We were given a very warm welcome aboard the Princess Seaways by all of the crew, and shortly after the ship left the River Tyne we were able to go up onto the bridge where First Officer Jesper welcomed us and showed us around the instrumentation that we would be using.

About an hour out from the Tyne we had a couple of brief sightings of Harbour Porpoise, followed by fairly regular sightings of Gannet, Kittiwake, and Fulmar.  However, with full cloud cover and failing light we finished the survey at 21.30.  Sadly, we also recorded lots of floating loose buoys of various types and completely filled a flotsam recording sheet by the end of the trip!  Flotsam (aka man-made rubbish, usually plastic!) is a real hazard for marine wildlife of all sorts, and it is great shame to have seen so much on this trip.

The following morning, we carried out our survey from the Skybar deck, and the visibility was good.  However, other than a few Great Black-backed Gull and a Great Skua, sightings of other birds were few. A small highlight of this stage was when a female Black Redstart briefly landed on the deck below!

Arriving in the port of Ijmuiden, we caught the ferry bus into Amsterdam Central railway station and had around four hours to explore that part of the city.  We walked around the canals and streets looking at the architecture and admiring how use is made of every possible space for plants, giving the city a relaxed green atmosphere.  After some lunch and time watching the large variety of tourist boats on the canal, we made our way back to the bus stop.

Back on the ferry we hurried up to the Skybar deck, which was already busy with our fellow passengers enjoying the warm late afternoon sun.  Getting the last table, we set out our survey sheets and soon had several people interested in what we were doing.  Again, we saw very few birds on this leg of the survey, and with the thought of another early morning to come, finished recording at 21.30.

Starting at 06.15 for the final part of the survey, we were welcomed back to the bridge, where it was a lovely bright morning with good viewing conditions.  Very brief views of one Harbour Porpoise and a little later on of two White-beaked Dolphin were the definite highlights.  Bird activity was greater, and we recorded lots of Gannet, Kittiwake, and Fulmar, along with a few Razorbill and Guillemot.

Approaching the mouth of the River Tyne, we thanked the crew for all of their help and support and left the bridge.

 Judith Tatem and Sara Bisset, Research Surveyors for MARINElife

Registered Charity No. 1110884; Registered Company No. 5057367)

Weather

Outward – overcast, good visibility: south-westerly wind force 2-6.  Return – brighter, good visibility: north-westerly wind force 4-5.