After boarding our ship ‘Performance’ for the outward journey, the steward kindly made us a hefty breakfast while we waited for the signal that we could attend the bridge.

As the ship began to make its way out of Heysham, we were escorted to the bridge to begin setting up ready for survey.  The weather was bright, and the sea was calm, with great visibility around us.  It was not long before we began spotting and gathering the data on the birds that we could see closest to the harbour.  These included Lesser Black-backed Gull, Greater Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, and Kittiwake.

As our journey continued past the Isle of Man, we noted numbers of Gannet, Razorbill, Guillemot, and Manx Shearwater, and to our delight we spotted a lone Puffin and a Red-throated Diver.  We were also able to clearly identify a few Artic Tern with their distinctive elongated tail feathers!  Sea Swallows!

The sea remained beautiful and calm, and we spotted a small pod of Common Dolphin, followed later by another separate small pod of dolphins and a whale, likely to be a Minke Whale but we could not confirm this.

As we sailed into the very picturesque Carlingford Lough with mountains on either side, we noted numbers of Cormorant, a variety of gulls, and Hooded Crow.

We disembarked at around 18.45 and headed to our accommodation for the evening, which was the Whistledown Hotel.  Don and I took a leisurely stroll along the sea front to observe other birds such as Oystercatcher, Grey Heron, Black-tailed Godwit, Rook, Hooded Crow (adult & juvenile) and Sand Martin.

The following morning, after a hearty breakfast at The Whistledown, we headed back to port to board the ship ‘Point’.  While waiting to be taken to the bridge, we observed other birds around us including a Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Black-headed Gull, Cormorant, and Mediterranean Gull.

Once back on the bridge to commence our survey for the return leg, we recorded many Gannet, Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, and Cormorant, flying and rafting in great numbers.  To the excitement of Don, we also spotted a Balearic Shearwater!

The sea state was not as calm as the day before, with greater swells and white peaks making the spotting more challenging overall.  This kept us on our toes thinking that we may have spotted dolphins or a whale or two, to only realise it was the sea state that was lulling us into “seeing things” that were not there!

The survey concluded while the captain and his crew safely and smoothly returned us to the port of Heysham.   Our thanks go to both the captains and crews of ‘Performance’ and ‘Point’, as well as the portside teams for their help and assistance in allowing us to sail with them.

Louise Williams and Don Ainsworth, Research Surveyors for MARINElife (Registered Charity No. 1110884; Registered Company No. 5057367)

 Summary of Weather and Species Recorded

Weather

Outward – slightly overcast, good visibility:

Return – overcast, fair visibility with glare at times