Day 1
It was a damp, breezy morning as we arrived early at Heysham port and the staff were as efficient and helpful as always in getting us booked in and transported safely onto the ship. There we were warmly welcomed onboard by the steward who provided us with breakfast and a much-needed morning cup of tea! Before long we were up on the bridge and setting up our survey area as the ship made its way out from the Lancashire coast.

The persistent rain was hampering visibility, but a very helpful crew member kindly provided assistance with use of the bridge window screen wipers which fortunately were needed only briefly. The weather soon cleared, and with bright skies and sunshine ahead we looked forward to a good day’s survey across to Ireland.

Conditions seemed a little too lively at sea for a good chance of cetacean sightings, especially those elusive Harbour Porpoise, with 30 knot winds, white caps, and a significant swell. However, seabird sightings began to pick up gradually with occasional Kittiwake, a first trickle of what was to be regular and large numbers of Manx Shearwater as well as many adult and juvenile Gannet, providing us with a good opportunity to practice ageing the various young stages of these truly majestic birds!
Northern Gannet juvenile (3-4 years old) (Library photo: Robin Langdon)
Throughout the survey we were also spotting that distinctive pairing at this time of year of male parent and juvenile Guillemot bobbing together on the waves, this always a reminder of the courage of those brave ‘jumplings’, which launch themselves down from their nesting ledges at the start of their new life out at sea.

One of many highlights of this survey was the welcome appearance of the first of several small groups of Puffin resting on the water, their characteristic bright summer beaks and splayed orange legs trailing behind as they took off along the water. Always such a delight to see what must be one of our most charming and beloved seabirds!

Sightings were much reduced during a quiet spell on our approach to the area south of the Isle of Man, but suddenly a large and active raft of mixed species appeared just off the starboard side, demanding our full focus on identifying and counting the many Manx Shearwater, Guillemot, Razorbill, Gannet, Kittiwake, Sandwich Tern, and Commic Tern, clearly sharing a rich feeding opportunity.

Just beyond the Isle of Man came another exciting highlight of the trip. A pod of at least eight Common Dolphin, including a lovely view of a small calf, splashed their way into view from the port side, leaping and bow riding as they passed in front of the ship before disappearing into the depths. Such experiences never cease to bring on a spell of ‘Surveyors’ Joy’, no matter how often they are seen!

Another exciting moment came when Tony spotted a very unusual bird for Irish Sea survey teams – a clear view of a Storm Petrel navigating its way across the waves.  A thrill to see such a small bird out on the vast seas, with its distinctive white rump and fluttering flight low above the water. What an unexpected treat and yet another moment to be treasured!

The wind eased, the seas calmed and sightings were reduced to just a few occasional birds on our approach to the beautiful Carlingford Lough with the distinctive Haulbowline Lighthouse marking the end of our day’s survey. As pointed out by our friendly captain, a large number of Grey Seal were hauled out on the small islands at the entrance to the lough, and while a few terns wheeled around in the distance, the crew manoeuvred the ship calmly and skillfully along the narrow route between the marker buoys, and onwards to Warrenpoint.

After departing the ship and looking forward to a comfortable night’s rest at the Whistledown Hotel, we enjoyed an evening stroll along the shore. With great views of juvenile Black Guillemot resting just below us on the sea wall and a host of waders out on the shingle at the mouth of the Moygannon River, the calm water of the loch and beautiful evening light brought promise of a good return sailing and survey the following day.
Carlingford Lough evening light (Photo: Alison McAleer)
Day 2

Bright, clear weather greeted us on our walk back to the port early on Friday morning and the ever-helpful CLdN staff had us safely on board the ship and ready for the day’s survey. Back on the bridge as we progressed along the lough, we had time to enjoy the gathering of Cormorant and Black Guillemot out on the old pier, with flurries of feeding gulls and terns.  Once again, the seals were out on the rocks near the lough entrance which we enjoyed before the second leg of our survey formally started at the Haulbowline Lighthouse.

It was another day of large number of Manx Shearwater, both gliding through our survey area in often constant streams and also resting in rafts on the water, giving us quite the challenge to count and record them!  This second day also brought larger numbers of sightings of Guillemot including occasional lone juveniles, perhaps making that transition to independence at last.  Another delight were further sightings of Puffin, again settled on the water and including a single juvenile, a recently fledged ‘puffling’ beginning its new life out at sea.

Of particular note was the very small number of Fulmar recorded over the two days and so we welcomed each sighting of these fantastic seabirds, however infrequent these were.
Storm Petrel flock – photo: Peter Howlett
We were both excited and surprised to see yet more Storm Petrel on our return journey to Heysham including a very clear view of a group of four flying right in front of the ship.  The contrast in size to all the other seabirds encountered during the survey was so evident and the flight pattern and colouration very clear against the water in the bright light conditions. Just wonderful!

But the absolute highlight, possibly of the whole 2 days of the survey, was our second cetacean sighting of the trip. They appeared first as a rough area of water that developed into clear splashing about 500 metres ahead of the ship after which it seemed that for over two minutes there were Common Dolphin almost everywhere we looked!  Some came in close to bow-ride in front of the ship and then disappear down the port side, while others were in several large groups heading along the starboard side, leaping clear of the water and travelling at speed.  With the sun reflecting brightly on the water, we enjoyed wonderful views of their distinctive silhouettes receding behind the ship before disappearing in the distant wake. The view was extraordinary and left us both buzzing as we carefully recorded the necessary details and discussed how best to represent the likely size of the pod. The scale of the pod certainly far exceeded the field of view of two pairs of binoculars!

Reflecting on these two days of survey provides so many reminders of just how special our Irish Sea is and what a privilege it is to be out there, seeing so many wonderful species and sights. Our sincere thanks to all at CLdN, Captains Viktors and Sinimae and the crews of the Precision and Performance for all their help, kind hospitality and valuable ongoing support for MARINElife and our surveys.

Tony Marshall and Alison McAleer, Research Surveyors for MARINElife

Weather
Outbound: Wind westerly 30knots dropping to 15 knots. Sea state 4 improving to 2. Good visibility
Return: Wind south westerly 12 knots up to 20 knots before dropping to 10. Sea state 3 to 4 and back to 3. Good visibility.