Pride of Bilbao - Days 3 & 4

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 09:41:58 GMT

Day 3 Monday 27^th August

Santurtzi Harbour 07:00

c500 Yellow-legged Gull

3 Lesser Black-backed Gull

3 Black-headed Gull

Santurtzi – El Mazo – 07:15 – 11:00

2 Kestrel

5+ Collared Dove

1 Feral Pigeon

2 Hoopoe

1 Wryneck

1 Swallow

c10 House Martin

c20 Tree Pipit

c14 White Wagtail

3 Nightingale

2 Wren

1 Robin

6 Black Redstart

many Stonechat

1 Blackbird

3 Fan-tailed Warbler

10 Cetti’s Warbler

4 Melodious Warbler

2 Garden Warbler

4 Whitethroat

4 Blackcap

2 Sardinian Warbler

1 Willow Warbler

c20 Pied Flycatcher

4 Spotted Flycatcher

3 Great Tit

c20 Red-backed Shrike

many Magpie

House Sparrow – very common

5 Serin

Greenfinch- common

Goldfinch - common

From Boat in Santurtzi Harbour 11:15 – 11:45

3 Griffon Vulture

1 Honey Buzzard

2 Common Buzzard

1 pale-phase Booted Eagle

Return Sailing Through Biscay

Within 30 minutes of leaving Santurtzi, sea state predominantly 3 throughout the day, occasionally 4. Visibility poor to virtually no visibility at times.

11:52 Sandwich Tern (7), Shag (3), Common Tern, Cormorant (2)

12:15 Hoopoe

13:58 Gannet

14:02 Sabine’s Gull (1 adult summer plumage)

14:09 Gannet

14:10 Swift

14:18 Gannet

15:00 Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (3)

15:08 Sabine’s Gull (3 adult summer plumage)

15:29 Grey Heron (3)

15:31 Wheatear

17:02 Great Black-backed Gull

17:28 Striped Dolphin (c20)

18:24 Fin Whale

18:40 Sabine’s Gull (1 adult summer plumage)

18:59 Yellow Wagtail

19:02 Fin Whale (2)

19:28 Fin Whale (3)

19:30 Fin Whale (2)

19:35 Great Black-backed Gull

19:40 Sooty Shearwater, Gannet

19:43 2 unidentified blows

19:45 1 gannet, 3 unidentified blows

19:55 Sooty Shearwater, British Storm Petrel

20:05 Fin Whale

20:10 Great Black-backed Gull

Summary of day 3 (from Boat)

2 Sooty Shearwater

1 British Storm Petrel

5 Gannet

2 Cormorant

3 Grey Heron

3 Shag

4 Great Black-backed Gull

5 Sabine’s Gull

7 Sandwich Tern

1 Common Tern

1 Swift

1 Hoopoe

1 Yellow Wagtail

1 Wheatear

(A total of 37 birds!)

9 Fin Whale

3 Cuvier’s Beaked Whale

c20 Striped Dolphin

Day 4 Tuesday 28^th August

Sea state predominantly 3 throughout the day. Visibility excellent.

06.44 Collared Dove

07:12 Common Tern (4)

07:15 Night Heron (ad.)

07:20 Tern sp.

07:58 Great Skua

08:04 Great Skua

08:10 Tern sp. (26)

08:15 Fulmar

08:28 Collared Dove

08:58 Great Skua

09:07 Tern sp.

09:40 Sand Martin (3)

09:48 Tern sp. (2)

09:57 Arctic Skua, Fulmar

10:03 Sand Martin (3)

10:28 Great Skua

10:31 Fulmar

10:44 Fulmar

11:04 Great Skua (2)

11:05 Tern sp.

11:13 Kittiwake, Fulmar, Black-headed Gull

11:21 Great Black-backed Gull (4)

11:32 Fulmar

11:42 Common Tern (2)

11:48 Cormorant (3), Great Skua

No further entries made after midday – only plenty of Gannet and the occasional Great Black-backed Gull.

Summary of day 4

5 Fulmar

Gannet – abundant

3 Cormorant

1 Night Heron

7 Great Skua

1 Arctic Skua

1 Kittiwake

1 Black-headed Gull

6 Common Tern

29 Tern sp.

1/2 Collared Dove

6 Sand Martin

Trip Highlights / Key Totals:-

Farlington

33 Little Egret

3 Peregrine

1 Hobby

c250 Grey Plover

c300 Black-tailed Godwit

2 Roseate Tern

3 Black Tern

6+ Little Tern

Sailing

1 Night Heron

8 Sabine’s Gull

10 Sooty Shearwater

1 Little Shearwater

11+ British Storm Petrel

17 Great Skua

1 Roseate Tern

1 Hoopoe

1 Grasshopper Warbler

20+ Pied Flycatcher

c15 Willow Warbler

Santurtzi

3 Griffon Vulture

1 Honey Buzzard

1 Booted Eagle

1 Wryneck

4 Melodious Warbler

c20 Pied Flycatcher

c20 Red-backed Shrike

Cetacean/Fish Totals:-

65+ Bottlenose Dolphin

c120 Striped Dolphin

c170 Common Dolphin

22 Fin Whale

23 Long-finned Pilot Whale

3 Cuvier’s Beaked Whale

19 Sunfish

Notes:-

Unless otherwise stated, number of individual birds/cetaceans is 1.

Cetaceans and fish shown in red.

All times shown in UK Time

Sea states referred to in this report:-

1=small wavelets; crests of glassy appearance, not breaking

2=large wavelets; crests begin to break; scattered white caps

3=small waves, becoming longer; numerous white caps

4=moderate waves, taking longer to form; some spray

Paul Beresford

30^th August 2001

Pride of Bilbao - Days 1 & 2

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 09:34:17 GMT

Bay of Biscay Trip 25^th – 28^th August 2001

Paul Beresford, Richard Taylor, Andy Warren, Tim Wright

P&O Ferry Pride of Bilbao, Portsmouth to Santurtzi

Day 1 Saturday 25^th August

Farlington Marshes (east of Portsmouth)

c50 Great Crested Grebe

many Cormorant

c15 Grey Heron

33 Little Egret

5 Mute Swan

2 Brent Goose

2 Shelduck

c20 Wigeon

30+ Shoveler

50+ Teal

2 Garganey

1 Kestrel

3 Peregrine

1 Hobby

1 Water Rail

many Oystercatcher

60+ Ringed Plover

c250 Grey Plover (most in full summer plumage)

1 Golden Plover

c30 Lapwing

2 Turnstone

c7 Knot

c100 Dunlin

25 Curlew

6 Whimbrel

c300 Black-tailed Godwit

30+ Bar-tailed Godwit

c200 Redshank

3 Spotted Redshank

15+ Greenshank

1 Common Sandpiper

3 Snipe

60+ Common Tern

2 adult Roseate Tern

6+ Little Tern

3 Black Tern

200+ Swallow

3 Sand Martin

c5 Yellow Wagtail

c8 Wheatear

c15 Whinchat

2/3 Stonechat

1Reed Warbler

1 Sedge Warbler

c10 Whitethroat

2 Lesser Whitethroat

1 Willow Warbler

c10 Long-tailed Tit

Boat – Sailed 20:00 - Insufficient daylight.

Day 2 Sunday 26^th August

Sea state predominantly 1 throughout the day, infrequently 2 (see end of document). Visibility excellent although the morning was misty with occasional light drizzle.

06:05 Wheatear

06:15 Great Black-Backed Gull

06:15 Herring Gull

06:22 Cormorant

06:29 Fulmar

06:30 Yellow Wagtail

07:35 Sabine’s Gull (adult in full summer plumage)

07:35 Grasshopper Warbler

08:05 Pied Flycatcher

09:10 Bottlenose Dolphin (30+)

09:45 Bottlenose Dolphin (10+)

09:55 Trawler - Sooty Shearwater (2), Fulmar, British Storm Petrel (5+), Great Skua

10:02 British Storm Petrel

10:20 Willow Warbler (2)

10:35 Great Skua (2)

10:38 Great Skua

10:39 British Storm Petrel

10:42 Common Scoter (c75)

10:52 Great Skua

10:54 Willow Warbler (2), Pied Flycatcher (2), Spotted Flycatcher

11:10 possible Balearic Shearwater (3)

11:20 Rock Pipit

11:30 Yellow Wagtail, Great Skua

11:35 Sooty Shearwater (2)

11:50 White Wagtail

12:02 Redstart, Turnstone, Common Dolphin (5)

12:30 Bottlenose Dolphin (c10)

12:46 Bottlenose Dolphin (c6)

13:00 Common Tern

13:14 Black-headed Gull

13:21 Tree Pipit

13:33 Common Dolphin (c10)

13:45 Roseate Tern, British Storm Petrel (3), Gannet (50+), Willow Warbler, Pied Flycatcher

14:00 Black Tern (4), Common Tern

14:03 Manx Shearwater

14:10 Trawler - Sooty Shearwater, British Storm Petrel, Great Skua (2)

14:15 Skua sp.

14:22 Sabine’s Gull (2 imms), Bottlenose Dolphin (c4)

14:39 Fin Whale (2), White Wagtail (2), Skua sp.

14:43 Great Skua

14:48 Great Skua, Long-finned Pilot Whale

14:56 Long-finned Pilot Whale (6 ad, 1 imm)

15:02 Fin Whale (2), White Wagtail (2)

15:15 Fin Whale, Willow Warbler, Arctic Skua

15:20 possible Auk sp. (2), Common Tern (3)

15:30 Common Dolphin (c60), Striped Dolphin (c5)

15:40 Sunfish (3), Pied Flycatcher (2)

15:45 Sunfish, Sooty Shearwater

15:48 Sooty Shearwater

15:56 Sunfish (9)

16:08 Bottlenose Dolphin (c2)

16:20 Arctic Tern (2), “Commic” Tern (5)

16:30 White Wagtail, Little Shearwater

16:40 Sooty Shearwater

16:42 Common Tern

16:50 Fin Whale (6)

17:05 Long-finned Pilot Whale (11)

17:15 Fin Whale

17:18 Common Tern (7)

17:21 Willow Warbler

17:33 Common Dolphin (c45), Bottlenose Dolphin (c5)

17:50 Common Dolphin (c50), Striped Dolphin (2), Common Tern (2), Great Black-Backed Gull (3)

17:55 Striped Dolphin (c100)

18:25 Long-finned Pilot Whale (4)

Summary of day 2

315+ Gannet*

1 Cormorant

8 Sooty Shearwater

1 Manx Shearwater

1 Little Shearwater

10+ British Storm Petrel

c75 Common Scoter

1 Turnstone

10 Great Skua

1 Arctic Skua

2 Skua sp.

many Great Black-Backed Gull*

2-3 Black-headed Gull*

3 Sabine’s Gull

c20 Common Tern*

1 Roseate Tern

4 Black Tern

2+ Arctic Tern

6 White Wagtail

4 Yellow Wagtail

1 Rock Pipit

1 Tree Pipit

3-4 Wheatear*

1 Redstart

1 Grasshopper Warbler

c15 Willow Warbler*

20+ Pied Flycatcher

1-2 Spotted Flycatcher

65+ Bottlenose Dolphin

c100 Striped Dolphin

c170 Common Dolphin

13 Fin Whale

23 Long-finned Pilot Whale

19 Sunfish

* not all individuals recorded against specific timings.

The Balvicar Blog: Travel

Pride of Bilbao - Days 3 & 4

Pride of Bilbao - Days 1 & 2