Back in the Bay of Biscay - September 2016

There is not a year that goes by without me taking a trip out on the open water in search of seabirds and cetaceans. This year I chose Biscay, and a late season visit at that. As with recent years I travelled on the Pont-Aven, departing Portsmouth on the evening of 27th September, arriving in Santander late afternoon on the 28th and then into Plymouth on the late afternoon of 29th September. 

I had arranged to go on the trip with my good friend Dylan Walker, hoping for a relaxing time catching up on seabirds and cetaceans. But unbeknown to us there was an Orca trip on the same ship, and as we arrived at the ferry terminal I immediately saw two people, Glenn Overington and Elfyn Pugh, who I knew and had guided with back in the days of the Company of Whales and trips on P&O's Pride of Bilbao. It was great to catch up with these guys again, and good to know that there would be some experienced eyes looking out.

Day 1 - Portsmouth to Santander
On the morning of the 28th the sea was like a mill pond and the 'oily calm' made for perfect cetacean watching conditions.  Unfortunately as we headed south the weather slowly deteriorated and by mid afternoon the choppy sea and strong swell made viewing difficult.

Seabirds
This trip turned out to be excellent for seabirds and by the end of day one we had seen over a thousand shearwaters. Great Shearwater was probably the most numerous species, Sooty was the next and then Cory's. Balearic was present in smaller numbers and at least two Macaronesian (Barolo's) were reported but we did not see any. 

Great Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Cory's Shearwater

Mixed Shearwater flock  

Mixed Shearwater flock

Shearwaters were most numerous in the southern bay where towards the end of the day we encountered several large feeding flocks. European Storm-petrel numbers were as high as I have ever seen and I estimate that we must have seen over 300 birds. Other species recorded included Northern Gannet, Sabine's Gull, Great Skua, Sandwich Tern and Arctic Skua.

Cetaceans
Recent trips into the Bay of Biscay have proved pretty fruitless for me for the large rorqual whales, but I had heard that Fin Whales were now being seen in good numbers. It is great to report that this trip was indeed much more like the trips of old, and we did in fact have eight encounters with Fin Whales and numerous unidentified rorqual blows. It is always frustrating not to clinch an ID but the nature of the whale watching experience on a ferry is very different to a bespoke whale watching trip where it is possible to approach species more closely. It was even more frustrating when we were shown some images that Glenn had taken in the Bay the week before, which clearly showed a Blue Whale. A couple of Minke Whales and a small group of Pilot Whales were also recorded, but unfortunately on the opposite side of the ship to us.

Fin Whale - blowing

Fin Whale

Fin Whale - preparing to dive

Fin Whale

The rough sea state made looking for Cuvier's Beaked Whales difficult, but we still managed to see several although getting prolonged views was not easy. We saw two large beaked whales swimming in parallel, which were suggestive of Bottle-nosed Whale but unfortunately after three tantalisingly brief views we passed them by and they were lost to view. Dolphin numbers were good, but not spectacular; we recorded Common, Striped and Bottle-nosed. 

Common Dolphins

Common Dolphin

Leaping Bottle-nosed Dolphins

Striped Dolphins

Other species recorded over the course of the day included several Ocean Sunfish, a shark species, Tuna and Moon Jellyfish.

Day 2 - Santander to Plymouth
The second day starts well clear of the deep water canyons of the Bay and as such the species encountered are more limited.

Seabirds
Northern Gannet was the most numerous species, with the most numerous shearwater being Balearic. We did also add Manx to the shearwater list but other than a few Sooty's there was little of note. In fact bird wise the most noteworthy species was a flock of nine Grey Phalaropes which were put up as the ship passed and circled close several times before heading off.

Cetaceans
Common Dolphin was the only species we encountered, and we did so on several occasions. Others on the ship recorded Harbour Porpoise and Risso's Dolphin, but on the opposite side to us.

All in all it was a cracking trip with a great mix of seabirds and cetaceans, and I will certainly be booking a trip for next year.

All at Sea - Biscay August 2014

August is probably the peak month for seeing both seabirds and cetaceans in European waters and so I decided to book on another trip across the Bay of Biscay. I booked to go on Brittany Ferries Pont Aven from Portsmouth to Santander and then to Plymouth from 12th to 14th August. It is a slightly frustrating trip since there is no return to Portsmouth unless you stay on the ship for another three days, therefore I had to get a coach back from Plymouth. The ship usually leaves at 17:15 but our departure was slightly delayed due to road closures on the motorway. Given the time of departure there was no time for birding, so once we were out of the port I headed down for something to eat and then an early night. 

Day 1 Portsmouth to Santander

The first days birding commenced at 6am by which time we were heading south and into the Bay of Biscay. We had a full days birding ahead as we were due to arrive in Santander at around 18:00. As the light became good enough to bird, the first Great Shearwaters appeared, quickly followed by the first Northern Gannets. A couple of distant large shearwaters were left unidentified before the first Cory's Shearwaters appeared. The remnants of Hurricane Bertha meant that it was a breezy crossing, and the sea state was ranging between 5 and 7 making it difficult to pick up cetaceans.

Great Shearwater - Biscay

The first dolphins of the trip were a distant pod of Bottle-nosed, that in typical fashion, ignored the boat and concentrated on what they were doing. They stayed low in the water and so were difficult to pick up, but those that were fortunate to get onto them got good views. The second pod where much more fun, a group of Common Dolphins. Around 50 animals came into the bow of the ship, to ride the bow wave.

Common Dolphins - Biscay

Common Dolphin - Biscay

We were treated to numerous encounters with Common Dolphins for the remainder of the day with pod sizes varying from 50 to 5. Some of them had very small calves, whereas others like in the image below were much larger.

Common Dolphins, Presumed mother and calf - Biscay

As we continued south the weather conditions began to calm but there was no sign of any large whales. There was however a steady passage of shearwaters with both Greats and Cory's giving excellent views as they flew alongside the ship.

Great Shearwater - Biscay

Cory's Shearwater - Biscay

Occasional Northern Gannets drifted alongside the ship, and where we recorded them plunge diving, dolphins were usually in close attendance.

Northern Gannet - Biscay

As we passed over the deep water, which in places is 4500 metres deep, we encountered our only Striped Dolphins of the trip. Unlike to Common Dolphins they headed for the back of the ship to play in the wake. Approximately 50 individuals were seen on both sides of the ship.

Striped Dolphin - Biscay

There were periods where it was very quiet, but at around 15:00 activity picked up again. Initially it was just the sight of isolated Cory's or Great Shearwaters and then a Great Skua took off from the water to avoid getting hit by the boat.

Great Skua (Bonxie) - Biscay 2014

At 15:15 we encountered a flock of Shearwaters, that appeared evenly split between Great and Cory's. Many birds were sat on the water whilst others were milling around feeding.

Cory's and Great Shearwaters - Biscay

The flock was quite distant so I began scanning and immediately picked up a small, apparent pale faced shearwater milling around. I have seen what is now known as Barolo Shearwater, but previously Little and Macronesian, before so grabbed my camera in the hope of getting a record shot, presuming it to be that species.

Cory's, Great Shearwaters and possible Boyd's Shearwater (far right and top) - Biscay

However, having looked at the images it was evident that several of the features that I would have expected to be visible on Barolo were not present, and in fact the bird appears to show features consistent with Boyd's Shearwater instead. The bird was obviously smaller than a Manx Shearwater, the wings appeared more rounded and it gave the impression of being more long tailed. This feature was accentuated by the longest undertail feathers being dark.  The eye did not clearly stand out as would be expected in Barolo, but the cheeks and side of the head appeared much whiter than in Manx. The bill was obviously short, and in the bottom left photo appears to be pale with a dark tip. The underwing has wholly dark primaries and there is a hint of a dark bar on the underwing coverts, towards the leading edge. Unfortunately I didn't get exact GPS co-ordinates but I do have them from 14:30 which were 44.31.590N  004.03.512W, at the time the ship was travelling at 24knots.

Possible Boyd's Shearwater - Biscay

Continuing south we picked up a couple of flocks of Dunlin, six Arctic Terns and two Grey Phalaropes.

By the end of day 1 we had recorded the following: Great Shearwater 61, Cory's Shearwater 62, Unidentified large Shearwater 4, Possible Boyd's Shearwater 1, unidentified small shearwater 2, Great Black-backed Gull 1, Lesser Black-backed Gull 4, Great Skua 1, Northern Gannet 25, Dunlin 20, Grey Phalarope 2, Arctic Tern 6 and Yellow-legged Gull 100+, Bottle-nosed Dolphin 9, Common Dolphin 120, Striped Dolphin 20.

Day 2 Santander to Plymouth
In stark contrast to the previous day, at dawn on day 2, the sea was flat calm. As expected in such conditions we were immediately picking up Common Dolphins. Unfortunately as we progressed north the sea state got worse, and occasional heavy showers, made viewing very difficult. Several other encounters with Common Dolphins occurred, but that was it for the trip with regard to cetaceans.

Common Dolphins - Biscay

The light was quite poor at times but we were still able to pick out good numbers of shearwaters. Great and Cory's were once again present in good numbers and Manx Shearwaters were becoming more numerous. Balearic Shearwaters were also more numerous and at one point we recorded a mixed flock of 50 Manx and Balearic.

Balearic Shearwater - Biscay

Northern Gannets became much more numerous as we headed back north, and a tight flock of 12 Little Tern headed south. Northern Fulmars also became more frequent, but only ever single birds.

2nd Calendar Year Northern Gannet - English Channel

During one of the brighter periods, several Cory's Shearwaters were flying alongside the ship, giving excellent views. The ship took the inland route between the west coast of France and the Island of Ouessant, and where the calmer waters met the open sea two adult Sabine's Gulls were loitering.

Cory's Shearwater - English Channel 

Cory's Shearwater - English Channel

There was still a steady stream of large shearwaters in view, even with landfall in site, but by this time Manxie's were the most numerous. Three Kittiwakes made a brief past and one British Storm-petrel was a welcome sight.

Manx Shearwater - English Channel

Manx Shearwater - English Channel

By the end of day 2 we had recorded the following: Northern Fulmar 10, Northern Gannet 210, Cory's Shearwater 40, Great Shearwater 42, Little tern 12, Manx Shearwater 46, Balearic Shearwater 35, Lesser Black-backed Gull 2, Great Black-backed Gull 14, Sabine's Gull 2, Shag 1, British Storm-petrel 1, Great Skua 3, Ringed Plover 6, Kittiwake 3, Herring Gull 30+ and Common Dolphin 99.

Biscay 4th - 6th December 2012

This week I had the offer of a trip down through the Bay of Biscay on the Brittany Ferries ship Cap Finistere, and despite it being mid December, and the weather looking quite grim at times, I decided to go. The trip was to follow that of the old P&O ferry, Pride of Bilbao, travelling from Portsmouth, in the UK to Bilbao, on the north coast of Spain, and then back again. The trip was slightly delayed due to bad weather in Biscay on the previous trip, but undeterred we eventually boarded and were soon underway. Not really surprisingly, given the time of year, our group of seven and two other people, were the only foot passengers to board, along with only 74 vehicles, so the upper decks were fairly empty.

Over night the weather was rough and the ship was given a bit of a hammering by the angry sea, but by morning, the rain had stopped, but there was still a mighty swell and a high sea state. Given the poor sea state, it was undoubtedly going to be difficult to see cetaceans, but within the first hour 10 common dolphins had come into the bow to ride the bow wave. 

First Winter Kittiwake

Bird wise there wasn't much going on other than a few black-legged kittiwakes that made for the back of the ship, in search of any scraps in the wake. There was a good mix of both adult and first winter birds, a colleague suggested that first winter birds, with their strong black 'W' on the upper wing were a much better looking bird than the adult birds, but I wasn't convinced. I really like the neat black wing tip, pale grey upperwing and mantle, and grey nape of the adult birds.

Adult Winter Kittiwake

Other birds included the occasional great black-backed and herring gulls, and a few northern gannets. The weather was actually quite pleasant and surprisingly mild for the time of year, but in the distance a few storm clouds were gathering.

Great Black-backed Gull

The first storm passed by the back of the ship, and other than a slight increase in the sea state and a light shower we escaped. A good feature of this ship is an under cover section at the stern, which means that even in bad weather you could stay out and sea watch.

First Storm Passing the back of the Ship

The next storm was heading straight for us, forcing several northern gannets and fulmars ahead of it as it came, but no other sea birds, which was a shame.

Northern Gannet

This second storm was fierce, and the driving rain and strong winds made viewing very difficult. We persevered for a while but with very little visible we decided to have a short break.

Second Storm in full Swing

As we continued south the sea state calmed and the sun came out, just for a while before it set, but as we approached Spain, in the dark, it began to pour with rain, and did it rain. Unlike the Pride of Bilbao, it only takes two hours to turn this ship around, and therefore we were not allowed to disembark. When we asked why, we were told that there was no where to go, and when we looked out we could see that the ship had docked in the new part of the port, and there really wasn't anywhere to go in two hours and it was pouring with rain anyway.

Approaching Sunset of the Southward Journey

The ship set sail in the dark, and after another stormy night we awoke to a blue sky and calm seas, not what we were expecting so we quickly got up and headed out. The ship was taking a different route to previous trips and was just off the French coast, where we had excellent views of the westernmost tip of the Brittany peninsular, Point du Raz and its stunning little light house 'La Vielle'

La Vielle, Point du Raz, Brittany

There was much fishing activity in this area also, and subsequently many more birds, including more kittiwakes, some guillemots and puffins and then some Balearic shearwaters. Initially just a few but as we moved moved north we had soon seen over 40 birds, some of which gave some excellent views.

Balearic Shearwater

This is the first time I had seen so many of this species on a trip across the bay, and presume they had been pushed in close to coast by the bad weather. Other bird species included more than a dozen Mediterranean gulls, a mixture of adult and second winter birds, which was nice, although this is a species I now see every time I go out birding at home.

Balearic Shearwater

Continuing north we were soon passing the lighthouses of St Mathieu and enjoying some spectacular scenery....

Lighthouses at St Mathieu

                          ....................before passing the marker of Grande Vinotiere, which provided the ideal place for great cormorants and shags to rest up.

Grande Vinotiere

Once away from the coast and the Channel Islands, and back in open water, we were soon seeing more cetatceans; a lone bottle-nosed dolphin rode the bow wave for a while and several more common dolphins joined in the fun. Several bonxie's (great skuas) provided some bird variety, and then it was dark again and time to retire back the cabin and pack.

So despite the variable weather, we had had an enjoyable trip, with the star bird for me being balearic shearwater. The limited number of cetaceans seen was disappointing, but I suspect that in part was due to the weather, but it may be due to cooler waters at this time of year and therefore less food, I will just have to go again to find out!

Cetacean Corpse at Titchfield Haven

I had a call this afternoon, from Ed Bennett, a ranger at Titchfield Haven, that a cetacean corpse had been washed up on the beach at Hill Head. Ed suspected that the corpse was that of a Harbour Porpoise, and sent me a picture which seemed to suggest that it was, but being the sad person that I am, I decided to go and take a look.

Harbour Porpoise Corpse

The corpse was quite badly decomposed, and did wiff pretty badly, but still it was possible to make out what it was, although on I first impressions I did think that it might be a Common Dolphin.

Harbour Porpoise Corpse

The major difference between dolphins and porpoises is that dolphins have a pronounced beak, whereas porpoises have no beak and a blunt snout. As is possible to see below this corpse lacks a beak and has a blunt and rounded snout. Dolphins also have a more pointed and angled dorsal fin, whereas in porpoises it is blunt and less angled. The dorsal fin on this corpse did look quite pointed, although looking at the trailing edge, it is not as concave as would be expected in Common Dolphin.

Jaw Showing Rounded Snout

The dried and cracked tail stock is evidence that this corpse has been floating around at sea for a while, and I suspect it has drifted into The Solent from The English Channel. The colouration of the tail stock, with dark grey upperparts and pale underparts, was again consistent with Harbour Porpoise. Common Dolphin has an hourglass pattern on its flanks and therefore it should still be possible to see the two-tone pattern.

Dried and Cracked Tail Stock

Many Harbour Porpoises are killed each year, either as by-catch from the fishing industry or by collision with shipping vessels, so I was keen to see this corpse and see if there was any evidence of either. I could see no evidence of net entanglement or propeller cuts, so it maybe that this individual died from natural causes, but unfortunately we will never know.

Back in the Bay of Biscay 16th – 18th August 2011

The day P&O announced the end of the sea crossing from Portsmouth, England to Bilbao, Spain and back, across the Bay of Biscay on the Pride of Bilbao, was a sad day for those of us who were regular travellers on the trip. So, when I was offered a chance to co-guide on a trip from Portsmouth to Santander, Spain on Brittainy Ferries’ Pont – Aven, I jumped at the chance. The Pont – Aven is a much younger ship than the old P&O workhorse, the facilities are more modern and the ship is much faster. But the most significant change is that the ship departs from Portsmouth and returns from Santander to Plymouth, England, which presents immediate logistical problems. 


The ferry set sail from Portsmouth at 17:00, and by the time we had boarded and had something to eat, it was time for an early night in preparation for a full days whale-watching/birding on the following day. The 17^th began with a 06:30 start up on deck 10, the highest deck on the Pont–Aven, in search of seabirds and cetaceans. The faster speed of this ship meant that we were already south of the Brittainy peninsula and in good cetacean waters by dawn, but unlike the old Pride of Bilbao, the Pont-Aven offers no opportunity to view directly forward and crosses the whole of the bay in one day, travelling over both the northern and southern shelf edges of the abyssal plain before arriving in Santander.

Common Dolphin, Bay of Biscay

Our encounters began with a group of over 20 common dolphins coming into the bow to play..

Common Dolphin, Bay of Biscay

....before moving down the sides to play in the wake...

Common Dolphin, Bay of Biscay

......and  excite  our 70 clients, who had opted to travel on this whale and dolphin adventure.

Cory's Shearwater, Bay of Biscay

Over the last couple of years the numbers of seabirds recorded in the Bay of Biscay have been low, and this trip seemed to be following this pattern. Although we still managed some good views of Cory's Shearwater, Sabine,s Gull, three Great Shearwater's and a hand full of British Storm-petrels. Northern Gannets and Great Skuas provided constant interest......

Great Skua, Bay of Biscay

....with the occasional Arctic Skua make up the supporting cast.

Sun Fish, Bay of Biscay

Those lucky enough to looking over the side of the ship were rewarded with a view of an Ocean  Sunfish as the ship steamed by.

Fin Whale, Bay of Biscay

But the most notable feature of this trip was the return of the Fin Whale, the second largest mammal in The World!!! This species has been absent from the bay for the last few years, but this year there has been an increase in sightings, although not back to the numbers of the mid 1990s. In total we recorded 34 large rorqual whale blows, meaning either Sei, Fin or Blue Whale, seven of these we were able to confirm as Fin Whale, the remainder were left unidentified.

Fin Whale, Bay of Biscay

Among the Large Rorqual sightings we also encountered three Sperm Whales, two were very distant, but one provided close views, and revealed its distinctive short, sideways, bushy blow and small unobtrusive dorsal fin. Unfortunately we sped past this encounter and were unable to see the whale dive and show its tail flukes.

Sperm Whale, Bay of Biscay

In February 2005 I was fortunate to be travelling in New Zealand and encountered several Sperm Whales off Kaikoura, South Island. In the Bay of Biscay there are only three species which show their tail flukes whilst diving, Hump-backed and Blue Whale are very rare, although the latter was seen this year and photographed.

Sperm Whale Diving, New Zealand 2005

Of the three, the Sperm Whale is the the most likely to be encountered, and this trip proved to be no exception.

The return from Santander to Plymouth produced a good numbers of Common Dolphins and  Harbour Porpoises, with seabird sightings including more Great and Arctic Skuas, Manx and Balearic Shearwaters and a handful of British Storm Petrels.