Bay
of Biscay Pelagic - 13th -16th August 2006
by
Frank and Pam Bryant
This
trip was arranged with Ultimate Pelagics on board the cruise ship MV Van Gogh.
It
included 3 nights in a luxury cabin with full private facilities including air
conditioning. All meals, from
welcome lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 4 were included, they were all a high
standard. Tea and coffee were available on deck all day long.
Day
1 Leaving Falmouth Dock
We
arrived as requested at Falmouth Dock at 1:30pm to park the car (free parking)
and took the mini bus to the ship. As we waited at check-in we noticed Phil Pope
and as we later learned with his son, Richard. On deck we all chatted and
commented that we had booked this trip nearly two and a half years ago! The
weather was sunny and a little windy as we left the dock at 6pm. We saw Black-headed
Gulls, Herring Gulls, Shag,
Fulmar, Gannet and Great
Black-backed Gulls as we set off across the English Channel that evening.
Day
2 Continental Shelf
Up
at 5:15am to venture out on deck. Many birders with scopes set up had already
claimed their place. The day was to be exploring the areas around the
continental shelf for cetaceans and sea birds. The moth trap, set the previous
evening was checked, Cosmopolitan and Hummingbird
Hawk Moth were found. About 9am a pod of Common
Dolphins ( adult 5-9ft, 155-330lbs*) swam alongside the ship (see pic
left). 
Around
the 2000m contour, Pilot Whales ( adult 12-20ft,
1.8-3 tonnes*) were seen and later
the blow of a Fin Whale,( adult 59-89ft, 30-120
tonnes*) then it’s huge body tilted to take a dive into deeper water. Not long
after a large pod of Striped Dolphins (adult
6-9ft,200-350lbs*) quickly swam past, they were on a mission! We then had some
new visitors, two Willow Warblers decided to land
and have a free ride aft of the tunnel. Two Tree Pipits,
one just above the sea the other high over the bow were spotted. By mid-day we
were over the Abyssal Plain, over 4,000m of water beneath us but the sea was
very calm. Someone shouted out Flying Fish but we
didn’t see them. After a brief spell of rain the sun came out again, a Sedge
Warbler landed on deck and looked so confused with so many faces looking
at it (pic below). Three Risso's Dolphins (adult
8-13ft, 660-1,100lb ) were spotted but they were far out near the horizon,
it’s a good job we had cetacean experts on board to recognise the species. A
breaching Bottlenose Dolphin (adult 6-13ft,
330-1320lbs*) was then recognised and soon a Wheatear
was observed flying low over the sea alongside the ship. The afternoon also
brought in a Red Admiral and a Hummingbird
Hawk Moth both flying around the ship decks. One Sunfish
swam close.
Other
birds seen that day were Fulmar, Gannet,
Oystercatcher, Kittiwake,
Great Shearwater, Storm
Petrel, Cormorant, Cory's
Shearwater, Sandwich Tern,
Little Tern, Herring Gull,
Sabine's Gull and Balearic
Shearwater. It must be noted though that most of these birds were quite a
distance away, something that I was a bit disappointed with.
The
evening on deck ended admiring a colourful sunset.
Day
3 Santander Canyons
We
were out on deck at 5:15am cruising over deep canyons. The coast of Spain was
very close, the early morning lights of Bilbao and Santander were clearly
visible and just as the ship turned a Willow
Warbler
landed on deck. Did it realise that it was not going south! Soon Cuvier's
Beaked Whale
(adult 18-23ft, 2-3 tonnes*) was spotted. At 8:45am more Pilot
Whales were
seen luckily a little closer than yesterdays’ views soon followed by my first
sighting of a Flying
Fish. Two Melodious
Warblers
flew close to the ship and later one Reed
Warbler landed
on the ships’ bow. The morning afforded more sightings of Fin
Whales (pic
below) and Striped
Dolphins
and another Hummingbird
Hawk Moth
toured the decks. Tuna
were seen in the afternoon splashing around in a group. The birders on the bow
had close views of Common
Tern and Black
Tern and
for us at the stern a Sabine's
Gull landed
on the wake. At about 4pm four Bar-tailed
Godwits
flew south and at 6pm our closest bird for the trip, (apart from those that
landed on deck), a Sooty
Shearwater.
Other birds seen were Little
Shearwater,
Gannet,
Great Skua,
Storm
Petrel and
a surprise Grey
Heron!
Our
last evening was spent socialising in the lounge chatting to new friends from
London, Brighton and Scotland. We all agreed that the trip had been enjoyable
but there was some lengthy spells where we wondered where all the wildlife had
gone! Was it because the weather was so good, lots of sun with the sea as smooth
as glass? I, for one was glad of the latter.
Day
4 To Falmouth
Our
last chance of a huge early breakfast at sea before our docking a 10am. We had
left just a few days ago on a sunny summer day with glorious views of the coast
and now it was murky and rainy, good job we had a sun tan and some new ticks!
*References
Guide
to Whale Watching in Britain and Europe by Mark Carwardine
Published
2006 New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd
http://www.newhollandpublishers.com