A few penguin groups were on the sea. Two individuals seen swimming on the surface were obviously Macaroni Penguins....
Thursday 31 October
....A hardy few spent three hours watching from the bridge. The commonest bird was Kerguelen Petrel with more than twenty in this time, and Blue Petrels were regular yet still there were very few prions, a lone bird was identified as Antarctic Prion.
....Afternoon, icebergs now to both sides of the ship. On the bridge I looked at a satellite map which showed a large 'berg south of South Georgia - it was 51 nautical miles in length!
....but this gave everyone the experience of sorting Blue Petrels from prions and watching the flight characteristics of Kerguelen Petrel. I had never seen so many Blue Petrels together; many times five or six would be in company.
....A bunch of low bushy blows alerted me to Orcas. Those at the bridge, maybe twelve or fourteen people, saw them and many commented on the noticeable large dorsal fin of a male in the family pod.
....After dinner I ventured onto deck. There was substantial snow in the air and the ship's lights were on. The main spotlight was in use to spot 'growlers' i.e. old hard ice low in the water, broken from icebergs. These were conditions that bring birds aboard. I wasn't mistaken. I started finding birds scurrying over the decks....lots of diving-petrels - in the hand one bird had the diagnostic 'posterior black line' down the tarsi - South Georgia Diving-Petrel - plus there was other Common Diving-Petrels (click here to see comparison). Chris found the first of three Kerguelen Petrels. Two different prion species were on the decks - surprisingly the first was a Fairy Prion, a new bird not seen at sea, and the second an Antarctic Prion. Blue Petrels were also photographed in the hand. These birds were released at the ‘dark’ stern and went off into the night.