Rob and I met up at Central Station in Newcastle, and having a bit of time to kill we decided to have a quick coffee in the Nicholson pub opposite.  Feeling refreshed after our drinks we boarded the DFDS transfer bus to the North Shields DFDS Terminal.  Once onboard the King Seaways the staff warmly welcomed us, and we made our way to the Service Desk to arrange our escort to the bridge for the first survey of the trip.

As a MARINElife Surveyor on my first trip, there was a feeling of excited anticipation as I stepped onto the bridge, and the fantastic panoramic view of the sea did not disappoint.  The sky was clear as we started the survey, making the most of the remaining couple of hours of daylight.  However, despite Rob’s keenness to see a White-beaked Dolphin (he has never seen one!) no cetaceans were seen on this survey leg, but there were plenty of Kittiwake, Gannet, and Fulmar to keep us entertained.

The second survey of the trip started at 5.50am on Tuesday morning, but this time from the ‘wildlife watching’ deck where the ORCA team have their observation point.  This is four decks lower than the bridge, but we were able to scan the sea from the comfort of the padded seating – so much more pleasant than the very exposed open observation deck one level up where the wind was blowing fiercely!

During the morning approach to Ijmuiden, we observed the usual suspects from the previous evening with good numbers of Gannet, Kittiwake, Guillemot, and Lesser Black-backed Gull, along with a smattering of freshly returning Sandwich Tern, together with brief sightings of a Brent Goose and a Puffin!

However, the most numerous species by far was Little Gull, with close to 300 been seen in large flocks as they skimmed the waves on their migration north.  Rob was especially pleased to see this spectacle, as the Little Gull migration along the east side of the North Sea is legendary!

As we approached the Dutch coast, we had a bit of a purple patch as we saw four separate Harbour Porpoise rolling through the water before slipping away under the waves.

After docking in Ijmuiden, we had a bit of wait to get through busy passport control, but once through we headed off towards the distant harbour breakwater which has a good reputation for unusual gulls.  Rob had sadly mislaid his favorite Lundy cap at this point, so regretfully had to go bareheaded under the blazing sun for the time we were on shore!

The venture to the breakwater turned into something of a major trek, and we soon abandoned this idea in favour of wandering around a local nature reserve by the shore, where the bushes were ringing with bird song that often kept us scratching our heads!  We managed to identify Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Backcap, and Cetti’s Warbler, as well as a Little Grebe on the adjacent lake.

However, a superb close encounter with a fearless female Black Redstart perched nonchalantly on a post was the highlight of the walk.  This was a bird that Rob had prophetically mentioned we might see on our hike from the ferry, so hats off to him (no pun intended!!)

After this excursion, we headed back to the ferry to reunite Rob with his lost beloved headgear (thankfully handed into the DFDS booking office by some kind soul) and to prepare for the evening survey.  Set up again in the comfortable observation deck as we sailed from Ijmuiden, we saw good numbers of Gannet, Cormorant, Sandwich Tern, and a solitary Red-throated Diver.  The weather was fine, but fierce glare from the sun to port hampered our observations in that direction somewhat!

There were more sightings of Little Gull flocks, while Rob spotted two Grey Seal and another Harbour Porpoise.  With the light starting to fade and feeling a little under the weather after too much sun Rob retired to his cabin early, leaving me to complete the evening survey.

The following morning, we were again warmly welcomed to the bridge for a 6.45am start to the last leg of the survey into North Shields.  Again, the weather was very fair, and numbers of Kittiwake, Gannet, Fulmar, and another Little Gull were present to enjoy the warming sun.  The eagle-eyed Rob, much recovered from the previous evening, spotted a Linnet as it flew past the bridge towards distant land, and also a couple of Common Scoter flying low over the sea.  I was very pleased to spot a small pod of four Bottlenose Dolphin, which gave us some very good views as the King Seaways approached the outer breakwaters of the River Tyne, completing a very satisfactory first survey of 2026 on this route.

At 8.30am with the King Seaways approaching the Tyne we left the bridge and returned to our cabins to collect our belongings to disembark, but thankfully not before Rob (him again!) was called to the Service Desk where he was handed back his a mislaid I-Pad which he had mistakenly left in his cabin!  This guy needs a holiday!! (Editor’s Note: Absolutely! – he is off to Northern Scotland soon for a couple of weeks of well-earned cetacean and sea bird spotting!)

Rob and I wish to thank the captain and crew of the King Seaways for their very warm welcome and support as we conducted the survey, and for their interest in our work.  Also, grateful thanks to DFDS for their continuing tremendous support for the work of MARINElife, which is so valuable.