15th October

So, where were we going on the latest leg of our magical mystery tour, well, we were back where we stopped the previous evening. We got off to a good start with a good number of sightings but, as we headed south sightings became sparse – we were heading into the “Wildlife Doldrums”. With that transect out the way we were onto Transect 48 heading for France, our hopes of a large number of sightings were low. At the risk of giving away the plot if you don’t want to know the result, look away now…….

It went much as expected with very few sightings. By the time we had pulled off for a trawl at 14:30 we hadn’t managed to fill even one bird sheet – less than 60 sightings in just over 7 hours. Gannet was the only species we ran out of fingers on one hand to count. I am told all you need is love, well right now all we need is wildlife.

There were, however, some notable sightings. Our first Little Gull of the survey came flying past, always a delight to see these diminutive gulls. A Pied Wagtail briefly looked at the facilities of the Hotel Endeavour for LBJs (birder parlance for Little Brown Jobs, any small bird which is hard to identify) on Peltic (HELP), they obviously didn’t suit as it left quickly, in other words hello, goodbye. A second Goldcrest checked in for the full treatment taking up residence in the garage. Also, a first for the Peltic survey, a Cetti’s Warbler, also decided to have the full garage treatment and got the bird watchers on board a bit excited.

Four small pods of Common Dolphin snuck into the ship, almost under the radar. However, the last of these was seen just after 10:15, no more sighted up too pulling off for the trawl.

During the trawl another passerine took advantage of what we had to offer. A Blackcap had the budget service with a rest on the back deck to recover from a long flight. The trawl finished with a reasonable sized catch of Anchovy and Sardine.

So, back onto the transect. I was hoping to tell you that like the previous two days in the last hour we were inundated with masses of birds, tuna and dolphin, sad to report this did not happen. There was only a handful of bird sightings, though we did finish up with a lone Sooty Shearwater. The cetacean count was not troubled either with no further sightings.

So, what did we learn today:

• If you want to see a Cetti’s Warbler, make sure you are on the Peltic survey

• HELP is available for all LBJs

 

16th October

Here we are again, this time starting on the French side of the Channel heading north. Conditions look good with a calm sea in the bay, although I’m sure the seas will build as we venture out.

From me to you, if you read yesterday’s blog you have pretty much got this one covered.

We got off to a flying start with a few groups of Common Dolphin coming to the ship within minutes of starting. We had just got into our stride when the Chief Scientist decided we needed a trawl. However, this was thwarted by other fisher folk getting there first with various fishing pots. There was some pleading from the Chief Scientist, “We can work it out” but after a wasted 30 minutes he went off in a sulk, and we went back on transect.

First bird seen, unusually, was not a Gannet but a Pied Wagtail that landed on the front deck. The word about the hotel must be spreading amongst the wagtail community. The sightings came in dribs and drabs throughout the morning, or should I say the Gannet sightings came in dribs and drabs. Apart from them there were a couple of Manx Shearwaters and a few auks. Another Redwing also joined the party on-board just before the end of the transect.

A couple of Chiffchaffs joined as day-trippers for the next transect back to the UK. Duty free stowed they sat back for the trip home, without realising we were going the wrong way for them.

The Chief Scientist had decided to lengthen the next transect so there was only a short break, and we were back on watch for the start of Transect 28. For the second transect today a Gannet was not the first bird spotted, this time the honour went to a Manx Shearwater. Pretty much the rest of the transect turned into a Gannet count. As with yesterday there were sadly no mass feeding events as we neared the English coastline.

There were only a couple of Common Dolphin sightings, a group did sneak in at the stern of the ship near the end of the transect but being seen behind the ship they weren’t counted.

We left the bridge for dinner around 17:00 with the Chief scientist pacing around the bridge desperately trying to find a place to trawl. The area we were now in had more fishing pots than there are holes in Blackburn, Lancashire.

So, what have we learnt today:

• The Chief Scientist will sulk if he does not get his trawl in

• With the help of a fishing pot, you can stop a trawl