Purfleet-Rotterdam-Leixões survey 25th August to 3rd September
25 August 2026
After much planning and negotiating, MARINElife and shipping partner CLdN have reopened the exciting survey route from Purfleet to Leixões via Rotterdam and back.
It was a privilege to be the first surveyors on this re-established route. On arrival at Purfleet, our hosts gave us a warm welcome and escorted us to the MV Catherine.
After being shown to our quarters and unloading our equipment, we went to the bridge, where we met Captain Sergei, familiarised ourselves with the layout, and reviewed the route ahead. Shortly before 6pm, we left our berth and headed steadily along the Thames towards the mouth of the estuary.
To view the full 8-day report, download it here: https://marine-life.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Purfleet-Leixoes-trip-report-full.pdf
Summary of sightings
Seabirds
Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus 1
Auk sp. Alcidae 2
Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus 1
Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus 113
Commic Tern Sterna hirundo/Sterna paradisaea 12
Common Gull Larus canus 56
Common Tern Sterna hirundo 57
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 565
Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis 292
Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis 3
Gannet Morus bassanus 205
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus 54
Great Shearwater Ardenna gravis 68
Guillemot Uria aalge 5
Gull sp. Laridae 518
Herring Gull Larus argentatus 68
Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus 109
Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus 116
Mediterranean Gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus 2
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis 1
Petrel sp. 2
Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini 47
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis 91
Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis 1
Shearwater sp. 82
Skua sp. 1
Sooty Shearwater Ardenna griseus 3
Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus 2
Tern sp. 71
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis 5
Terrestrial Birds
Carrion Crow Corvus corone 2
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto 1
Curlew Numenius arquata 3
Duck sp. 14
Dunlin Calidris alpina 2
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 2
Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius 1
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola 1
Jackdaw Coloeus monedula 1
Little Egret Egretta garzetta 2
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 8
Mute Swan Cygnus olor 1
Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus 2
Pigeon sp. 50
Passerine sp. Passeriformes 2
Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 1
Sandpiper sp. 1
Woodpigeon Columba palumbus 4
Marine Mammals
Common Dolphin (Short-beaked) Delphinus delphis 143
Fin Whale Balaenoptera physalus 1
Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena 7
Harbour (Common) Seal Phoca vitulina 4
Northern Bottlenose Whale Hyperoodon ampullatus 1
Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus 1
Tuna sp. Thunnus sp. 1
Unidentified Dolphin sp. 1
