Encounter with aType D Orca

After an incredible hour with Type B2 Orcas which escorted us away from South Georgia, it was far from our minds that the following day would yield an even more amazing Orca encounter. 

We were on the bridge wings in the cold grey light of dawn. The first officer pointed out the ominous wall of ice on the horizon - iceberg A23a, the size of London, which is creeping slowly north towards South Georgia. Birding was a little slow, with several Blue Petrels and a single old adult Snowy Albatross the only birds of note in the first hour. Out of nowhere, Philip exclaimed he had seen a fin and sure enough we both latched on to what was clearly a male Orca, heading east towards our vessel. Predicting where it would surface, we were both quite shocked to see it had a rounded, almost bulbous head, and virtually no eye patch - surely a Type D! We looked at each other in amazement and the next time it surfaced we fired off rapid shots with our cameras. Quickly checking the viewfinder and BOOM! It was clearly a Type D! 

 

 Pandemonium broke out on deck as we tried to alert everyone; it was still early and there were few people around. Fortunately, the Orca was travelling steadily and continued to surface enabling a few people to scramble to the deck in time to get a glimpse, and for me to secure a bit of shaky video footage. The vessel maintained course, as did the Orca and it soon faded into the distance, leaving us shellshocked. We had always thought there was an outside chance of bumping into this most elusive and unknown of Orca ecotypes in subantartic waters, but we never for a moment thought it would actually happen.

 

Type D Orca live in subantarctic waters, are thought to be fish-feeders and are really quite distinctive. Along with the tiny white eyepatch, they have a very rounded head - think Pilot Whale - and a narrow, pointed, swept-back fin. With views like we had, it was really distinctive. Type Ds were identified from a mass stranding in New Zealand in 1955 but have been only rarely seen since. There is some great footage on Youtube from a research expedition done off Chile in 2019, which is worth a look. 

 

 

 

Antarctica!

 

Antarctica. It had been a long time in the planning and a long, long time in the dreaming. 

 

As a kid birder I used to make lists of my most desired species in the back of my notebooks- a kind of early bucket list. Always top of the lists would be Wandering Albatross - the bird with the longest wingspan of any living bird, and somewhere on that list, would be Emperor Penguin. Creeping in later, as my awareness increased, was perhaps the most attractive of seabirds, the Light-mantled Albatross. As I learned the distributions of these dream birds, I replaced Emperor Penguin with the similar-looking King Penguin, as it seemed the larger bird would be nigh on impossible to see, due to their inaccessible range in the icy heart of Antarctica. The two albatrosses kept their places; maybe one day I'd get a chance to see them.

 

 

Snowy (Wandering) Albatross 

 

Dreams of these birds and a visit to the icy 'Seventh Continent' always remained in the back of my mind. As my interest in seabirds and cetaceans grew with age, a trip to the far south became something of an obsession, but, with a growing family, increasing costs and dwindling time, was I ever actually going to make it to the haunts of these birds? My wife, Vicky, did not want to come with me; her sea legs are pretty wobbly and this was an idea from hell for her. Fortunately, old mate Philip was up for it and so ten years ago, I made the decision: I will go to Antarctica!

 

After ten years' of saving and planning, I finally had amassed the funds to make the trip. To my relief, Philip was still keen and advice from friends pointed us towards Oceanwide Expeditions, and an itinerary that included the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica, which would bring me to the breeding range of both my desired albatrosses and my desired regal penguin. And. you never know, going to Antarctica could give me a shot at an Emperor! 

 

This would be an 18 night epic on a relatively small boat through some of the biggest seas in the world, so my excitement of laying down our deposits for a January 2025 departure was matched only by my apprehension! 

King Penguins, South Georgia

 

The weeks and months ticked by; Christmas 2024 came and went, and suddenly, I was on a train to London to meet Philip, for our flight to Buenos Aires. It was really happening! With all my annual leave saved for this trip, I was mentally frazzled, though the adrenaline of what was about to happen prevented sleep. I had been anxious that something would befall me or my plans and thwart my attempt to fulfil this dream, but now everything seemed to be falling in to place. After a restless night, our plane landed in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, for a brief stopover. We spied Magnificent Frigatebirds, Turkey Vultures and a Whistling Heron out of the plane window, lit by the bright South American sunshine, under a brilliant blue sky. Our trip had begun!

 

 

 

Light-mantled Albatross, South Georgia

 

Shortly, we flew down to Buenos Aires, where we spent a day and a half notching up 94 species in what is surely one of the best urban nature reserves in the world, Costanera Sur. It was great to be back in the city having visited back in 2007, but sadly our time was brief, as we had to continue south, with a flight down to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of Argentina. Here we spent a fantastic three days checking out the various habitats in the deep south, along with some amazing birding. 

 

The 16th soon arrived and it was time to embark for our trip, aboard the MV Plancius. In the coming weeks I will write more posts about our trip. It surpassed all expectations and fulfilled my long held dream. I will try and contain my excitement as I relive the highlights of the trip!

 

Orca, Type B2, South Georgia 

Philip (left) and me, Weddell Sea, January 2025

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I appreciate that even a trip of a lifetime comes with a substantial impact on the environment. I have used www.sustainabletravel.org to calculate the carbon footprint of my travel and accomodation for this trip, which comes to 6.12 MT of CO2. 

I have offset this by making a donation to the World Land Trust.

Ever fancied a birding trip to Estonia?

Estonia: Owls, Woodpeckers, forest Grouse and, oh yes, Steller's Eiders! This is a fantastic country to visit and is heavenly for birders. I have been fortunate to be offered an opportunity to lead a trip for Wildlife Travel to this fabulous destination, in April this year. The trip is now confirmed, but we still have a few places left. If you are interested in joining us, please see this link:

https://wildlife-travel.co.uk/europe/estonia-birding

We will spend a week enjoying the last of the winter birds, including that most sought-after of seaducks, the Steller's Eider; the first newly arriving spring migrants, and of course a wide range of special species that are resident in this Baltic country. With local guides we will visit the best sites the country has to offer, yielding a fine list of birds and other wildlife. Best of all, we will do this at a relaxed pace, giving us the chance to soak up the atmosphere of spring migration in this wonderful country.

I hope you will join us!

Snow Day

 Heavy snow arrived overnight as predicted, and I awoke to a beautiful winter scene. Two Redwings were in the Silver Birches, clearly hungry, but too nervous to drop in to feed on the apples I put out. Later, two Fieldfares joined the hungry Blackbirds to feed. A covey of five Grey Partridges stood out against the snow on the fields south of Bishopthorpe cycle track; good to see them still hanging on here.

Fieldfare

Grey Partridges - just the other side of the second fence.

New Year's Yank

For once I awoke without the traditional New Year's Day hangover, so joined up with Vicky and mates to do the York park run, or rather paddle - the York Knavesmire being flooded! After getting my breath back, I headed down to Wheldrake Ings and was surprised to be the first there. 

On the walk down to the hide, a movement in riverside brambles turned out to be an unexpected Nuthatch, feeding low down. A smart bird and not one I see that often here, though I hear them calling from the bigger trees across the river quite often. A couple of Treecreepers and a Cetti's Warbler were noted too, along with a flock of Redwings. 

Down at Tower Hide, I scanned hard for Green-winged Teal and American Wigeon among the thousands of loafing Eurasians, without success. Several thousand ducks were present, including three or four hundred Pintail; a fine sight! The 29 Black-tailed Godwits were busy feeding in the water among the ducks, whilst a large flock of Lapwings and Golden Plovers were spread across the main meadow feeding. I switched my attention to Riverside Ings to add Goldeneye to my steadily-increasing year-list and immediately latched on to the drake American Wigeon, paddling across the water. So much for scanning distant duck flocks! The dapper male joined a small group of male and one female Euro Wigeon and began cavorting around, displaying and calling. The light was poor so phonescoping was tricky, but you can just about make him out. The group moved into the emergent vegetation in front of the Pool willows and became harder to see, before being flushed by Marsh Harrier 'D3' and flying on to Swantail Ings, where the American was still visible, albeit much more distantly.

 

I headed on to North Duffield and Bubwith Ings to look for the lingering Little Gull, but it turned out the report was spurious, and the bird hadn't been seen since the 30th. Thousands more ducks were present, but I didn't have time to check them properly, so after a quick scan, I headed home.

Last Post of 2024

 

It has been an interesting end to the year, with continuing illness, now cleared-up thankfully, with only a little bit of birding squeezed in. Leading a YCN trip around the Lower Derwent Valley on the 13th was great, with a fab bunch of clients, the highlight being a first-winter Little Gull at Bank Island first thing, which is a real rarity in the York area at this time of year. High water levels prevented us doing our usual route, but we adapted and had a good day, with lots of wintering wildfowl, waders etc. 

Following a short trip to Athens with the family (Goshawk, Sardinian Warblers, Black Redstarts), we had a good Christmas, and then I have birded every day since returning to York, in preparation for Sunday's Yorkshire Bird Race. 

 

|Red Kite, Caspian Gull, Black-tailed Godwits and Curlews. All Wheldrake Ings, 30-31st Dec 2024.

Imm female Peregrine. A very large bird, heavily streaked underneath - pure Peregrine?

The weather is looking ominous but the water levels have fallen in the valley and it is stuffed with birds, including the lingering American Wigeon and Little Gull. The last few days have yielded a fine first-winter Caspian Gull in the Wheldrake roost, an unusual winter-count of 28 Black-tailed Godwits, a fabulous big immature female Peregrine, our old friend D3 the tagged female Marsh Harrier, and lots more besides. It should be a good day, if the weather doesn't have other ideas!

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To all my friends, and readers of this blog, thanks for your support, Happy New Year and I hope 2025 brings you lots of birding and wildlife adventures!

Escape

It was good to escape from home today after feeling rough for about ten days. I only managed a few hours before tiredness overcame me and I was forced back indoors. A walk along the Derwent bank at Bubwith was a joy, with thousands of Teal and Wigeon scattered across the ings, occasionally lifting in a cloud as a Marsh Harrier cruised overhead. I was pleased to pick out the drake American Wigeon which had been hanging out at the north end of the valley; it hadn't been seen this week, so had clearly moved south to where it spent most of last winter. He is looking handsome now, having finished moulting, and was cavorting with a group of male Euro Wigeons, displaying to a couple of rufous females. Several Barnacle Geese were present with Pinkfeet and Greylags north of Aughton Church, though I was looking distantly from North Duffield, so couldn't be sure how many there were (eleven, it turned out). I headed up to Thorganby, which yielded little water and 35 Dunlins, and then finished at Tower Hide, Wheldrake, where 480 Golden Plovers were loafing in the meadows, when they weren't being flushed by low-flying aircraft.

Kronk

Yesterday, a visit to Castle Howard was rather quiet, apart from a typically-noisy Cetti's Warbler, erupting occasionally from the reedbed. A female Pintail among the Wigeon was notable, and my first Goldeneye of the winter - eight - were nice to see. No Hawfinches were in the Arboretum car park, so I headed back to the LDV. I only had an hour before I was due to pick up Sol, so I opted to sit in Cheesecake Hide at Bank Island. This proved to be successful, with the highlights being a Raven kronking it's way east, closely followed by a second bird which was loudly calling it's mate to wait! I dashed out of the hide and managed a bit of phone video as it went over. Also, a fine juvenile Marsh Harrier was harrying the ducks and waders, which included a Black-tailed Godwit, 25+ Snipe and c50 Lapwings. Two Whooper Swans flew south.

 

Bishopthorpe has turned up a couple of good birds in the last few days. On Thursday, a lunchtime walk with Luna revealed a Cetti's Warbler calling from the ditch near the allotments, whilst the rumoured Great Egret near the football pitches turned out to be true, with a fine adult stalking round in the adjacent ploughed field on Friday afternoon. The same bird was present again as I left for Castle Howard on Saturday morning.

 

Earlier on Friday, I was working up in the Yorkshire Dales, meeting a local farmer who was interested in supplying a few hardy cattle to graze a new nature reserve I've just bought for the Trust. Whilst there, we flushed a Woodcock, saw a Dipper pootling along the gill and best of all, a female Hen Harrier quartering the rough grassland on the south side of the reserve! Excellent. 

 

I then drove a bit further along the road and spied a fine male Black Grouse perched on a field gate. This is the first I've seen in this part of the Dales, so hopefully my plans to plant more berry-bearing bushes etc will help these lovely birds.

Last Sprites

November has arrived, with a flood of winter thrushes and a notable arrival of Hawfinches. The landscape is golden, with the senescent leaves lighting the hedgerows, thickets and copses with burning fire tones. 

It isn't quite the end of autumn, but with the clocks having changed, it certainly feels like the beginning of the end of autumn. A stomp round Flamborough on Saturday morning yielded typical late autumn migrants, lifting my melancholy brought on by the shortening days. Every migrant is a miniature marvel of physiological stamina and navigation and the hardships they endure is beyond our experiences and fills me with wonder. 

 A loop of Old Fall and then Thornwick was the plan and as always, didn't disappoint. Woodcocks dashed up the hedges in front of me, hedges that were clad in Norse Blackbirds and steely foreign Song Thrushes. A few Goldcrests defied gravity, hanging among the last few Willow leaves to glean unseen aphids and spiders, oblivious to my presence and delight. 

 A single Yellow-browed Warbler had found the only Hawthorn in Old Fall to hang on to its leaves, and rapidly morphed into two birds, zipping around the small bush. Delightful sprites as ever, and most likely the last I will see this autumn. It has been such a thrill to see good numbers of these little warblers again this autumn after a couple of poor years.

A Wheatear that flicked past was only unusual because of its tardiness; I was hoping for something rarer at this time of year. A few Bramblings were seen during the day, but it was 2pm before the fresh wave of last night's migrants made landfall, with a garrulous flock of 50 Redwings tumbling westwards, joyous at having reached land and safety - for now. Several bnoisy Fieldfares appeared too, along with more Blackbirds and more Song Thrushes. It was time for me to head west too, happy with my last sprites of the autumn, and feeling ready to welcome the winter.

Red-neck 2

 I found some pics of the Castle Howard Red-necked Grebe that I'd taken on my DSLR and had immediately forgotten about....until now!

 

Hello, old friend

A male American Wigeon turned up with an influx of Euro Wigeons yesterday at Bank Island (good find by Phil Mountain). This is presumably the drake that spent last winter in the LDV, and with the sun finally shining this afternoon, I went over to say hello to this old friend. With a bit of help from Christi Ralph who was already in Cheesecake Hide, I got on to the bird swimming about on the flood, and enjoyed fabulous views in the autumn sun. The handsome yank made its way to the west side of the flood and sat among its European friends for a preen. A Marsh Harrier flushed everything after a while, but we soon found the bird again in amongst c500 moulting Euro Wigeons. Also noted, 44 Pintails, c30 Shoveler and 16 gorgeous adult Whooper Swans, fresh in from Iceland. 

 

49 Stripes

Heavy rain wasn't the desired for conditions to lead a guided walk as part of Flamborough Bird Obsevatory's Migration Festival, but we gave it a go! The walk round the Outer Head started well with a showy seven-striped sprite performing at close range in the Lighthouse Bushes, to our 20 guests. 

Pallas's Warbler, Lighthouse Bushes. Pic by Dean Brookes

 

This was a lifer for many of the people on the walk, so despite the rain, there were lots of smiles. I was pleased too, of course, as a Pallas's Warbler is the quintessential October Sibe; autumn doesn't quite feel the same if I don't see one. We headed round the loop, adding a couple of six-striped Yellow-browed Warblers to the tally, plus a migrant Great Spotted Woodpecker in Old Fall hedge, and a few Song Thrushes and Blackbirds. It was rather quiet overall, probably due to the poor conditions. Towards the end of the walk, a movement at the south end of Motorway Hedge got me grilling the willows, and to my delight, out popped a Pallas's Warbler! Was this a different bird?!

 

The seven-striped sprite - pic by Dean Brookes.

Phil Galtry, my co-leader, mentioned that yesterday the Pallas's was ranging from the lighthouse all the way down the hedge, so it was likely that it was the same bird. Sure enough, back at the lighthouse and loafing birders hadn't seen the sprite there for a while, so I had to let my two bird theory go. The clients departed and the weather improved, so after a chippy lunch, I headed over to the northside to walk the Thornwick loop. The rain had killed my camera, so of course everything I saw showed well, including three more Yellow-browed Warblers and several Chiffchaffs. Best of all, a Short-eared Owl, which flew in off the sea at North Landing and was immediately intercepted by two angry and tenancious Carrion Crows, that gave the owl a very hard time. A huge flock of Pink-footed Geese kept lifting out of stubbles to the north, making a great cacophony, with a few straggling groups pealing off and heading over south. 

I still had a little time to bird, so went back to Old Fall to see if I could find Dean Brookes' Firecrest. Sadly I couldn't, but enjoyed a solitary Redwing and three more Yellow-brows in the plantation, taking my tally to 49 stripes: seven six-stripes and one seven-stripe. Not bad for a wet day that was almost a write-off. Big thanks to Dean who has let me post two of his excellent pics of the Pallas's Warbler.

Red-neck

A first calendar-year Red-necked Grebe was a nice find at Castle Howard Lake early last week by Stuart Rapson.  I saw the bird briefly on Tuesday when I had a meeting with site staff, but decided to head back on Friday for a better look. The grebe was still showing well close in off the path along the lake edge, and seemed quite content diving for small fish. This lovely bird completes the set of five commoner grebes in the York area this year, following the fabulous Slavonian Grebe in the spring along with a handful of Black-necks. 

 

Also present at CHL, 12 Little Grebes, 35 Gadwall, 115 Tufted Ducks, c50 Wigeon and a singing Cetti's Warbler.