BILBAO trip for Waveney Bird ClubALL AT SEA
18 - 21 August 2009
By John Grant
See the photos from the Bilbao trip - click here!
Fifty-three Waveney Bird Club members and friends took the Pride of Bilbao ferry from Portsmouth to northern Spain, across the infamous Bay of Biscay and back, in search of seabirds, cetaceans and a bit of fun…
TO SAY we had a whale of a time would be something of an understatement. We were high as a kite – a Black-shouldered Kite!
But the veterans of these Biscay trips among us knew the Bilbao voyages are rarely plain sailing, so to speak, and so it proved once more. The highs and lows of these crossings are like the mighty Atlantic swell that sweeps into the bay– you can be up high, literally on the crest of a wave, one minute and deep, deep down in a trough the next. Nobody sees every whale, every dolphin and every bird and some unfortunates get to the stage where they couldn’t care less anyway – as seasickness strikes they just want to get off that damned rollercoaster and feel their feet on solid ground.
Even those stricken by the dreaded “mal de mer” would have to admit, however, that this was one hell of a trip – brilliant birds, exciting cetaceans…and amazingly good-humoured humans.
The tone was set as soon as we got on the coach – Kathy Piotrowski is full of lovely little touches! Sweets, drinks and name-tags – the journey to the south coast was a joy in itself. Pompey beckoned and soon that impressive city skyline at the end of the A3 was in view and before much longer we were on the Pride of Bilbao for an evening sailing.
Rear Admiral Helmut Schienner’s Log – star date 18th August 2009
As we sailed into the darkness, it was only the most enthusiastic and highly imaginative members that trained their bins on silhouettes, which were dimly illuminated by reflections from floodlights lighting up Horatio Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, and then managed to turn them into birds, so the trip list got off to a very slow start. In fact, only two species were accepted as being properly “indentified” – Black-head and Lesser Black-backed Gull! The rest of us concentrated on the trip’s sweepstake that has become a traditional part of this voyage. Up for grabs was the “Tacky Trophy” or the Golden Binoculars Award as well as quite a sizeable kitty. The pessimists amongst us scored the trip list as low as 78 (Val Stannard) whilst the optimists as high as 113 (Steve Hammond), but cries of foul play and claims that the veterans had a distinct advantage were dismissed out of hand!
Rear Admiral Helmut Schienner’s Log – star date 19th August 2009
At dawn, around the northern French coast, the trip total edged forward, with Sooty Shearwater, European Storm-petrel, Sabine’s Gull, Cory’s Shearwater, Grey Phalarope, Arctic Skua, Great Skua and, for just a few, Long-tailed Skua and the incomparable Great Shearwater on the scoresheet during the course of the southward sailing. Pride of place, however, went to Wilson’s Storm-petrel, seen by just a very fortunate few.
Early on there was enough swell to induce a little queeziness, but nothing could take the edge off the cetaceans. Most of us managed to get onto Minke Whale, Harbour Porpoise, Bottle-nosed Dolphin (hundreds were seen), Pilot Whale (presumably Long-finned) and Common Dolphin, with a few also seeing Striped Dolphin.
Another little touch from Kathy was the Yellow Jersey Award for each day, a fluorescent tabard with the words “Waveney Bird Club Top Spotter” proudly emblazoned on the back. This was to be awarded to (you’ve guessed it) the top spotter of the day and had to be worn throughout the whole of the subsequent day. The nominees were Andrew Easton, for picking out the Wilson’s as well as a Blue Shark, and Eric Patrick – for noting a Squid (that’s sick Squid, to you, guv) hanging from a Gannet’s bill! In a cliff-hanger vote, Eric assumed the title, gamely stuck to the Top Spotter’s award rule and was even more conspicuous than usual as he glowed through the following day.
Rear Admiral Helmut Schienner’s Log – star date 20th August 2009
The following day…well, that will be remembered fondly by many of us for sure. Eric, proudly adorning his fluorescent jacket, directed traffic to ensure that the 30 or so of our group were not hindered as we quick-marched army-style through the town of Santurzzi en route to the fabled hillside. The clammy hike was certainly worth the effort for the lofty grassy slopes provided us with a real highlight, even for the veterans among us who had scaled the hilly heights several times before.
Some of us were gasping for breath as we reached the lower slopes, so were more than relieved when the advance party stalled to pick out such delights as Melodious Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Nightingale, Tree Pipit, Red-backed Shrike, Cirl Bunting and Zitting Fan-tailed Cisticola Warbler or whatever you want to call the little sprite. Numbers of the latter were well down, probably thanks to an ominous-looking highway that has recently been carved through one of its favoured haunts! The hillside was teeming with birds and as we got higher it got better and better.
Up top we should really have marked the summit with the Waveney Bird Club flag for some of the sky-watchers among us had a truly triumphant purple patch. As if Egyptian Vulture wasn’t enough, it was followed, quite amazingly, by a Black-shouldered Kite. Now we know that in recent years this species has ventured from its more southerly domain in central Spain and Portugal and now breeds in southern France with some vagrants even reaching the likes of Belgium and Holland. However, one soaring over us here in northern Spain, against a clear blue sky and really looking the business, well, it was a total knockout. Unexpected – no, a real shock more like! Bird of the trip - no doubt about it! Andrew Easton, get that yellow jersey on young man!
Other raptors came thick and fast – Griffon Vulture, Peregrine, Booted Eagle, Honey Buzzard for example. Griping stuff indeed in more senses than one – not everyone saw the star species, but those who did were positively buzzing.
It wasn’t only the birds that drew our attention as there was an amazing array of butterflies and other insects. Many recently-hatched adonis blues were photographed and other butterflies of interest were sloe hairstreak, dryad, long-tailed blue, Lang’s short-tailed blue and scarce swallowtail. Day-flying moths included a superb Jersey tiger and a passenger moth was spotted resting on a post. A preying mantis caused quite a stir as did a rather menacing looking hornet robber-fly.
Back onboard the Pride of Bilbao, raptor-watching was terrific as we awaited the start of the return to “Good ol’ Blighty”. However, thoughts were really turning to the cetaceans that may lie ahead once we reached the really deep water just a few miles out of port. And we waited in anticipation.
Conditions were breezy but watchable and, as we set sail to the north, a fine Fin Whale breached to get us in the mood. This was soon followed by a stunning Sperm Whale, re-oxygenating on the surface close in to the ship, and several enigmatic Cuvier’s Beaked Whales. I’ll stick my neck out here – as a rather thin, pale breaching whale seen by some of us and said at the time to have been a “probable” Cuvier’s actually might not have been? A little research suggests to me that it might, just might, have been a Sowerby’s…but we may never know.
As the conditions got rough, the less-than-tough got going, but it was down to the cabins for those land-lovers and some didn’t resurface until late the next morning! I’m afraid that as the seas got rougher my face tranformed from a lighter shade of pale to a paler shade of green and eventually even an ol’ ship’s powder monkey like me succumbed and I became dead to the world for an incredible 14 hours! Those hardy souls with hardy stomachs were rewarded with several seabird highs, including close-up Great Shearwaters – surely the most graceful and impressive of all the bay’s maritime wanderers? However, I‘m reliably informed that the log that night was a rather sombre affair as those still standing were desperately trying to hold on to their evening meal as the ship lurched and shuddered.
Rear Admiral Helmut Schienner’s Log – star date 21st August 2009
It was truly a rough ol’ night and few surfaced early to catch the dawn and the bleary-eyed stalwarts that did were hardly rewarded. There were more excellent views of Sabine’s Gulls that were trying to keep up with the ship and a few Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, but cetaceans were conspicuous by their absence. The voyage became more comfortable once we turned the corner at the Brest Peninsula and into the calmer waters of The English Channel and the ship trundled on…. and on to Blighty. By the time we reached The Solent only 13 sweepstakers were still in the hunt, but one by one they fell by the wayside to such species as Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Mute Swan and Redshank that were spotted from the ship as Portsmouth Harbour welcomed us back.
We were on 99 as the ship finally edged onto its berth and just yours truly and Kevin Wright were in with a realistic shout of winning the trophy. A Mallard, a Rook or any species of feral goose would have tipped the balance in Kevin’s favour but, despite exhaustive searching, no one could add to the list – rumours that I suppressed a flock of Mallards are entirely unfounded!
And so to the finale of the trip – with the ship firmly back on its moorings, we were indeed honoured to have a visit on the heli-deck from Rear-Admiral Helmut Schienner, a close friend (that’s very close, darling) of the eminent ornithologist and Suffolk University lecturer Professor Johan von Granthausen. Johan has been a frequent guest speaker at Lowestoft Lounge Lizard meetings and was the guest of honour at Stave and Kathy’s wedding. However, it was Helmut who took centre stage and this esteemed old sea dog was master of ceremonies for the trophy presentation, although, for obvious reasons to those present, the equally esteemed Steve Piotrowski had to present the Golden Bins award to none other than yours truly! A much deserved win of course which was all down to my guile and unrivalled expertise.
Each and every one of us owes an enormous debt of gratitude to Kathy Piotrowski, not just for all those little touches (!) but for the fantastic amount of organisational work she put in to get the trip up and running and keep it on an even keel…did I say even keel? Well, maybe it wasn’t even all the time but you know what I mean. A million thanks from all of us Kathy, a million thanks.
Checklist of Wildlife seen on trip - click to download pdf
John Grant