Welcome to The Company of Whales latest news page! This area of our site brings you our latest sightings data of marine mammals and other wildlife from Biscay and northern Spain. This page is updated twice weekly during our operating season.

And remember... when travelling with the Company of Whales across Biscay, you will have: privileged and exclusive access to our dedicated whale-watching platform while we're onboard, exclusive pre-boarding facilities and exclusive access to our on-board lectures on whale and dolphin identification and ecology.

THE COMPANY OF WHALES - THE NUMBER ONE CHOICE - YET AGAIN!

The Company of Whales is delighted to announce that we have once again been awarded contracts to supply holidays to the RSPB, CSMA, ORCA, Bird Watching Magazine, Battersea Dogs Home, the Environment Agency and La Société Guernesiaise. Naturally, such high profile organisations choose their partners very carefully - we are therefore very proud to be their number one choice for operating wildlife adventures across the Bay of Biscay!

LATEST RESEARCH NEWS

We are proud that our huge database of marine mammal sightings is being put to good use. Company of Whales Field Director Hugh Harrop said "We are 100% committed to collating sightings data that can be used by the scientific community for in-depth analysis of marine-mammal life in the Bay of Biscay and The English Channel. We now know an awful lot more about the status, distribution and abundance of marine life in these waters thanks to the team of professional guides we are lucky to have working for us."

Analysis of data collated by our team on all of our Bay of Biscay trips has culminated in a number of scientific papers. Some recent papers that have been published utilising our data include: (click on the title to download and open the document as a pdf or right click to save to disc)

Predictive Habitat Suitability Mapping of Common Dolphins & Fin Whales in the Bay of Biscay

JUST PUBLISHED! Distribution, encounter rates, and habitat characteristics of toothed cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay and adjacent waters from platform-of-opportunity data

A New Breeding Ground? The Spatio-temporal distribution and bathymetric preferences of Sperm Whales in the Bay of Biscay

Beyond The Pale - Using Visual Criteria To Assess Group Composition Of Cuvier's Beaked Whale In The North Atlantic

Distribution, Relative Abundance and Bathymetric Preferences of Toothed Cetaceans in the English Channel and Bay Of Biscay

Highlighting Potential Common Dolphin-Fisheries Interactions Through Seasonal Relative Abundance Data in the Western Channel and Bay Of Biscay

Mapping Cetacean Biodiversity in the Bay of Biscay. Submitted to: European Research on Cetaceans ­ 19. Proc. 19th Ann. Conf. ECS. La Rochelle, France. April 2005. European Cetacean Society.

The Distribution Of Fin Whales In The Bay Of Biscay In Relation to Bathymetry and Sea Surface Temperature.

Using Oceanographic Features to Predict Areas of High Cetacean Diversity

LATEST CETACEAN & OTHER WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS

PLEASE NOTE: Reference to any of the cetacean sightings recorded on Company of Whales cruises can only be quoted or reproduced with the prior permission of The Company of Whales. Please also note that our sightings are actual observations made by our guides and accompanying guests. We take great pride in the cautious approach we take in recording cetaceans - eg. 28 Fin Whales and 32 unidentified large rorquals (animals seen 'blowing' but no body seen) are recorded as just that - and not 60 Fin Whales!

Click here for 2007 archive
Click here for 2006 archive
Click here for 2005 archive
Click here for 2004 archive
Click here for 2003 archive
Click here for 2002 archive
Click here for 2001 archive

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE IMAGES FEATURED ON THIS PAGE ARE OF ANIMALS PHOTOGRAPHED ON OUR TRIPS.

UNLIKE SOME WEBSITES, WE DO NOT USE STOCK IMAGES OF ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED ELSEWHERE - AS AN EXAMPLE, IF WE CLAIMED TO SEE A BLUE WHALE IN BISCAY, WE WOULD NOT USE AN UN-LABELLED IMAGE THAT WAS TAKEN IN ICELAND SEVERAL YEARS AGO!! SIMILARLY, WE WOULD NOT USE IMAGES OF SEABIRDS PHOTOGRAPHED ELSEWHERE JUST TO JAZZ UP OUR SITE!

WHAT YOU SEE ON OUR LATEST NEWS PAGE IS WHAT OUR TRAVELLERS HAVE WITNESSED FOR THEMSELVES.

29 Aug - 1 Sep 2010 - Company of Whales, WDCS, SMG & Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Highlight of this trip was a superb Leatherback Turtle sighted in the Northern Bay. Heavy swells and strong winds seriously hampered cetacean-viewing,, particularly on the return voyage, but we managed to see 1 Large rorqual (probably a Fin Whale), 1 Minke Whale, 43 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 185 Common Dolphins, 4 Harbour Porpoise and 14 Ocean Sunfish. Bird highlights at sea included 2 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Manx Shearwater, 4 Storm Petrels and 14 Great Skuas. Migrants at sea or on the ship included Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Wheatear, Reed Warbler and Willow Warbler. Our walk in Spain produced 20 Griffon Vultures, 2 Honey Buzzards, Peregrine, Cuckoo, Hoopoe, Wryneck, Tree Pipit, Redstart, Black Redstart, Whinchat, Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Firecrest, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Red-backed Shrike, Serin and Cirl Bunting. We also recorded 21 species of butterfly which included Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Short-tailed Blue, Long-tailed Blue, Adonis Blue, Eschers Blue and Rippart's Annomalous Blue.

 

26 - 29 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales, WDCS & Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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5 Fin Whales, 5 large rorquals (probably Fin Whales), 3 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 24 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 16 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 550 Common Dolphins, 4 Harbour Porpoise, 1 Ocean Sunfish, 4 Portuguese Man of War and lots of tuna. Bird highlights at sea included a Little Shearwater (once again in a region where 75% of our records come from!), 3 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Grey Phalarope, 1 Cory's Shearwater, 4 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Storm Petrel, 3 Pomarine Skuas, 3 Great Skuas and 3 Arctic Skuas. Migrants at sea or on the ship included Ringed Plover, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Wheatear and Sand Martin. Our walk in Spain produced a Little Gull, 16 Griffon Vultures, 2 Honey Buzzards, Peregrine, Red-backed Shrike, Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher and Black Redstart. Butterflies were thin on the ground but included Long-tailed Blue and Geranium Bronze.

23 - 26 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales, WDCS & Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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4 Fin Whales, 3 large rorquals (probably Fin Whales), 2 medium rorquals (possibly Sei / Bryde's types), 1 Minke Whale, 9 Sperm Whales, 5 Cuvier's Beaked Whales (plus one probable), 6 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 54 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 387 Common Dolphins, 30 Striped Dolphins, 139 Unidentified Dolphins, 17 Ocean Sunfish, 15 Portuguese Man of War and lots of tuna. Bird highlights at sea included 15 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Grey Phalarope, 9 Sooty Shearwaters, 77 Manx Shearwaters, 24 Storm Petrels, 6 Great Skuas, 1 Arctic Skua, 11 Common Terns and 9 Black Terns. Migrants at sea or on the ship included Common sandpiper, Dunlin, Wheatear and a Turtle Dove. Our walk in Spain produced a diverse range of birds & butterflies including 70 Griffon Vultures, Honey Buzzard, Hobby, Peregrine, Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike, Tree Pipit, Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Spotted Pied Flycatcher, Serin, Cirl Bunting and Black Redstart. 18 species of butterfly included Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Long-tailed Blue and Geranium Bronze. Hummingbird Hawkmoth & Wall Lizard was also recorded as was a probable Western Green Lizard.

 

 

20 - 23 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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This trip produced a number of exciting encounters and an excellent range of wildlife. The many highlights included a pod of 15+ Cuvier's Beaked Whales (the largest recorded in the Bay of Biscay) near the Northern Shelf Edge, 'fluking' Sperm Whales, a Leatherback Turtle, an adult Long-tailed Skua with 'full' tail streamers and a full complement of Shearwater species. A summary of the key sightings is as follows: 9 species of cetaceans included a total of 19 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, including 1 which breached 5 times ahead of the ship, 20 Sperm Whales, 2 Fin Whales, 1 Large Rorqual (probable Fin Whale), 1 Minke Whale, 94 Pilot Whales, 85 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 308 Common Dolphins, 55 Striped Dolphins, 15 unidentified Dolphins and 9 Harbour Porpoise. Other marine species seen were a Leatherback Turtle, 4 Ocean Sunfish and hundreds of Tuna including the Yellow-fin species. Birds at sea included 1 Macronesian (Little), 49 Cory's, 14 Great, 3 Sooty, 9 Manx and 1 Balearic Shearwater, 6 Great, 3 Arctic and 1 Long-tailed Skua, 18 Storm Petrels, 7 Black Terns and 2 migrating Swifts. Highlights of our walk in Spain included a Wryneck, 3 Firecrests, 6 Red-backed Shrikes, 9 Serin, 2 Cirl Bunting, 6 Melodious Warblers, 2 Nightingales, 1 Fan-tailed Warbler, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 5 Sardinian Warblers, 5 Pied Flycatchers, 3 Spotted Flycatchers, a Whinchat and 2 Ravens. Low cloud unfortunately precluded any raptors other than Kestrel. Butterflies included Scarce Swallowtail, Long-tailed Blue, Adonis Blue, Holly Blue and Clouded Yellow. Praying Mantis, Wasp Spider and Long-winged Conehead were also seen.

 

17 - 20 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Another incredible trip with over 1000 animals recorded! Sightings included 2 Fin Whales, 2 large rorquals, 3 Minke Whales, 12 Sperm Whales, 13 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, an incredible total of 84 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 6 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 171 Common Dolphins, 270 Striped Dolphins, 40 Harbour Porpoise, 407 Unidentified Dolphins, 1 Basking Shark, 1 Blue Shark, 3 Ocean Sunfish and 4 Portuguese Man of War. Bird highlights at sea included 8 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Grey Phalarope, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Manx Shearwaters, 24 Storm Petrels, 6 Great Skuas, 2 Arctic Skuas, 1 Arctic Tern, 4 Common Terns and 1 Black Tern. Migrants at sea or on the ship included 7 Knot, 1 Turnstone, 1 Whimbrel and a Pied Flycatcher. Our walk in Spain produced a diverse range of birds & butterflies including 16 Griffon Vulture, Peregrine, Red-backed Shrike, Tree Pipit, Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Melodious Warbler and Pied Flycatcher. Butterflies included Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Adonis Blue and Long-tailed Blue. Hummingbird Hawkmoth & Praying Mantis were also recorded.

14 - 17 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Sightings included 3 Sperm Whales, 8 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 51 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 2 Risso's Dolphins, 2 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 261 Common Dolphins, 450 Striped Dolphins, 23 Harbour Porpoise, 114 Unidentified Dolphins, 3 Ocean Sunfish, 3 Portuguese Man of War and 1 Flying Fish. Bird highlights at sea included 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 3 Manx Shearwaters, 24 Storm Petrels, 1 Pomarine Skua, 16 Great Skuas, 3 Arctic Skuas, 3 Arctic Terns, 14 Common Terns, 2 Sandwich Terns and 1 Black Tern. Migrants at sea or on the ship included a Black-winged Stilt - our first record for 'the Bay' - 1 Sanderling, 10 Turnstone, Little Egret, Willow Warbler, 3 Sand Martins, Red Admiral and Large White. Our walk in Spain produced a diverse range of birds & butterflies including 17 Griffon Vulture, Black Kite, 10 Red-backed Shrikes, Wryneck, Tawny Pipit, Nightingale, Tree Pipit, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler and Melodious Warbler. Butterflies included Marbled White, Clouded Yellow and Wall.

11 - 14 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Sightings included 13 Sperm Whales (including one breaching!), 4 Fin Whale, 1 large rorqual, 1 Minke Whale, 2 Cuvier's Beaked Whales (plus 1 probable), 20 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 163 Common Dolphins, 80 Striped Dolphins, 12 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 9 Harbour Porpoise, 88 Unidentified Dolphins and 2 Ocean Sunfish. Bird highlights at sea included 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 9 Manx Shearwaters, 6 Storm Petrels, 2 Great Skuas and 2 Common Scoter. Our walk in Spain was a damp one but produced 1 Griffon Vulture, Tree Pipit, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler and Melodious Warbler. Butterflies included Long-tailed Blue, Holly Blue and Marbled White. Hummingbird Hawkmoth and Wasp Spider were also recorded.

 

8 - 11 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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An amazing trip once again! Sightings included 1 Killer Whale, 1 Sowerby's Beaked Whale, 1 Fin Whale, 1 Minke Whale, 5 Sperm Whales, 7 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 4 Risso's Dolphins, 92 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 175 Common Dolphins, 587 Striped Dolphins, 18 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 4 Harbour Porpoise, 569 Unidentified Dolphins and 1 Ocean Sunfish. Bird highlights at sea included 1 Cory's Shearwater, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 4 Manx Shearwaters, 16 Storm Petrels, 2 Great Skuas, 5 Little Terns, 2 Sandwich Terns and 6 Common Terns. Our walk in Spain produced 7 Griffon Vultures, 1 Egyptian Vulture, 1 Booted Eagle, 1 Peregrine, Turtle Dove, Tree Pipit, Black Redstart, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti's Warbler, Melodious Warbler, 5 Red-backed Shrikes and Serin. Butterflies included Clouded Yellow, Long-tailed Blue and Marbled White. Hummingbird Hawkmoth, European Wall Lizard, Praying Mantis and Wasp Spider were also recorded.

 

 

5 - 8 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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1 Fin Whale (plus two probables), an amazing total of 13 Sperm Whales, 2 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 15 Risso's Dolphins, 40 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 614 Common Dolphins, 42 Striped Dolphins, 25 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 8 Harbour Porpoise, 180 Unidentified Dolphins, 3 Ocean Sunfish and 1 Flying Fish. Bird highlights at sea included 4 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Manx Shearwater, 3 Storm Petrels, 11 Great Skuas, 1 Arctic Skua and 2 Common Terns. Our walk in Spain produced 3 Griffon Vultures, 1 Booted Eagle, Black Redstart, Firecrest, Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Red-backed Shrike, Serin plus a high count of 10 Melodious Warblers. Butterflies included Pale Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra and Large Chequered Skipper.

2 - 5 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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2 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 1 probable Sperm Whale, 4 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 532 Common Dolphins, 44 Striped Dolphins, 8 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 8 Unidentified Dolphins and 9 Ocean Sunfish. Bird highlights at sea included 1 Cory's Shearwater, 1 Sooty Shearwater and 1 Manx Shearwater Our walk in Spain produced 3 Griffon Vultures, Red-backed Shrike, Serin plus Melodious and Cetti's Warblers. Not a great morning for butterflies but they included Clouded Yellow, Long-tailed Blue, Marbled White and Wall. Hummingbird Hawkmoth and Jersey Tiger Moth were also recorded.

30 July - 2 Aug 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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A superb trip! 4 Fin Whales, 1 unidentified 'large rorqual', 9 Cuvier's Beaked Whales (plus 2 more probables), 3 Sperm Whales, 2 Minke Whales, 31 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 486 Common Dolphins, 70 Striped Dolphins, 28 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 30 Harbour Porpoise, 129 Unidentified Dolphins and 1 Ocean Sunfish. Bird highlights at sea included 12 Storm Petrels, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 6 Manx Shearwaters, 3 Bonxies, 1 Sandwich Tern and 4 Common Terns. Our walk in Spain produced 40 Griffon Vultures, Black Redstart, Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike, Serin plus Sardinian, Melodious and Cetti's Warblers. Not a great morning for butterflies but they included Long-tailed Blue, Adonis Blue and Holly Blue. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth was also recorded.

 

27 - 30 July 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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The undoubted highlight of this trip was a Minke Whale, which having been seen briefly ahead of the ship, reappeared directly alongside and proceeded to perform over 20 spectacular acrobatic breaches, allowing stunning close views for everyone!! Other marine highlights included: 1 Fin Whale, 1 Cuvier's Beaked Whale, 2 Sperm Whales, 7 Minke Whales, 68 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 352 Common Dolphins, 317 Striped Dolphins, 9 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 58 Harbour Porpoise, 30 Unidentified Dolphins and 1 Ocean Sunfish. Bird highlights at sea included a Leach's Petrel, a summer plumaged Black-Throated Diver, 3 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Manx Shearwater and 5 Great Skuas. Our walk in Spain produced a Black Kite, 6 Griffon Vultures and 2 Serin. Warblers included 3 Sardinian, 3 Fan-tailed, 8 Melodious, Blackcap, Cetti's, Willow and Garden with a wide supporting cast of more common birds. Butterflies included Adonis Blue, Clouded Yellow, Brown Argus, Marbled White, Speckled Wood, Small and Large White, Gatekeeper and a Large Chequered Skipper. Wasp Spider, a Jersey Tiger Moth and 6 Iberian Wall Lizards were also seen.

 

 

24 - 27 July 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Highlights were 2 Minke Whales, 1 possible Northern Bottle-nosed Whalem 12 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 4 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 472 Common Dolphins (inc. 10 calves), 40 Striped Dolphins (inc. 1 calf), 14 Long-finned Pilot Whales and 12 Harbour Porpoise. We also recorded 133 unidentified dolphins and an unidentified beaked whale. Birds recorded from the ship included 1 Manx Shearwater, 7 Storm Petrels, 6 Northern Fulmar, 6 Kittiwake, 1 Grey Phalarope and 2 Great Skua. In Spain the highlights were 7 Griffon Vultures, Wryneck, Melodious Warbler, Sardinian Warbler and a splendid male Serin. 18 species of butterfly included Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail and Cleopatra. Numerous Hummingbird Hawk Moths were also seen along with 3 Wall Lizard spp.

21 - 24 July 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Highlights were 7 Minke Whales (inc. 1 breaching!), 5 probable Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 2 Risso's Dolphins, 2 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 112 Common Dolphins (inc. 4 calves), 1 Striped Dolphin, 7 Long-finned Pilot Whales and 9 Harbour Porpoise. We also recorded 32 unidentified dolphins. Birds recorded from the ship included 1 Cory's Shearwater, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 8 Manx Shearwaters, 6 Storm Petrels and 1 Sandwich Tern. In Spain the highlights were 30 Griffon Vultures, Wryneck, Melodious Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Cetti's Warbler and a good selection of butterflies including Cleopatra, Clouded Yellow, Marbled White, Long-tailed Blue, Specked Wood and Mallow Skipper. A Hummingbird Hawk Moth was also seen.

18 - 21 July 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Highlights were 2 - 3 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 39 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 363 Common Dolphins (inc. 9 calves), 51 Striped Dolphins, 10 Long-finned Pilot Whales and 40 Harbour Porpoise. We also recorded 69 unidentified dolphins, 1 Blue Shark and 1 Ocean Sunfish. Birds recorded from the ship included an early Grey Phalarope, 19 Storm Petrels, 2 possible Leach's Petrels and 3 Manx Shearwaters. In Spain the highlights were Hobby, Melodious Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Red-backed Shrike and a good selection of butterflies including Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue, Long-tailed Blue, Mallow Skipper. Several species of moth were seen and included a Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

24 - 27 June 2010 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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A superb start to the mini cruise season with an excellent total of 10 species of cetacean recorded! We saw 1 Fin Whale, 2 Minke Whales, 1 Sperm Whale, 1 Cuvier's Beaked Whale, 27 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 195 Common Dolphins, 125 Striped Dolphins, 4 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 5 Orcas, and 4 Harbour Porpoises. We also recorded 190 dolphins that were either Common or Striped plus 190 unidentified dolphins and 1 unidentified small cetacean. We noted 48 Sunfish during our northbound voyage. Birds recorded from the ship included a small passage of Common Swifts making an early return south, Northern Fulmars, Manx Shearwater, Gannets, Shag, Great Skua, Kittiwakes, Common Terns and a Guillemot. We also noted several migrant Hummingbird Hawk Moths from the vessel. In Spain the highlights were 2 singing Wrynecks, Tree Pipit, White Wagtails, 2 Sardinian Warblers, singing Grasshopper Warbler, singing Cetti's Warblers, 2 Melodious Warblers, and 6 Serins. Small numbers of Butterflies were noted and they included Green-veined White, Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Marbled White, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood and Large Skipper. Several species of moth were seen and included several Hummingbird Hawk Moths and Magpie Moth. A European Wall Lizard was also spotted.

11 - 14 September 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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We ended our incredible summer season on a high with two major highlights: an Orca breached clear of the water three times and we also had excellent views of a Northern Bottle-nosed Whale. Other sightings included 2 Fin Whales, 4 Large Rorquals, 3 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 1 Minke Whale, 706 Common Dolphins, 264 Striped Dolphins, 15 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 20 unidentified dolphins, 17 Harbour Porpoise, 5 Ocean Sunfish and several shoals of feeding Tuna. Seabirds were again excellent with a Little Shearwater, 76 Sabine's Gulls, 220 Great Shearwaters, 60 Cory's Shearwaters, 13 Sooty Shearwaters, 5 Manx Shearwaters, 18 Storm Petrels, 29 Great Skuas, 3 Arctic Skuas and a Sandwich Tern. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included a Kestrel, 1 Grasshopper and 1 Reed Warbler, 2 White Wagtails, Meadow Pipit, Spotted Flycatcher, 60+ Swallows, House Martin, a Dragonfly Sp. and 3 Clouded Yellow Butterflies. Our walk in Spain produced 30 Griffon Vultures, 1 Hoopoe, 1 Red-Rumped Swallow, Red-Backed Shrike, Cetti's Warbler, Blackcap, Wheatear, Whinchat, Common and Black Redstarts and 6 Sardinian Warblers. Other wildlife included a Long-tailed Blue, Adonis Blue, Clouded Yellow, Meadow Brown, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood butterflies. Rush Veneer and Hummingbird Hawkmoths, 5 Praying Mantis, a Stag Beetle, Wasp Spider, Iberian Wall (2) and Rock (1) Lizards and Autumn Ladies Tresses Orchid.

 

8 - 11 September 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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2 Fin Whales, 2 unidentified large rorquals, 6 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 7 Pilot Whales, 3 Bottlenose Dolphins, 308 Common Dolphins, 225 Striped Dolphins, 7 Harbour Porpoise, 1 unidentified whale & 52 unidentified dolphins. Also 110 Tuna sp and 10 Ocean Sunfish. It was another awesome trip for seabirds which included a record count of 70 Sabine's Gulls (all adults), 185 Great Shearwaters, 61 Cory's Shearwaters, 7 Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 1 Manx Shearwater, 20 Storm Petrels, 34 Great Skuas, 2 Pomarine Skuas, 3 Arctic Skuas, 1 Common Tern and 1 Mediterranean Gull. Migrants from or on the ship included a female Marsh Harrier, 12 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin, 1 Grey Heron, 3 Sand Martins, 4 Turnstones, 8 Oystercatchers, 3 Meadow Pipits, 1 Grey wagtail, 11 Clouded Yellow butterflies and a Hummingbird Hawk Moth! Serrantes hill revealed 1 Peregrine, 1 Red-rumped Swallow, 4 Black Redstarts, 1 Wheatear, 3 Whinchats, 10 Sardinian Warblers, 2 Zitting Cisticolas, Cetti's Warbler, 6 Pied Flycatchers, 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Red-backed Shrikes and a Serin. Butterflies included an incredible 100+ Adonis Blue, 30+ Clouded Yellow, 1 Long-tailed Blue, Small Copper, Small Heath and wall Brown. Also 11 Iberian Wall Lizards.

5 - 8 September 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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A great trip with 10 species of cetacean: 2 Fin Whales, 4 unidentified large rorquals, 1 Minke Whale, 2 Sperm Whales, 9 Cuvier’s Beaked Whale, 34 Bottlenose Dolphins, 101 Common Dolphins, 8 Striped Dolphins, 8 Risso’s Dolphins, 8 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 26 Harbour Porpoise, 27 unidentified dolphins, 5 Yellowfin Tuna and 2 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 1 Little Shearwater, 1 Cory’s Shearwater, 1 Great Shearwater, 4 Sooty Shearwaters, 8 Grey Phalarope, 32 Great Skua, 1 Arctic Skua, 2 Sabine’s Gull, 1 Kittiwake, and 1 Black Tern. Migrants from or on the ship included a Short-eared Owl (in the English Channel) and 1 Ringed Plover. Serrantes hill revealed 1 Short-toed Eagle, 5 Griffon Vulture, 2 Common Buzzard, 1 Honey Buzzard, 3 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Common Swift, 2 Sand Martin, 3 Tree Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Nightingale, 1 Common Redstart, 2 Black Redstart, 1 Wheatear, 1 Whinchat, 2 Blackcap, 2 Sardinian Warbler, 2 Common Whitethroat, 2 Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Melodious Warbler, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Firecrest, 3 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, and 1 Red-backed Shrike. Butterflies included Adonis Blue, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Wall Brown, Small Heath, Speckled Wood, Large Skipper. Also Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Praying Mantis, and a Hawker species of dragonfly. Reptiles were represented by a European Wall Lizard. Mammalian highlight was a Weasel being harassed by a number of birds – a first for The Company of Whales on the 'hill'.

2 - 5 September 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Severe gales and heavy swells naturally hampered our viewing and ability to find cetaceans on this particular trip but we managed to record 1 Minke Whale, 90 Bottlenose Dolphins, 10 Striped Dolphins and 4 Harbour Porpoise. Seabirds were excellent though and included 71 Cory's Shearwaters, 60 Great Shearwaters, 11 Sooty Shearwaters, 29 Manx Shearwaters, 13 Storm Petrels, 10 Common Scoter, 7 Grey Phalaropes, 14 Great Skuas, 4 Arctic Skuas, 3 Long-tailed Skuas, 12 Sabine's Gulls, 2 Sandwich Terns, 29 Common Terns and 32 Arctic Terns.. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 2 Yellow Wagtails and a Willow Warbler. Highlights on the walk in Spain included 1 Griffon Vulture, 1 Booted Eagle, 1 Hobby, 1 Wryneck, 3 Sand Martins, 1 Red-rumped Swallow, 3 Tree Pipits, 1 Redstart, 1 Blackcap, 3 Sardinian Warblers, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 5 Pied Flycatchers, 1 juvenile Woodchat Shrike, 4 Red-backed Shrikes and 10 Cirl Buntings. Butterflies included Green Hairstreak, Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue, Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue and Wall. Other wildlife on the hill included Jersey Tiger Moth, 2 European Wall Lizards, 2 Wasp Spiders and Autumn Ladies Tresses.

 

30 August - 2 September 2009 - Company of Whales, WDCS & Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Highlight of this trip was the magnificent sight of a pod of 21 Killer Whales which came as close as 20 metres from the boat! Also 1 unidentified large rorqual (probable Fin Whale), 4 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 2 Pilot Whales, 5 Bottlenose Dolphins, 210 Common Dolphins, 240 Striped Dolphins, 15 Harbour Porpoise, 2 unidentified whales, 6 unidentified dolphins, 2 Ocean Sunfish and several Tuna sp. It was another awesome trip for seabirds with 6 species of shearwater recorded: 3 Little, 107 Cory's, 14 Great, 20 Sooty, 24 Manx and 3 Balearic. Also 13 Sabine's Gulls, 2 Grey Phalaropes, 1 Long-tailed Skua, 9 Great Skuas, 4 Arctic Skuas and 36 Storm Petrels. Highlights of a superb walk in Spain included the Savi's Warbler, a Red-rumped Swallow, 1 Redstart, 8 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Sardinian Warbler, 4 Fan-tailed Warblers, 6 Firecrest, 5 Serins, 3 Melodious Warblers, 6 Red-backed Shrikes and 5 Cirl Buntings.

 

27 - 30 August 2009 - Company of Whales, WDCS & Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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2 Fin Whales, 4 large rorquals, 2 Minke Whales, 1 possible Sperm Whale, 3 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 2 Pilot Whales, 25 Bottlenose Dolphins, 146 Common Dolphins, 25 Striped Dolphins, 8 Ocean Sunfish and 50 Tuna sp. It was an awesome trip for seabirds with 6 species of shearwater recorded: 4 Little, 289 Cory's, 14 Great, 10 Sooty, 5 Manx and 1 Balearic. Also 14 Sabine's Gulls, 4 Grey Phalaropes, 1 Long-tailed Skua, 24 Great Skuas, 2 Pomarine Skuas, 5 Arctic Skuas, 29 Storm Petrels, 2 Common Terns, 4 Arctic Terns and 4 Sandwich Terns. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 1 Dunlin, 1 'alba' Wagtail and 1 Yellow Wagtail. Highlights of a superb walk in Spain included 14 Griffon Vultures, 1 Booted Eagle, 2 Buzzards, 2 Peregrines, the Savi's Warbler, 3 Turtle Doves, a Wryneck, a Red-rumped Swallow, 6 Whinchats, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 3 Zitting Cisticolas, Melodious Warbler, 2 Wood Warblers, a Firecrest, 20 Pied Flycatchers, 3 Spotted Flycatchers and 8 Red-backed Shrikes. Butterflies included Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue, Cleopatra and Wall. Other wildlife on the hill included 7 European Wall Lizards, 4 Iberian Rock Lizards and 2 Preying Mantis.

 

24 - 27 August 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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3 Fin Whales, 2 large rorquals, 1 Minke Whale, 10 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 6 unidentified beaked whales, 29 Pilot Whales 12 Bottlenose Dolphins, 310 Common Dolphins, 267 Striped Dolphins and 1 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 80 Cory's Shearwaters, 3 Great Shearwaters, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Grey Phalaropes, 11 Sabine's Gulls, 3 Manx Shearwaters, 4 Storm Petrels and a Sandwich Tern. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 7 Dunlin, 7 Ringed Plover, 1 House Martin, 2 Willow Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff and a Wheatear. Highlights on the walk in Spain included 14 Griffon Vultures, 2 Booted Eagles, 1 Savi's Warbler, 3 Tree Pipits, 1 Whinchat, 1 Whitethroat, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 3 Spotted Flycatchers and 6 Red-backed Shrikes. Butterflies included Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue and Wall. Other wildlife on the hill included 12 European Wall Lizards, 2 Wasp Spiders and a Spiny-footed Lizard.

21 - 24 August 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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2 Fin Whales, 2 large rorquals, 1 Minke Whale, 3 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 2 unidentified beaked whales, 5 Pilot Whales 15 Bottlenose Dolphins, 307 Common Dolphins, 4 Harbour Porpoise and 65 unidentified dolphins. Seabirds included 19 Cory's Shearwaters, 3 Great Shearwater, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 4 Grey Phalaropes, 7 Sabine's Gulls, 3 Manx Shearwaters, 11 Storm Petrels, 1 Arctic Skua, 8 Great Skuas, 1 Black Tern, 7 Common Terns and 2 Sandwich Terns. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 75 Bar-tailed Godwits and 5 Sanderling. Highlights on the walk in Spain included 15 Griffon Vultures, 1 Booted Eagle, 1 Peregrine, 1 Hobby, 12 Tree Pipits, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Nightingale, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Melodious Warblers, 3 Willow Warblers, 10 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 6 Red-backed Shrikes, Serin and Cirl Bunting. Butterflies included Swallowtail, Small White, Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Adonis Blue and Short-tailed Blue.

 

18 - 21 August 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Another good trip with 1 Sperm Whale, 2 Fin Whales, 3 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 9 Pilot Whales 45 Bottlenose Dolphins, 232 Common Dolphins, 8 Harbour Porpoise and 58 unidentified dolphins. Seabirds included 86 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Great Shearwater, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 7 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Manx Shearwaters, 23 Storm Petrels, 2 Great Skuas, 1 Common Tern and 1 Sandwich Tern. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 150 Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Sanderling, 3 Turnstones and a Willow Warbler. Highlights on the walk in Spain included 1 Egyptian Vulture, 2 Griffon Vultures, 1 Peregrine, 2 Tree Pipits, 1 Nightingale, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Zitting Cisticola, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 4 Melodious Warblers, 3 Pied Flycatchers, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Red-backed Shrikes, Serin and 4 Cirl Buntings. Other wildlife included Preying Mantis, Wall Lizard, Jersey Tiger Moth, Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue and Small Heath. Others reported a Black-shouldered Kite - if you were the lucky observer(s) please contact us as we are now collating all ornithological records from Mt Serantes for a local conservation group - thanks.

15 - 18 August 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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A superb trip with nearly 2000 animals seen! Totals included: 4 Fin Whales, 11 Minke Whales, 8 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 5 unidentified beaked whales, 20 Pilot Whales, 51 Bottlenose Dolphins, 1101 Common Dolphins, 472 Striped Dolphins, an incredible count of 153 Harbour Porpoise, 127 unidentified dolphins, 2 Blue Sharks and 2 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 2 Great Shearwaters, 6 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 2 Manx Shearwater, 28 Storm Petrels, 10 Great Skuas, and 2 Arctic Skuas. Rain very much stopped play on our walk in Spain but we managed to see Peregrine, Sardinian Warbler, Melodious Warbler and Cirl Bunting.

 

 

12 - 15 August 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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2 Fin Whales, 1 large rorqual, 1 Minke Whale, 5 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 2 unidentified Mesoplodons, 63 Bottlenose Dolphins, 481 Common Dolphins, 39 Striped Dolphins, an excellent count of 114 Harbour Porpoise, 69 unidentified dolphins, 2 unidentified whales and 6 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 2 Cory's Shearwater, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Manx Shearwater, 60 Storm Petrels, 10 Great Skuas, 4 Sabine's Gulls, 4 Sandwich Terns, 8 Common Terns & 2 Arctic Terns. Highlights on the walk in Spain included 2 Booted Eagles, 1 Peregrine, 2 Nightingales, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 2 Zitting Cisticolas, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 8 Melodious Warblers, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 5 Serins and 2 Cirl Buntings. Other wildlife included Preying Mantis, Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue, Tree Grayling, Marbled White, Hummingbird Hawk Moth and European Wall Lizard.

9 - 12 August 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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2 Fin Whales, 1 Minke Whale, 8 Cuvier’s Beaked Whales, 56 Pilot Whales, 62 Bottlenose Dolphins, 194 Common Dolphins, 2 Striped Dolphins, 13 Harbour Porpoise, 200 unidentified dolphin, 1 unidentified whale, 1 unidentified cetacean, 7 Ocean Sunfish, Bonito Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna, 1 unidentified shark. Seabirds included 20 Cory’s Shearwater, 2 Great Shearwater, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 3 Great Skua and 3 Sabine’s Gull. Highlights of the walk in Spain included Slow Worm, Grasshopper Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Peregrine Falcon, Red-backed Shrike, Serin, Marbled White, Adonis Blue, Painted Lady, Clouded Yellow, Nursery Web Spider and Wasp Spider.

6 - 9 August 2009 - Company of Whales, WDCS & Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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4 Fin Whales, 2 unidentified large rorquals, 4 probable Cuvier's beaked Whales, 3 unidentified beaked whales, 3 Minke Whales, 44 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 445 Common Dolphins, 288 unidentified dolphins, 26 Pilot Whales, 6 Risso's Dolphins and 24 Harbour Porpoise. Seabirds included 9 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater and 1 Bonxie. Highlights of the Serrantes foothills of northern Spain: 15 Griffon Vultures, Sardinian Warblers, Zitting Cisticolas, Melodious Warblers and Red-backed Shrikes. Butterflies included Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue, Painted Lady and Marbled White.

3 - 6 August 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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5 unidentified large rorquals (probably Fin Whales), 3 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 1 unidentified beaked whale, 35 Bottlenose Dolphins, 40 Common Dolphins, 53 Striped Dolphins, 11 Long-finned Pilot Whales and 13 Harbour Porpoise. Other marine life included a Blue Shark and 9 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 1 Sabine's Gull, 3 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Manx Shearwater and 9 Storm Petrels. Highlights of the Serrantes foothills of northern Spain: 5 Griffon Vultures, 4 Sardinian Warblers, 2 Zitting Cisticolas, 6 Melodious Warblers, 4 Red-backed Shrikes and 5 Serins. Butterflies included Clouded Yellow, Long-tailed Blue, Adonis Blue and Cleopatra.

31 July - 3 August 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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1 Minke Whale, 9 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 2 Mesoplodon beaked whale sp., 2 unidentified beaked whales, 15 Bottlenose Dolphins, 328 Common Dolphins, 85 Striped Dolphins, 15 Risso's Dolphins, 8 Long-finned Pilot Whales. Other marine life included 1 Ocean Sunfish and 20 Bonito Tuna. Seabirds included 2 Great Shearwaters, 25 Cory's Shearwaters, 2 Great, 4 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater and 1 Black Tern. Migrants at sea included 3 Dunlin and 20 probable Whimbrel. Highlights of the Serrantes foothills of northern Spain: 1 Booted Eagle, 3 Honey Buzzards, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Kestrel, 1 Nightingale, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Tree Pipits, 1 Sardinian Warbler, 1 Serin and 2 Stonechat. Butterflies were limited due to cool cloudy conditions but included Tree Grayling, Clouded Yellow, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Marbled White.

 

28 - 31 July 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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An amazing record of two probable Gervais Beaked Whales. Field observations noted smooth head and beak shape typical of this species, but no teeth. Photographs, field notes and video footage taken by our guides Dylan Walker and Beth Hazel require further analysis but if confirmed this will be the first live sighting of this whale species ever in the seas of mainland Europe. We plan to publish the photographs here once we have consulted with other marine mammal experts.

 

Also 7 Cuvier's Beaked Whale, 5 Bottlenose Dolphins, 70 Common Dolphins, 8 Striped Dolphins, 47 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 4 Harbour Porpoise, 15 unidentified dolphin and 1 unidentified whale blow. Seabirds included 30 Cory's Shearwaters, 2 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Balearic Shearwaters and 1 Great Skua. We also observed the highest densities of Ocean Sunfish of the summer, with at least 16 passing close by the ship. Serrantes Hills in northern Spain revealed Sardinian Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Serin, Stonechat, Tree Pipit, White Wagtail, and a number of early autumn migrants including Blackcap, Song Thrush and flocks of European Starling. Butterfly highlights included the first Short-tailed Blue of the summer, Clouded Yellow, Marbled White, Painted Lady, and Speckled Wood. Dragonflies are rarely seen in this area, so a beautiful Red-veined Darter was a surprising first for The Company of Whales.

25 - 28 July 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Highlights on this trip were 3 Killer Whales just north of the shelf edge. Also 1 Minke Whale, 3 Long-finned Pilot Whales, 9 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 2 unidentified beaked whales, 24 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 231 Common Dolphins, 32 Striped Dolphins, 84 unidentified dolphins and 7 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 221 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Mediterranean Shearwater, 3 Storm Petrels, 1 Great Skua, 1 Kittiwake, 3 Common Terns and 13 Arctic Terns. Our walk in the foothills produced 18 Griffon Vultures, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrels, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Black Redstart, 10 Blackcaps, 1 Zitting Cisticola, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 3 Melodious Warblers, 1 Pied Flycatcher and several Serins. Butterflies included Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue Common Blue, Peacock, Painted Lady, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Wall and Speckled Wood. A Hummingbird Hawk Moth was also recorded.

19 - 22 July 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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1 Sperm Whale, 1 Long-finned Pilot Whale, 2 Cuvier's Beaked Whales, 293 Common Dolphins, 59 Striped Dolphins, 158 unidentified dolphin, 3 unidentified whales and 1 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included a Little Shearwater, 30+ Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Great Skua and 200+ Gannets. Migrants included a Grey Heron. Walk in Serrano foothills perhaps best ever for butterflies including two species of Swallowtail: European Swallowtail and Scarce Swallowtail. Also Cleopatra, Large Chequered Skipper, Marbled White, Small Heath, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Small White, Brimstone, Wood White, Gatekeeper, and Meadow Brown. Birds included outstanding views of 8 Griffon Vultures, Hoopoe, Red Kite (a rarity here), Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Raven, Red-billed Chough, Red-backed Shrike, Serin, Sardinian Warbler, Tree Pipit, Corn Bunting and Melodious Warbler. Green Lizard also recorded.

28 June - 1 July 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Highlight of this trip was a superb bull Killer Whale. Also 3 unidentified Mesoplodon beaked whales, 2 Minke Whales, 12 Pilot Whales, 27 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 656 Common Dolphins, 14 Striped Dolphins, 27 Harbour Porpoise and 213 unidentified dolphins. Seabirds included 3 Cory's Shearwaters and an Arctic Skua. Our walk in Spain produced Red-backed Shrike, Melodious Warbler, Black Kite, Peregrine, Cleopatra, Long-tailed Blue, Marbled White, Wood White, Seven-spot Burnet Moth, Heart-tongued Serapia Orchids, Chicory, Common Centaury and Viper's Bugloss.

25 - 28 June 2009 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Highlight of our first four-day trip of the season were 4 Sowerby's beaked Whales. Also 8 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 4 Pilot Whales, 7 Risso's Dolphins, 18 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 549 Common Dolphins, 2 Striped Dolphins and 50 unidentified dolphins. Also 2 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 2 Cory's Shearwaters and 1 Manx Shearwater. Our walk in Spain produced 1 Short-toed Eagle, 1 Black Kite, 1 Kestrel, 8 Griffon Vultures, 1 probable Montagu's Harrier, 2 Melodious Warblers, 4 Corn Bunting (breeding for the first time on the hill) plus Marbled White, Cleopatra, Common Blue, Wood White, Hummingbird Hawkmoth and Pyramidal Orchid.

 

Bay of Biscay and Picos de Europa 4 - 10 June 2009
Guided by Dylan Walker

4 June

After our meet and greet session at Portsmouth International Ferry Terminal we embark on our journey of discovery. With so much to see on sea and in the mountains, everybody is excited to be setting sail.

5 June

After an introductory presentation to the wildlife and itinerary for the tour, we all head up to the Monkey Island to begin watch. It's a calm day in the Bay of Biscay and a real pleasure to be out on the water and taking in the amazing vista. Good job too, as we have to wait several hours before the cetacean sightings pick up. In the meantime, we are content with watching Gannets, Kittiwakes and the odd Great Skua passing by the ship. A Minke Whale put in a close appearance on our port side and we glimpsed several sneaky Harbour Porpoises as we headed south over the shallow shelf waters close to the Brittany Peninsula. The easterly airflow was also dragging small migrants past the boat, with over 20 Painted Lady's seen (part of the recent massive influx to northern Europe involving millions of butterflies) and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth buzzing around us for much of the day.

As is so often the case at this time of year, it was late afternoon as we crossed the giant underwater cliffs of the shelf edge that sightings increased dramatically. This is a very productive area where whales and, particularly dolphins, gather in large numbers. First, two Minke Whales appeared close by, quickly followed by two groups of Bottlenose Dolphins. Next up was a fine pod of Long-finned Pilot Whales cruising slowly past. Then came several sightings of probable Fin Whales, including a very close animal that looked very small or young. The day ended with a strange encounter with a group of dolphins performing backwards leaps. Dylan at first thought they were tuna, but with the aid of photographic evidence we confirmed that they were a mixed group of Common and Striped Dolphins.

6 June

Leaving Bilbao behind and heading west along the coast we were soon in the foothills of the Picos de Europa National Park. After enjoying a coffee and a pair of Egyptian Vultures by the picturesque River Deva at Unquera, we headed south through the Gorge of La Hermita. This is a stunning introduction to the park, with precipitous limestone stacks rising either side of the winding road that skirts the lower part of the gorge. A stop at the Salmon Viewpoint introduces us to our first Griffon Vultures, Wall Lizards and Crag Martins of the trip.

After lunch at the hotel we need go no further than the beautiful pasture just 100m from the front door. The perfect place to ramble in search of flowers and birds, it wasn't long before we were on our knees admiring Fly, Burnt, Early Purple, and Man Orchids, alongside Columbine, 'pink' Kidney Vetch, Vipers Bugloss and Milkwort. Other highlights included a distant Short-toed Eagle, a retreating Slow Worm under a rock and a magnificent male Red-backed Shrike. That was before the heavens opened to remind us that we were in 'Green Spain' and that it was time to head back to the hotel.

7 June

A bright and breezy day and our best chance to get into the mountains. A short four minute cable car ride from outside the hotel is all it takes, yet it feels like a million miles away when you arrive! Standing in the middle of this icy cauldron is enough of a thrill in itself, but we had some special wildlife to find. First up the delightful Chamoix! These elegant antelope-like mammals have passed their spring moult now and look particularly handsome. We counted about 15 scattered around. This year's cold spring also played into our hands as we discovered some stunning Spring and Trumpet Gentians growing amongst the rocks.

But these were all supporting acts to the main event. Could we find Wallcreeper? The answer - yes! After much standing around in the cold we heard the hollow, fluty sound of a male singing. Hearing this haunting song is one thing, but locating it in a land of echoes is quite another! Luckily Paul was equal to the task, locating a pair of birds on the nearby cliff face. As they fluttered around before turning and flying over our heads we were all able to get a look at this very special bird of the high mountains. Walking back via a small pool we spotted Alpine Accentors, Black Redstarts, Northern Wheatears, and Alpine Choughs (at our feet!). Fishing for the stunning Alpine Newt is always a highlight, as was the enormous Common Toad that Hazel found, and the fast-running Stoat searching for Snow Voles in the boulder fields!

800m lower down and back near the hotel we took lunch before heading off to the village of Brez and a short walk. Birds are in profusion around his village, and we had excellent views of Short-toed Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Kestrel, Redstart, Cirl Bunting, Red-backed Shrike and Serin. Rarity highlight though, was the lone Lizard Orchid close to the track!

8 June

Our last day in the mountains dawned drizzling at Fuente De, but we still managed a gentle walk under the sheltered canopy of the great Beach woods. Highlights were two new orchids for the list - Birds Nest Orchid and Pink Butterfly Orchid. After breakfast we headed southwest to the Valdeprado. This southerly valley includes a wide diversity of habitats, including meadows, woodland and high alpine pasture with wetlands and gullies. With so many birds, butterflies and flowers to look at it is difficult to pick out highlights. Most rewarding were a profusion of Southern Marsh Orchids, a White Stork eyeing our picnic from above, an Adder that was too fast for all but Paul and a field full of Chapman's Ringlets - a butterfly restricted only to this mountain range! After a walk through the pretty village of Frama we headed back to Potes for some shopping and an icecream or two!

Finally we squeezed in a stop up the valley near Brez, where we were treated to a superb display of birds of prey right over our heads, including Booted Eagle, Honey Buzzard, Buzzard, Griffon Vulture and a possible Griffon / Black Vulture hybrid! It was a great way to end a fabulous three days in the mountains!

9 June

With moderate weather conditions we set sail from Bilbao at lunchtime with high hopes of some sightings. Early on Sylvia spotted a Balearic Shearwater, but unfortunately the cetaceans made us wait again and it was late afternoon before we were treated to a great display. Eight groups involving around 120 Common Dolphins raced into the bow over a two hour period, including some mother-calf pairs. With a stunning orange glowing sunset it was a fitting end to a day of dolphin spotting.

10 June

With a cloud-bearing Isle of Wight approaching fast we spent a couple of hours on the Monkey Island. No cetacean sightings today but great views of strings of Gannets on the move, and a couple of Manx Shearwaters also passed in front of the ship before we made a sharp exit for hot chocolates, gossip and arrival in port! Thanks to a great group for joining us on this trip and providing some lasting memories, not least involving creme caramel!

Bay of Biscay and Picos de Europa 29 May - 4 June 2009
Guided by Dave Smith

29 May

After boarding and evening meals the group met at 10pm in the Posh Bar to discuss the next day and our hopes for the holiday. Little did we know that our hopes would be exceeded by the reality of an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable holiday.

30 May

The first morning was cloudless and sunny. As the vessel passed the French coast Gannet and Fulmar were frequently in attendance and a Black Tern on a floating pallet was a nice surprise. Shortly after lunch everyone assembled on Monkey Island. This area of the vessel provides an unrivalled viewing platform exclusively available to Company of Whales guests/P&O Crew. For the remainder of the day we enjoyed beautiful weather conditions, which helped compensate for a slow start. However, 2 Painted Lady butterflies, Hummingbird Hawk Moth and a bumble bee provided unexpected sightings as they journeyed on their incredible migrations. The Painted Lady butterflies were almost certainly part of an influx into the UK - that originated in North Africa! The group also managed to find a Reed Warbler and Turtle Dove during the trip southwards and we wondered whether the birds realised that they had hitched a lift going the opposite way to the one normally followed in spring! Starling, 4 Collared Doves, Great Skua, Kittiwake, and Lesser Black-Backed Gull and a number of racing pigeons added further interest before crossing the the shelf break around 17.00hrs. Almost on cue the first whales and dolphins started to appear.

Spring is usually a quiet time for the larger whales, but by the end of the day we had encountered 21 large whales including a Fin Whale passing just a few hundred metres away and another accompanied by dolphins. 20 Pilot Whales, 25 Bottlenose Dolphins and distant dolphins leaping clear of the water completed a brilliant day.

31 May

Following a punctual arrival at Bilbao and a prompt departure we were soon on our way to our mountainous destination full of anticipation It wasn't long before we encountered birds typical of northern Spain, most notable of which was Black Kite. During one of our comfort breaks some of the group saw Little Egret flying over. A male Serin was also singing.

Venturing inland, we followed the staggeringly beautiful Hermida gorge. A brief stop at the salmon watch-point produced Crag Martins whizzing above our heads and an obliging Black Redstart briefly poised centre stage on a boulder. The distant song of a Blue Rock Thrush was tantalizing but had to be recorded as "heard but not seen", unlike the fortunate guests the previous week. As lunch beckoned we continued our journey to the Parador hotel nestled at the bottom of one of the most dramatic backdrops in the entire Picos de Europa.

After taking a late lunch, the group explored the alpine meadows just behind the hotel. A splendid male Red-backed Shrike sat on top of a bush surveying the local surrounds. Yellowhammer, White and Grey Wagtail came to drink at a small pond, whilst Adonis Blue Butterflies, Clouded Yellows and Dappled Whites flew over a wildflower meadow speckled with pinks, whites, yellows, greens and blues. Amongst these we found Burnt, Bee and Early Purple Orchids. Later that day Michael had fantastic views of two Firecrests and a Rock Bunting was seen occasionally singing around the hotel car park. As the afternoon began to cool vultures appeared above the high cliffs surrounding the hotel and amongst the Griffon Vultures, one smaller Egyptian Vulture was seen.

1 June

After a hearty breakfast we assembled at the cable car station ready for our ascent to the high-tops to search for the specialties that dwell in the remote, barren regions above. It was a perfect cloudless morning and the cable car climbed 800 metres in just over four minutes to deliver us at our awe-inspiring destination almost 2000 metres above sea level. From the cafe we saw our first of many Chamois and after a quick coffee we set off at a leisurely pace. Within a couple of hundred metres we had found an Alpine Accentor feeding on short grass. Water Pipit and Wheatear were showing off their distinctive song flights. The pipit climbed upwards and parachuted downwards, whilst the Wheatear song flights were more jerky and erratic. Having passed several small patches of snow, we reached our first stop that overlooked a bowl-shaped valley containing a mixed herd of cows and horses. From here we also watched a small group of local rock climbers, as the Alpine and Red-billed Chough mobbed a female Kestrel. More Chamois were seen, including a particularly obliging individual that came close. Snow Finch flashed their distinctive white wings at the top of the rock boulders and during the morning the group managed to see approximately 10 of these delightful montane specialists. A little further along the path a Wall Creeper was found - and before long the whole group had seen two of these magical birds. By the afternoon at least three different birds were seen foraging on the loose scree and large boulders at the base of the cliff. During lunch Alpine Chough were enticed by the prospect of sandwich handouts providing opportunities for guests to test their photographic skills. After lunch we started to walk back to the cable car station, stopping off to see the fiery orange bellies of Alpine Newt (Maureen felt this was a perfect time for a paddle!), the royal blue gentians and the delicate wild daffodils.

After joining Michael, who had enjoyed exploring the meadows and watching Swallowtail Butterflies, some of the group hopped in the mini-bus to the small and delightful village of Llaves. Here we had a fantastic view of a Honey Buzzard, which passed straight over our heads. We also managed to see more Griffon Vultures, Buzzard and Black Kite. Black Redstarts were breeding within the buildings, and Carole and Maureen found another Red-backed Shrike. We rounded the day off with 8 Griffon Vultures, Egyptian Vulture and Short-toed Eagle soaring above cliffs surrounding the Parador.

2 June

Soon after setting off for our early morning walk we were greeted by bats dashing through the pearly light of dawn. Serin, Black Redstart and Firecrest were either seen or heard within 100m of the Parador. We followed the path through the beech woods accompanied by the dawn chorus. As we moved through the woods we saw and heard common woodland birds including Bullfinch. Eventually we came across a patch of honey coloured Bird's Nest Orchid growing on the woodland floor, but our attention was quickly drawn to a calling Black Woodpecker. It got closer and closer and prompted a reply from a second bird. Despite being only tens of meters away, the woodpecker refused to show. On the way back, two Marsh Tit were found.

After breakfast we drove a few kilometres to the outskirts of the small village of Brez. The habitat in this area is a mix of arable pasture, lightly wooded hillsides and rural township. As we got out of the bus Stonechat, Cirl Bunting and Spotless Starling were found - a promising start. As we walked through the village we found breeding Black Redstart, Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher - all carrying food and/or sitting on their nests. Serins continued to sing as Swallows and Crag Martins were feeding low over the meadows. On the other side of the village we found another Red-backed Shrike, but a welcome surprise was the fantastic adult Ocellated Lizard quickly followed by a low flying Short-toed Eagle and an Egyptian Vulture. Just when we thought that it couldn't get better than this we were treated to fantastic views of Bonelli's Warbler. As the day warmed more and more butterflies emerged from hiding including Scarce Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Marbled White, Adonis Blue and several Fritillaries. As we returned to the minibus another raptor was added to the list as a pale phased Booted Eagle soared slowly overhead.

After lunch at the Monastery at Toribio de Liebana, where Black Redstart and Black Kite were found we moved on to explore the area around the pretty church of Santa Maria de Lebena. Griffon Vulture soared effortlessly above a nest precariously perched on a cliff platform. Cirl Bunting sang, Wall Lizards basked and we managed to secure some close views of Black Kite and a Griffon Vulture flying over the car park.

3 June

After an early breakfast we set off down the mountain valley road taking nostalgic glimpses of the Parador and hanging on to the chocolate box mountain scenes as we headed for Bilbao in time to catch our midday sailing. En route still as keen to spot wildlife, we saw more Black Kites, a singing Serin on an aerial and two Cattle Egret beside the road. A singing Melodious Warbler would not show itself. Having boarded the vessel, re-fuelled with lunch, we gathered on the upper deck as the Pride of Bilbao departed its berth. We saw many Yellow-legged Gulls but little else and before long we were given permission from the bridge to ascend onto Monkey Island. The weather was blustery and white caps numerous. The weather conditions, however, were not going to stop us from having an incredible day. Small groups of dolphins soon appeared, and hour by hour throughout the day small groups of common and striped dolphin were seen, including a number of mixed groups that came to the front of the vessel to bow ride. During the day we encountered over 400 dolphins, including 300+ Common Dolphin, approximately 100 Striped Dolphin and over 50 unidentified Dolphin.

The southern Bay is like a submarine mountain range with very deep troughs inhabited by some of the most elusive whales - the beaked whales. Could we dare to hope that we would encounter one of these after the stunning sightings so far? Yes we could! Not one but 5 Cuvier's Beaked Whales cruising past, close to the ship! Within the group were four almost certainly males and one was probably a female. Two of the males were heavily scarred, one appearing almost completely white. The other two males appeared to have less scaring. The female had no scaring, but did have a pale head indicating it was an adult. This was a very unusual sighting of an elusive species.

Other animals seen included four swifts, which were all heading south, indicating these birds might have been failed breeders and may have already been on their way back to Africa.

4 June

The weather did not improve during the final day of our trip - but it did give us a chance to have some wonderful views of Gannet flying alongside the ship only metres away. So often overlooked, Gannets are incredible birds specially adapted with a thickened skull and 'air bags' to protect them from the high impact vertical dives from 10 metres up. The bright white bodies, black wingtips and egg yellow heads punctuated by blue eyes make them a great subject for any budding photographer. We are very lucky because Britain and Ireland supports 70% of the World's population!

After lunch the group met for the final time to recall some of the very privileged (and for some the first) views we had seen of an amazing diversity of plants and animals.

Bay of Biscay and Picos de Europa: 23rd - 29th May 2009
Guided by Judd Hunt

23 May

After assembling in Portsmouth the group boarded the impressive vessel "The Pride of Bilbao" and set sail on time with everyone eagerly anticipating the following 6 days of wildlife watching.

24 May

After attending the presentation on the Wildlife of the Bay of Biscay we made our way up to our premier viewing platform on Monkey Island. The weather was clear and calm and, even though we experienced a slow start, during the afternoon and evening while crossing the edge of the Continental Shelf we recorded 4 mighty Fin Whales, 25 Pilot Whales, 1 close Minke Whale (showing the white bands on its pectoral fins) and c100 Common Dolphins (some of which were seen coming to bow-ride through the restaurant windows while enjoying our evening meal post-9pm!). Seabirds were also evident and we saw Northern Fulmars, Manx Shearwater, Guillemot, European Storm Petrels, Gannets, Great Skuas, Kittiwakes and a solitary migrant Chiffchaff. A couple of Painted Lady butterflies were also seen and these represented the vanguard of the huge invasion of this species that began in late May.

25 May

An early disembarkation in Bilbao saw us promptly collecting our minibus and we headed off on our journey westwards towards our destination in the Picos de Europa mountains. During the drive we began to note species of birds that are typical of this region of Spain and the highlights were Black Kites, Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture and Cattle Egrets. Following a short stop for coffee we proceeded south into the mountains and our usual stop at the impressive "Leaping Salmon" Viewpoint in La Hermida Gorge produced some really memorable sightings! One of the first birds spotted was a fine male Blue Rock Thrush occupying his perch on the crags above and this was closely followed by a singing Firecrest. Then, in quick succession, we had super views of Honey Buzzard, Short-toed and Golden Eagles plus plenty of Crag Martins overhead - what a start!

After this rush of excitement we headed on to our hotel, the super Parador at Fuente De and after lunch we headed out for an afternoon stroll into the nearby beech woods. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse with heavy downpours forcing us to take shelter and this ultimately brought a premature end to our day. However, despite the deluge, we did manage to see a male Red-backed Shrike and 2 Yellowhammers plus several spikes of Birds Nest Orchids during our walk.

26 May

After breakfast, we walked the short distance to the cable car station and had great views of a Firecrest along the way. In no time, we had boarded our car and were rapidly transported from the valley floor to the alpine zone 800 metres above. The weather had improved considerably and we experienced near perfect conditions with light winds and an overcast sky and were soon enjoying incredible views of Chamois and Alpine Accentor! Over the next few hours we walked through this amazing habitat and were treated to super views of Alpine Chough, more Alpine Accentors, the local race of Northern Wheatears, Black Redstarts, Water Pipits, a Snow Vole, "scope" views of Alpine Newts (snow cover prevented our usual visit to the stakeout) plus wonderful views of Griffon Vultures. However, one bird stole the show and we were thrilled to have fabulous views of a male Wallcreeper as he flitted his way around close boulders strewn amongst the snowfields. Lyn can be proud of her spotting talents and she proved this time and again during the holiday!

In the afternoon we returned to the hotel where we located a rather forlorn looking immature Dipper before setting off to an area of mixed woodland and pastureland close to the local village of Brez. The highlights here were a rare and lonely Lizard Orchid, Fly Orchid, Cirl Buntings, Red-backed Shrikes, Western Bonelli's Warbler, Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Black Kite, Common and Honey Buzzard, Spotless Starlings, Red-billed Choughs, Serin and Corn Buntings. The butterflies we saw included Swallowtail, Adonis Blue and Painted Lady. In the evening we walked across the meadow at the back of our hotel and the view from here is truly awesome! Judd spotted a Rock Bunting but unfortunately most others missed it. We also saw plenty of wild flowers here with Early Purple, Burnt, Man and Bee Orchids being the highlights.

27 May

A pre-breakfast walk up into the nearby beech woods proved very productive with super views of a calling male Black Woodpecker plus Great Spotted Woodpecker and a calling Green Woodpecker. We also had good views of Western Bonelli's Warblers, Garden Warbler, singing Tree Pipit but a singing Pied Flycatcher managed to evade us. We also heard a hooting Tawny Owl. After breakfast we boarded the bus and drove a short distance down the valley to an area near Llaves. Here we saw Western Bonelli's Warblers, Black Kite and Sparrowhawk plus Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. From here we continued towards the largest town of the region, Potes, stopping en route at the monastery at Toribio de Liebana where we saw Scarce Swallowtail.

After Potes, where we had wonderful views of an Egyptian Vulture, we stopped for lunch at the church of Santa Maria de Lebena and were serenaded by a typically skulking Cetti's Warbler. Overhead, we saw Short-toed Eagle but the hoped-for Wrynecks eluded us. A short walk produced Common and Black Redstarts, Spotted Flycatcher and Serins before we returned to potter around Potes for some shopping and relaxation.

28 May

After an early start we said goodbye to our hotel and headed back towards Bilbao. Along the way we stopped for coffee and heard the distant songs of both Melodious and Sardinian Warblers but neither were seen. We arrived at the port in good time and soon boarded the vessel for our northbound sailing. After lunch we gathered on Monkey Island and began our vigil. As we entered the mouth of the huge underwater canyons we spotted 2 Sperm Whales close to the ship and, as we went passed them, they threw their huge tails into the air before commencing a deep dive - what a sight! We then saw a mixed group of Common and Striped Dolphins before worsening weather forced us to seek shelter on the lower decks. Unfortunately, the weather hampered our viewing but we still managed to obtain good views of more Common Dolphins before retiring below decks for a well-deserved meal.

29 May

We assembled on Monkey Island to see what the English Channel had to offer but the sea conditions meant that spotting the sought-after Harbour Porpoises and other cetaceans was nigh on impossible. However, we did spot more Northern Fulmars and Gannets before calling it a day. After our afternoon debrief and final log we said our goodbyes before disembarking at Portsmouth on time.

13 - 16 September 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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This was our last trip of our 2008 season, which has once again, proved to be yet another extremely successful one. Hugh & Michelle and the rest of the C.O.W. team would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to each and every one of the 736 travellers who joined us in Biscay during 2008. We sincerely hope to see you again in 2009! Hugh & Michelle would also like to say a big thank you to our superb team of loyal and industrious guides and to the staff of P&O for their valued cooperation both on the ship and ashore. Thanks also to our friends and colleagues at CSMA, ORCA, WildGuides, Bird Watching Magazine, U3A, Cetacea Publishing, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, BBC Radio 4, RSPB, WDCS and Ultimate Pelagics for making our season such a happy one! We have some exciting plans for 2009 and 2010 so watch this space! So...on to the sightings:

52 Fin Whales, 33 unidentified large rorquals, 5 Minke Whales, 4 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 2 unidentified beaked whales, 12 Pilot Whales, 42 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 271 Common Dolphins, 54 Striped Dolphins, a great count of 111 Harbour Porpoise and 87 unidentified dolphins. Also 13 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 48 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Cory's Shearwater, 14 Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Manx Shearwaters, 6 Grey Phalaropes, 22 Storm Petrels, 5 Arctic Skuas, 24 Great Skuas, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 10 Black Terns, 13 Sandwich Terns, 20 Common Terns, 1 Arctic Terns, 2 Black Terns, 28 'commic terns', 1 Guillemot and 1 Razorbill. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 3 Turnstone, 26 Swallows, 5 Meadow Pipits and 2 Wheatears. During our walk in Spain we recorded 36 Griffon Vultures, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, a superb flock of 47 Avocets, 1 Wryneck, 1Tree Pipit, 3 Black Redstarts, 1 Wheatear, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 2 Whitethroats, 1 Zitting Cisticola, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 11 Pied Flycatchers, 3 Spotted Flycatcher and 2 Red-backed Shrikes. Insects included Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Geranium Bronze, Peacock, Large Skipper, Small Blue, Long-tailed Blue and a Blue-winged Grasshopper. 5 Wall Lizards were also recorded.

 

 

10 - 13 September 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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10 Fin Whales, 33 unidentified large rorquals, 2 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 2 Minke Whales, 12 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 58 Common Dolphins, 17 Striped Dolphins and 1 Harbour Porpoise. Also 5 Ocean Sunfish and a few unidentified tuna. Seabirds included 2 Great Shearwater, 75 Cory's Shearwaters, 28 Sooty Shearwaters, 6 Balearic Shearwaters, 6 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Grey Phalarope, 27 Sabine's Gulls, 87 Storm Petrels, 1 Long-tailed Skua, 6 Arctic Skuas, 20 Great Skuas, 2 Sandwich Terns, 1 Common Tern and 73 'commic terns'. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 1 Turnstone, 1 Dunlin, 1 Pied Wagtail and 1 Wheatear. Our walk in Spain recorded 27 Griffon Vultures, 2 Common Buzzards, 2 Tree Pipits, 2 'flava' Wagtails, 6 Black Redstarts, 1 Wheatear, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Garden Warbler, 3 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Whitethroat, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 4 Melodious Warblers, 1 Goldcrest, 4 Pied Flycatchers and 3 Red-backed Shrike. Insects included Speckled Wood and Wall Brown.

 

7 - 10 September 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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66 Fin Whales, 39 unidentified large rorquals, 4 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 1 unidentified beaked whale, 1 Minke Whale, 22 Pilot Whales, 31 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 199 Common Dolphins, 90 Striped Dolphins and 43 unidentified dolphins. Also 7 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included a fantastic total of 54 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Great Shearwater, 167 Cory's Shearwaters, 26 Sooty Shearwaters, 20 Manx Shearwaters, 4 Grey Phalaropes, 5 Storm Petrels, 6 Arctic Skuas, 28 Great Skuas, 10 Black Terns, 1 Sandwich Tern, 20 Common Terns, 6 Arctic Terns and 12 'commic terns'. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 15 Grey Herons, 1 Turtle Dove, 11 Swallows, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Wheatears, 14 Chaffinches and a rather bizarre record of a House Sparrow! Despite heavy rain, a large arrival of migrants was evident during our walk in Spain and we recorded 2 Turtle Doves, 2 'flava' Wagtails, 20 Tree Pipits, 2 Wheatears, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Garden Warbler, 4 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Zitting Cisticola, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Melodious Warbler, 50+ Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Firecrest, 50+ Pied Flycatchers, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and a Red-backed Shrike. Insects included Meadow Brown, Large White, Red Admiral and Migrant Hawker.

 

 

4 - 7 September 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Storm force winds in the Bay seriously hampered observations on this particular trip but the good news is that weather is getting much better! 4 Fin Whales, 9 unidentified large rorquals, 13 Pilot Whales, 3 Common Dolphins, 20 Striped Dolphins, 1 Harbour Porpoise and 2 unidentified dolphins. Also 2 Ocean Sunfish. Not surprisingly, the bad weather brought good numbers of seabirds and we recorded 13 Great Shearwaters, 135 Cory's Shearwaters, 24 Sooty Shearwaters, 53 Manx Shearwaters, 7 Sabine's Gulls, 2 Grey Phalaropes, 7 Storm Petrels, 2 Arctic Skua, 9 Great Skuas, 2 Black Terns, 2 Sandwich Terns, 13 Common Terns, 9 Arctic Tern and 1 'commic tern'. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 1 Redshank, 1 Dunlin, 1 White Wagtail, 1 Wheatear and 1 Willow Warbler. A good assortment of birds in Spain included 15 Griffon Vultures, 2 Booted Eagles, 1 Red-rumped Swallow, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Wheatear, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Zitting Cisticolas, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 3 Melodious Warblers, 1 Firecrest, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 5 Red-backed Shrikes, 3 Serins and a Cirl Bunting. 7 species of butterfly included Adonis Blue and Long-tailed Blue.

1 - 4 September 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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11 Fin Whales, 22 unidentified large rorquals, 2 Pilot Whales, 94 Common Dolphins, 14 Striped Dolphins, 4 Harbour Porpoise and 2 unidentified dolphins. Also 3 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 15 Great Shearwaters, 134 Cory's Shearwaters, 10 Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 49 Man Shearwaters, 22 Sabine's Gulls, 2 Grey Phalaropes, 7 Storm Petrels, 1 Arctic Skua, 9 Great Skuas, 2 Sandwich Terns, 6 Common Terns, 1 Arctic Tern, 4 'commic terns'. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 1 Turnstone, 1 Whimbrel and 2 Wheatears. Another excellent assortment of birds in Spain included 1 Wryneck, 3 Tree Pipits, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Wheatear, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 3 Zitting Cisticolas, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 3 Melodious Warblers, 1 Firecrest, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Red-backed Shrikes and 3 Cirl Buntings. 8 species of butterfly included Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue, Wall and Speckled Wood.

 

 

29 August - 1 September 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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39 Fin Whales, 26 unidentified large rorquals, 1 Sperm Whale, 2 Pilot Whales, 4 Bottlenose Dolphins, 377 Common Dolphins, 50 Striped Dolphins, 20 Harbour Porpoise and 57 unidentified dolphins. Also 7 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 4 Great Shearwaters, 17 Cory's Shearwaters, 15 Sooty Shearwaters, 8 Sabine's Gulls, 3 Grey Phalaropes, 8 Storm Petrels, 9 Arctic Skuas, 4 Great Skuas, 5 Sandwich Terns and 10 Common Terns. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included a Kestrel, 10 Ringed Plovers, 1 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Turtle Dove, 1 Swallow, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Wheatears, 1 Reed Warbler and 1 Pied Flycatcher. An excellent assortment of birds in Spain included 1 Buzzard, 4 Avocets, 1 Hoopoe, 1 Red-rumped Swallow, 4 Tree Pipits, 3 Black Redstarts, 1 Whinchat, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Garden Warbler, 9 Sardinian Warblers, 4 Whitethroats, 4 Zitting Cisticolas, 2 Firecrests, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and 8 Red-backed Shrikes. 13 species of butterfly included Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue, Holly Blue, Grayling, Wall, Large Skipper and Long-tailed Blue.

26 - 29 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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28 Fin Whales, 22 unidentified large rorquals, 4 Minke Whales, 1 unidentified beaked whale, 1 Pilot Whale, 47 Bottlenose Dolphins, 406 Common Dolphins, 20 Striped Dolphins, a staggering total of 138 Harbour Porpoise and 70 unidentified dolphins. Also 1 Ocean Sunfish . Seabirds included 1 probable Wilson's Petrel, 2 Little Shearwaters (both at virtually the same GPS location as 23 - 26 Aug trip), 3 Great Shearwaters, 4 Sooty Shearwaters, 13 Sabine's Gulls, 3 Grey Phalaropes, 9 Storm Petrels, 15 Arctic Skuas, 10 Great Skuas, 1 Black Tern, 2 Sandwich Terns, 8 Common Terns and 4 'commic' terns. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 1 Dunlin, 2 Turnstones, 1 Yellow Wagtail, a Pied Flycatcher and a Melodious Warbler. In Spain we recorded 20 Griffon Vultures, 1 Osprey, 1 Little Owl, 1 Hoopoe, 1 Sand Martin, 4 Tree Pipits, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Sardinian Warbler, 3 Whitethroats, 1 Zitting Cisticola, 3 Cetti's Warbler and 4 Red-backed Shrikes.17 species of butterfly included Swallowtail, Wood White, Cleopatra, Geranium Bronze and Tree Grayling. 3 Wall Lizards were also recorded.

23 - 26 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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41 Fin Whales, 27 unidentified large rorquals, 2 Sperm Whales, 1 Minke Whale, 6 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 3 unidentified beaked whales, 11 Pilot Whales, 77 Bottlenose Dolphins, 261 Common Dolphins, 107 Striped Dolphins, 11 Harbour Porpoise and 48 unidentified dolphins. Also 9 Ocean Sunfish and a possible Oceanic Whitetip Shark . Seabirds included 2 Little Shearwaters, 6 Cory's Shearwaters, 9 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 8 Manx Shearwaters, 7 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Grey Phalarope, 34 Storm Petrels, 15 Arctic Skuas, 24 Great Skuas, 1 Black Tern and 29 Common Terns. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 1 Ringed Plover and a Wheatear. In Spain we recorded 1 Booted Eagle, 3 Little Owls, 1 Hoopoe, 3 Tree Pipits, 1 Nightingale, 3 Black Redstarts, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Garden Warblers, 1 Sardinian Warblers, 3 Whitethroats, 1 Zitting Cisticola, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Melodious Warbler, 2 Firecrests, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Red-backed Shrikes and a Serin. Once again it was a very poor morning for butterflies with just two species recorded on the wing - Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

 

20 - 23 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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29 Fin Whales, 45 unidentified large rorquals, 1 possible Sperm Whale, 1 unidentified beaked whale, 6 Pilot Whales, 5 Common Dolphins, 16 Bottlenose Dolphins, 167 Common Dolphins, 5 Striped Dolphins and 36 unidentified dolphins. Also 4 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 6 Great Shearwaters, 287 Cory's Shearwaters, 7 Sooty Shearwaters, 3 Manx Shearwaters, 3 Common Scoters, 8 Sabine's Gulls, 7 Storm Petrels, 1 Pomarine Skua, 3 Arctic Skuas, 10 Great Skuas, 2 Black Terns, 2 Sandwich Terns, 3 Arctic Terns, 13 Common Tern and 2 'commic' terns. Migrants recorded on or from the ship included 3 Sanderling, 40 Dunlin and a White Wagtail. In Spain we recorded 1 Little Egret, 1 Black Kite, 1 Peregrine, 2 Little Owls, 3 Tree Pipits, 2 Black Redstarts, 6 Blackcaps, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 6 Melodious Warblers, 2 Firecrests, 1 Pied Flycatcher and 2 Serins. It was a very poor morning for butterflies with just two species recorded on the wing - Gatekeeper and Holly Blue.

17 - 20 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Bad weather in the Bay seriously hampered observations on this particular trip but the weather is getting much better! 26 Fin Whales, 36 unidentified large rorquals, 1 Sperm Whale, 1 Minke Whale, 2 Pilot Whales, 1 unidentified beaked whale, 5 Common Dolphins, 10 Striped Dolphins and 2 Harbour Porpoise. Also 1 Basking Shark and 13 Ocean Sunfish. Not surprisingly, the bad weather brought good numbers of seabirds and we recorded six species of shearwater: 1 Little Shearwater, 6 Great Shearwaters, 114 Cory's Shearwaters, 10 Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Balearic Shearwater and 6 Manx Shearwaters. Also 9 Sabine's Gulls, 3 Grey Phalaropes, 14 Storm Petrels, 4 Arctic Skuas, 3 Great Skuas, 4 Sandwich Terns, 12 Arctic Terns, 1 Common Tern and 1 'commic' tern. In Spain, an excellent assortment of birds on the 'hill' included a dark morph Montagu's Harrier, 8 Griffon Vultures, 1 Booted Eagle, 5 Buzzards, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Kestrels, 1 Cuckoo, 3 Little Owls, 2 Hoopoes, 3 Tree Pipits, 2 Nightingales, 2 Black Redstarts, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Garden Warblers, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Red-backed Shrikes and 2 Serins. Butterflies included Adonis Blue, Short-tailed Blue, Grayling and Specked Wood. Other wildlife included Hummingbird Hawkmoth and Wasp Spider.

14 - 17 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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14 Fin Whales, 32 unidentified large rorquals, 3 Cuvier's beaked Whale (including one breaching), 4 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 348 Common Dolphins, 1 Harbour Porpoise and 5 unidentified dolphins. Also 8 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 4 Great Shearwaters, 90 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 7 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Grey Phalarope, 9 Storm Petrels, 1 Pomarine Skua, 5 Arctic Skuas, 13 Great Skua, 7 Sandwich Terns, 9 Common Terns and 9 'commic' terns. Migrants at sea included 1 Grey Heron, 40 Knot, 2 Whimbrel, 1 Wheatear and 1 Chiffchaff. In Spain, highlights included 5 Griffon Vultures, 3 Buzzards, 1 Peregrine, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Wryneck, 1 Black Redstart, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, 3 Melodious Warblers, 6 Red-backed Shrikes and a Cirl Bunting. 15 species of butterfly included Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Adonis Blue, Short-tailed Blue, Long-tailed Blue, Holly Blue, Marbled White and Wall Brown. Other wildlife included Jersey Tiger Moth and a Wall Lizard.

11 - 14 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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8 Fin Whales, 19 unidentified large rorquals, 3 Cuvier's beaked Whale (plus 1 probable), 4 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 133 Common Dolphins, 13 Striped Dolphins and 12 unidentified dolphins. Also 22 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 1 Little Shearwater, 6 Great Shearwaters, 102 Cory's Shearwaters, 2 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 6 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Sabine's Gulls, 1 Little Gull, 1 Grey Phalarope, 9 Storm Petrels, 4 Great Skua, 3 Sandwich Terns and 19 'commic' terns. Migrants at sea included 2 Dunlins. In Spain, highlights included 4 Griffon Vultures, 2 Peregrines, 1 Cuckoo, 5 Black Redstarts, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 3 Zitting Cisticolas, 5 Melodious Warblers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Long-tailed Tits, 4 Red-backed Shrikes and a Serin. 17 species of butterfly included Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Adonis Blue, Long-tailed Blue, Holly Blue, Large Skipper and Marbled White. Other wildlife included 3 Wall Lizards.

8 - 11 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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40 Fin Whales, 53 unidentified large rorquals, 3 probable Cuvier's beaked Whale, 3 unidentified beaked whales, 2 Pilot Whales, 112 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 43 Common Dolphins, 38 Striped Dolphins and 11 unidentified dolphins. Also 4 Ocean Sunfish, 1 Dogfish and several Tuna. Seabirds included 1 Great Shearwater, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 6 Storm Petrels, 1 Great Skua, 6 Arctic Skuas, 2 Sandwich Terns, 10 Common Terns and 14 'commic' terns In Spain, highlights included Booted Eagle, Common Buzzard, 5 Black Redstarts, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 3 Zitting Cisticolas, 2 Melodious Warblers and 3 Red-backed Shrikes. 15 species of butterfly included Wood White, Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Adonis Blue, Long-tailed Blue, Holly Blue and Marbled White. Other wildlife included Hummingbird Hawkmoth and 3 Wall Lizards.

5 - 8 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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16 Fin Whales , 17 unidentified large rorquals, 1 Minke Whale, 2 Sperm Whales, 1 Cuvier's beaked Whale, 3 unidentified beaked whales (all breaching), 5 probable Pilot Whales, 30 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 78 Common Dolphins and 135 Striped Dolphins. Also 3 Ocean Sunfish and 15 Tuna. Seabirds included 45 Cory's Shearwaters, 2 Manx Shearwater, 1 Mediterranean Shearwater, 26 Storm Petrel, 2 Great Skuas, 1 Pomarine Skua, 2 Arctic Skua, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 11 Common Terns, 1 Arctic Tern, 1 Sandwich Tern, 1 Cormorant and 27 Fulmar. In Spain, highlights included Booted Eagle, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Tree Pipit, White Wagtail, Black Redstart, Sardinian, Cetti's & Melodious Warblers, Zitting Cisticola, Red-backed Shrike and Serin. Nine species of butterfly included Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue and Long-tailed Blue. Slow Worm and Stick Insect were also recorded.

2 - 5 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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36 Fin Whales (including 1 calf), 38 unidentified large rorquals, 1 Minke Whale, 11 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 1 unidentified beaked whale, 4 Pilot Whales, 20 probable Pilot Whales, 42 Bottle-nosed Dolphins, 97 Common Dolphins (inc 3 calves), 334 Striped Dolphins, 7 Risso's Dolphins, 95 unidentified dolphins and 7 Harbour Porpoise. Also 51 Ocean Sunfish and 2 unidentified sharks. Seabirds included 78 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Great Shearwater, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 9 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Mediterranean Shearwater, 1 Storm Petrel, 2 Great Skuas, 1 Pomarine Skua, 1 Arctic Skua, 227 Gannets, 10 'commic' terns, 43 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 1 Shag and 9 Fulmar. In Spain, highlights included 3 Booted Eagle, 2 Black Kite, Kestrel, Peregrine, Merlin, Tree Pipit, White Wagtail, Black Redstart, Red-backed Shrike Zitting Cisticola and Sardinian and Melodious Warblers. 12 species of butterfly included Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra and Long Tailed Blue. Jersey Tiger moths and European Wall Lizard were also recorded.

 

 

 

 

30 July - 2 August 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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26 Fin Whales (including one breaching and eight lunge feeding), 27 unidentified large rorquals, 2 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 133 Common Dolphins (inc 5 calves) and 75 Striped Dolphins. Also 50 Ocean Sunfish (including one breaching). Seabirds included 54 Cory's Shearwaters, 3 Great Skuas, 1 Pomarine Skua, 1 Arctic Skua, 113 Gannets, 1 Sandwich Terns, 1 Common Terns, 11 'commic' terns, 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 1 Shag and 1 Fulmar. In Spain, highlights included 2 Griffon Vultures, Tree Pipit, White Wagtail, Black Redstart and Sardinian and Grasshopper Warblers. 6 species of butterfly included Red Admiral and Common Blue. A Hummingbird Hawk Moth was recorded at sea.

27 - 30 July 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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41 Fin Whales (including two breaching!), 40 unidentified large rorquals, 2 probable Cuvier's beaked Whales, 1 unidentified beaked whale, 69 Bottlenose Dolphins, 280 Common Dolphins (inc 25+ calves), 100 Striped Dolphins (inc 11 calves), 56 unidentified dolphins and 2 Harbour Porpoise. Also 2 Yellow-fin Tuna and 12 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 146 Cory's Shearwaters, 2 Great Skuas, 2 Storm Petrels, 2 Sandwich Terns, 10 Common Terns, 1 Arctic Tern, 87 'commic' terns, 8 Black Terns and 8 Fulmars. Migrants at sea included 10 Ringed Plovers and 1 Whimbrel. In Spain, highlights included Peregrine, Tree Pipit, 1 Sardinian Warbler, 2 Zitting Cisticolas, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, several Melodious Warblers, 6 Starlings (a notable record!), 4 Ravens, 3 Serins and 2 Cirl Buntings. 10 species of butterfly included Clouded Yellow, Adonis Blue and Marbled White. Hummingbird Hawk Moths and European Wall Lizard also recorded.

24 - 27 July 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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Another incredible trip - the highlights were two encounters with Killer Whales. A pod of 6 in the northern Bay on day two were followed by 2 in the southern Bay on day three, which came right in to the bow! Also 40 Fin Whales, 24 unidentified large rorquals, 3 Minke Whales, 4 Sperm Whales, 2 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 6 unidentified beaked whales, 26 Pilot Whales, 50 Bottlenose Dolphins, 203 Common Dolphins, 179 Striped Dolphins, 58 unidentified dolphins and a high count of 96 Harbour Porpoise. Also 1 unidentified shark, 6 Yellow-fin Tuna and 6 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 19 Cory's Shearwaters, 4 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 3 Great Skuas, 2 Arctic Skuas, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 17 Storm Petrels, 6 'commic' terns Migrants at sea included a Swift and a Collared Dove. In Spain, highlights included 7 Griffon Vultures, 1 Booted Eagle, 1 Black Kite, 1 Black Redstart, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 2 Zitting Cisticolas, 3 Grasshopper Warblers, 5 Melodious Warblers, 7 Serins and 2 Cirl Buntings. 14 species of butterfly included Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Adonis Blue and Marbled White.

 

21 - 24 July 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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8 Fin Whales, 30 unidentified large rorquals, 1 Sperm Whale, 170 Bottlenose Dolphins, 72 Common Dolphins. 116 Striped Dolphins, 2 Harbour Porpoise, a few Tuna sp and 6 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included superb views of 1 Little Shearwater, 11 Cory's Shearwaters, 2 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Great Skua, 4 Storm Petrels, 13 Fulmars, 2 Kittiwakes and 8 'commic' terns. Migrants from the ship included 1 Whimbrel and 9 Swifts heading south. In Spain, highlights included 2 Black Kites, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Blackcap, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Zitting Cisticolas, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, Melodious Warbler and 2 Serins. Fourteen species of butterfly included Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Adonis Blue, Holly Blue and Marbled White. Also Jersey Tiger Moth, Hummingbird Hawkmoth and 5-spot Burnet.

18 - 21 July 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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A great total of 528 animals included 1 immature male / female Killer Whale, 15 Fin Whales, 32 unidentified large rorquals, 14 Pilot Whales, 17 Bottlenose Dolphins, 191 Common Dolphins. 258 Striped Dolphins, a few Tuna sp and 11 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 6 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Great Skua, 5 Manx Shearwaters, 4 Storm Petrels, 21 Fulmars and 18 Kittiwakes. In Spain, highlights included 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Peregrine, 2 Garden Warblers, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 2 Zitting Cisticolas, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, Melodious Warbler, 5 Serins and a Cirl Bunting. Again, very few butterflies were on the wing but we recorded Holly Blue, Wall Brown and Speckled Wood. Other wildlife included a Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

 

15 - 18 July 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
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A great total of 449 animals included 11 Fin Whales (including one calf), 7 unidentified large rorquals, 2 Cuvier's beaked Whales, 2 unidentified beaked whales, 217 Common Dolphins (many with calves), 174 Striped Dolphins, 2 Harbour Porpoise, 30 unidentified dolphins, 20+ Tuna sp and 2 Ocean Sunfish. Seabirds included 1 Great Skua, 1 Manx Shearwater and 5 Fulmars. In Spain, highlights included 7 Griffon Vultures, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Sardinian Warblers, 1 Zitting Cisticola, Melodious Warbler, Red-backed Shrike and Serin. Very few butterflies were on the wing but we recorded Marbled White, Wall Brown and Speckled Wood. Other wildlife included a couple of Hummingbird Hawk Moths and 2 unidentified lizards.

27 - 30 June 2008 - Company of Whales and Organisation Cetacea aboard Pride of Bilbao
Click here for a sightings map

Our first 4-day cruise of 2008 proved to be an awesome trip! Totals included 10 Fin Whales, 1 Sperm Whale, 2 Minke Whales, 2 Cuvier's beaked Whales, (plus another two probables), 14 Pilot Whales, 502 Common Dolphins, 80 Striped Dolphins, 30 Bottle nosed Dolphins, 12 Harbour Porpoise, 1 Ocean Sunfish, 23 unidentified dolphins, 2 unidentified beaked whales and 1 unidentified large rorqual. Seabirds included an adult Sabine's Gull, 80+ Cory's Shearwaters, 7 Great Skuas and 2 Manx Shearwaters. Highlights in Spain included Melodious Warbler, 2 Red-backed Shrikes, 2 Cirl Buntings, 2 Griffon Vultures, 1 Black Kite and a Little Owl.

Dylan Walker (Organisation Cetacea) summarises the trip:

"The statistics of this, our first ORCA / Company of Whales Interactive Training Course of 2008, tell their own story. It was an awesome trip! What better way to learn about surveying for, identifying, and understanding the behaviours of cetaceans at sea than on this course!

"Our first day at sea started with a series of illustrated talks in the ship's cinema. These covered details of a typical trip; the importance of collecting survey data; how our data contributes to science and conservation; and how to find, identify and interpret the behaviours of cetaceans. By mid morning, with our brains fizzing with all that new information, we headed up to the monkey island to begin surveying and hopefully spot our first cetaceans. Having set up a rota of teams of three, we began to record our effort data. Little did we realise just how busy each team was going to be! Throughout the afternoon and evening we were literally inundated with encounters, first involving Harbour Porpoises, a Minke Whale and some Ocean Sunfish, and then, as we approached deeper water, we witnessed pod after pod of Common Dolphins racing into the bow, with smaller numbers of Striped Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins and pilot whales appearing close to the ship. It was a breathtaking day, particularly for dolphin encounters – and we headed down at 21.20, squeezing the last light out of an evening which none of us wanted to end.

"The following day we took a break from surveying as we arrived in Santurtzi Harbour and headed for a walk in the Spanish foothills. The highlight was an incredibly obliging Little Owl hunting in broad daylight just 15 metres from us on the path. We also found butterflies, orchids, Griffon Vultures and much more. Heading back out in to the Bay we began surveying once more. If yesterday had been the day for dolphins, this was the day for whales, as we had some excellent encounters with Fin Whales, beaked whales and pilot whales. The highlight for many involved two very brown Cuvier's Beaked Whales surfacing close by on our starboard side. By now our survey teams were becoming adept at telling waves from splashes, picking out distant blows, and identifying different dolphin and whale species. In fact they were getting so good that the guides were in danger of being made redundant!

"On the final day in the English Channel we completed our survey with a fantastic display from a group of Bottlenose Dolphins, which raced in to the bow. A fitting way to end the trip! Mapping our sightings revealed some interesting trends in the distribution of Fin Whales, which appear to be arriving in the Bay earlier this year. During two sightings the previous day we had observed whales feeding on their sides with a tail fluke lifted in to the air - so clearly they are finding food in the area.

"Given the high number of sightings during the trip, the survey teams performed superbly, working well together and recording the information to a high standard. Having received their certificates, they will be eligible to join an ORCA survey on one of our suite of partnered vessels in future.

ORCA would like to thank The Company of Whales for providing us with the opportunity to run our training courses on the Pride of Bilbao, and for making a donation to the charity for each reservation made on this cruise. "

 

Bay of Biscay and Picos de Europa 31 May - 6 June 2008
Guided by Dylan Walker and Judd Hunt

31 May & 1 June

After meeting up with the guides, the group boarded the impressive Pride of Bilbao and we set sail on time from Portsmouth. Light winds and calm seas greeted us the following morning and after enjoying the updated illustrated lecture on the wildlife of Biscay and the Picos everyone assembled on Monkey Island. This area of the vessel is an unrivalled viewing platform and exclusive to Company of Whales guests/P&O Crew only. For the remainder of the day we enjoyed beautiful weather conditions and this helped compensate for a slow start on the wildlife watching front. However, some seabirds did put in an appearance and we logged a total of 10 Northern Fulmars, 1 European Storm Petrel, in excess of 100 Gannets, 2 Great Skuas, 1 Arctic Skua, 3 Kittiwakes, 4 Common Terns and 1 Guillemot. Even though we were at the tail-end of the spring migration period we managed to see several migrants onboard and these included single Collared and Turtle Doves (the latter such a rare sight in most of Britain these days), a remarkable 50+ Common Swifts, 4 Swallows, 3 House Martins and a very tired looking Reed Warbler. It was fascinating to watch some of the swifts, swallows and martins hawking hitchhiking insects above the decks and several birds spent hours escorting the ship southwards to mop up the unexpected bounty! A single Ocean Sunfish was also seen briefly. Suddenly, the peace was shattered when Judd shouted "blow!" and a superb Fin Whale was seen crossing the bows at about 300 metres. The group were in awe as they watched this leviathan of the deep pass by within 300 metres of our location! Throughout the remainder of the day, we recorded one more Fin Whale plus 111 Common Dolphins, some of which treated us to spectacular views as they came leaping towards the ship to "bow-ride".

2 June

We arrived on time in Bilbao, collected our minibuses and were soon on our way westwards towards our destination in the mountains. Soon after leaving port we began to encounter birds less familiar to us in the UK but typical of this region of northern Spain. We logged 200 Yellow-legged Gulls (a close relative of the Herring Gull and a recent "split"), Little and Cattle Egret, Booted Eagle and 4 Black Kites. To break up the journey, we stopped twice and during the second of these we encountered the mighty Griffon Vulture as several were seen soaring high up above the crags that form the impressive La Hermida gorge. As we were watching these huge raptors, 2 magnificent Golden Eagles appeared and joined the vultures. Although very large birds themselves, the eagles were dwarfed by the vultures as they circled high up in a thermal. Closer to earth, we saw several Crag Martins and Black Redstarts before heading on up towards our hotel via the local town of Potes. We soon arrived at our base for the next 3 nights, the Parador at Fuente De, which is set in one of the most dramatic backdrops in the entire Picos de Europa region. After taking a late lunch, the group began to scour the alpine meadows which lie just behind the hotel and we soon had fantastic views of a male Rock Bunting, a tantalising view of a male Firecrest, 2 Water Pipits, White Wagtail, 2 Red-billed Choughs, several Common Buzzards, and a single flyover Serin. Butterflies were scarce, probably due to poor weather before we arrived, but we still managed to see 7 species including Orange Tip, Cleopatra and Brimstone, species typical of early springtime this high up in the mountains. Orchids were well represented with Man, Burnt, Green-winged, Early Purple and Bird's Nest being located. 2 European Wall Lizards and several unidentified tadpoles rounded off the day before we returned to the Parador for dinner followed by a well earned sleep.

3 June

After a hearty breakfast we assembled at the Cable Car Station ready for our ascent to the high-tops of the Picos to search for the specialties that dwell in the remote, barren regions above. The Cable Car climbed 800 metres in just over 4 minutes and the whole experience was breathtaking and exhilarating! By now, we were standing at about 2,000 metres above sea level in perfect weather conditions and from this point the scenery was truly awe-inspiring! We set off at a leisurely pace and within no time we started to encounter the creatures that make this beautiful, but extreme environment their home. Wheatears and Water Pipits were regularly encountered and the males were watched as they climbed skywards uttering their delightful song flights. We saw several Black Redstarts and overhead, we watched small groups of both Red-billed and Alpine Choughs regularly pass by. A total of 8 Chamois were seen, so typical of this rugged, mountainous terrain and prior to stopping for lunch, 2 beautiful Egyptian Vultures soared by in the company of a few of their larger cousins, the Griffon Vulture. We also logged a total of 10 Alpine Accentors, the larger and gaudier cousin of the more familiar Dunnock and again, typical of the habitat we were in. Some sharp-eyed members of the group also managed to spot a Snow Vole scampering amongst the boulders. As we stopped and unpacked our lunches we were immediately joined by a single Alpine Chough who fed heartily on pieces of bread and chorizo. This bird was soon joined a several more and they remained with us until we departed. Suddenly, Judd spotted movement on a nearby rock face and shouted, "Wallcreeper!" Brilliant! This was THE bird everyone had most desired to see and before long we were thrilled to see not one, but a pair of these stunning birds, as they hunted insects on the boulders right alongside the track. Over the course of the next hour we were treated to the most incredible views of this enigmatic species and both Dylan and Judd commented that these views were unparalleled in their experience in the Picos! As we wandered back to the Cable Car Station Dylan and Judd spotted a total of 4 Snowfinches and most of the group managed to obtain some views of these. After a short rest at the hotel, we took the minibuses and drove a few kilometres away to the outskirts of the small village of Brez . The habitat in this area is comprised of arable pastureland, lightly wooded hillsides and rural township and a stark contrast from the scenery on view a few hours earlier! An hour or so spent here produced more Griffon and Egyptian Vultures, Short-toed Eagle, 4 Common and 2 Honey Buzzards, Sparrowhawk, a calling Quail, Crag Martins, Common and Black Redstarts, Stonechat, 4 Red-backed Shrikes, 6 Spotless Starlings, Raven, Serin and a fine male Cirl Bunting. A Red Fox was briefly seen crossing the road. Some butterflies were evident with Clouded Yellow, Common Blue, Marbled White, Meadow Brown and Wall Brown being seen. After the short drive back to the hotel we relaxed and reflected on an outstanding days wildlife watching before taking dinner. Before retiring for the night a few of us stood outside the hotel and listened to several Tawny Owls which were hooting from the neighbouring forest.

4 June

Before breakfast, some of the group took a guided walk up into the beech forest and were rewarded with views of 2 Marsh Tits, Nuthatch, 4 Yellowhammers, 2 Garden Warblers and a Spotted Flycatcher but frustratingly, we only heard the calls of a Black Woodpecker and a distant Bonelli's Warbler. Several spikes of Birds Nest Orchid and 30 Pink Butterfly Orchids were also located. Following breakfast, we drove down towards Potes and stopped at the monastery which overlooks the town. From here we saw Short-toed Eagle, Common Buzzard and a splendid Firecrest. After a short stop in the town itself we continued to descend into the Lebena Valley and several short stops en route produced distant views of 4 Alpine Swifts plus Booted and Short-toed Eagles, Common Redstarts, Serins and a Cirl Bunting. Eventually we stopped alongside the Rio Deva and took our picnic lunches on the banks of this lovely little river. Several members of the group disturbed a Dipper but unfortunately it flew off before the rest of us arrived. We watched a female Blackcap scurrying around on the far bank. It's behaviour was more typical of an American waterthrush than a European arboreal warbler! After lunch we walked up a small, picturesque valley and in here we found at least 30 spikes of the lovely Bee Orchid. We also saw a Kestrel, several Griffon Vultures, Crag Martins but could not locate a calling Rock Bunting. On the way back up valley we stopped off in Potes for an hour so that people could relax and do a spot of shopping before heading back to Brez to round off the day. By the time we arrived there it had started to rain and this hampered our efforts as we tried in vain to locate a woodpecker which had flown across the road well ahead of the vans and had looked very much like a Middle Spotted Woodpecker. We were compensated by a calling Cuckoo and a singing Bonelli's Warbler before the weather forced us back to the vans and as it was towards the end of the afternoon we decided to call it a day.

5 June

An early start saw us on the road after breakfast and we said our goodbyes to the Parador and the Picos de Europa before heading our way back to Bilbao in time to catch our midday sailing. En route we spotted 4 Black Kites, a Kestrel, 2 Spotless Starlings and while refuelling the vans we saw a singing Zitting Cisticola. Having boarded the vessel, we gathered on the upper deck as the Pride of Bilbao departed its berth and sailed out beyond the outer harbour. We saw many Yellow-legged Gulls but little else and before long we were given permission from the Bridge to ascend onto Monkey Island. The weather was favourable as we began our journey northwards and Dylan soon spotted a Cory's Shearwater but unfortunately it evaded most people's eyes. Other birds began to put in an appearance and we logged 6 Northern Fulmars, 5 Gannets, more Yellow-legged Gulls and a Great Skua. However, it was cetaceans that we were all hoping to see and we weren't to be disappointed! While chatting with a member of the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme she cried, "Dolphins!" However, Dylan and Judd soon realised that, in fact, we were watching a group of beaked whales and after observing the animals' behaviour it became obvious that we were watching 5 Sowerby's Beaked Whales - wow!! This is one of the least known of all the world's cetaceans and a real rarity in Biscay and they could be seen to throw their diagnostically long beaks into the air at a 45 degree angle as they "rolled" to breathe. A young calf was accompanying the 4 adults but they were soon lost to view as they descended to the depths to hunt squid along the underwater canyon walls. After recovering from our excitement we began to see other cetaceans and during the remainder of the day we logged 5 Risso's Dolphins (another very good record), a close Minke Whale showing the white bands on its pectoral fins, 7 enormous Fin Whales, 1 unidentified beaked whale, 27 unidentified dolphins (either Common or Striped) and 80 Common Dolphins, many of which were observed very well later in day and were seen racing into the bow to ride the pressure waves. We ended our watch at sunset and congratulated each other on our efforts which had resulted in some truly memorable experiences!

6 June

The final day of the trip saw us up on deck at 7.30 and the watch until 11.30 produced some seabirds with Northern Fulmar, 2 Max Shearwaters, 30 Gannets and a Kittiwake being logged. We assembled for our afternoon debrief and, with the aid of Dylan's photographs, began to rekindle some of the many wonderful memories of an excellent holiday. Before long, it was time to say our goodbyes and at 5.30pm we disembarked the ship on time and set off for home.

 

 

 

 

Bay of Biscay and Picos de Europa 25 - 31 May 2008
Guided by Dylan Walker & Dave Smith

25 and 26 May

The first trip of the year across the Bay of Biscay is always eagerly anticipated. When will the Fin Whale return? Where will the dolphins be? Will it be a seabird year? The best thing about the Bay is that it always throws a few surprises at us.

On the first morning Dylan presented the new and updated Company of Whales illustrated talk, after which everyone was keen to get onto Monkey Island to start what turned out to be a fantastic trip. After a slow start, small groups of Common Dolphin began to appear and continued to do so for the rest of the day. As we passed the northern shelf the dolphins did not disappoint, with many of them unable to resist the temptation of riding the Pride of Bilbao's bow wave. During the day the group saw a total of 118 Common Dolphin, along with 20 Striped Dolphins and 10 unidentified dolphins. Dylan managed to see a Sperm Whale just as it raised its flukes to plunge to the depths to feed. Just before we finished for the day two Fin Whales were seen. Other sightings of the day included Sunfish, Manx Shearwater, Great Skua, Storm Petrel and a migrating Swift hundreds of miles from land!

27th May

Having disembarked the ferry, we headed west along the coast until we reached the small town of Unquera - the gateway to the Picos de Europa. A quick stop by the River Deva yielded Bee Orchid, before we ascended through the pass heading south. Stopping at the Salmon Viewpoint to scan for birds of prey we were quickly rewarded by one of the highlights of the trip - three Bonelli's Eagles circling down the valley. Other birds of prey included Sparrowhawk, Short-toed Eagle, and countless Griffon Vultures. Meanwhile, two juvenile Firecrests appeared in a bush, and Crag Martins hawked for insects along the cliff edge. What a great start to our Picos experience!

Arriving at the hotel we took a late lunch before heading out to the adjacent meadow - a botanist's delight! Consisting of up to 80% flowering plants to 20% grasses, these meadows are a blaze of pink, yellow and blue at this time of the year. Amongst the many highlights are the orchids, including Early Purple, Burnt, Man, Fly, Bee, and Early Spider. We found a Chamois feeding at low-level, and a Red Kite alighted on a nearby rock, before rain stopped play and we headed in for dinner.

28th May

With cloud hugging the mountainsides and a mixture of sunshine and showers promised, we headed down the valley to the beautiful village of Brez. The track beyond the village is a wonderful mixture of meadow, oak woodland and open heath. Here we found Bonelli's Warblers amongst the Blackcaps and Garden Warblers, fabulous Red-backed Shrikes, Red-billed Choughs, Redstart and Black Redstart, Serin, Spotted Flycatcher and Firecrest. Dave discovered an Ocellated Lizard under a rock, and Clouded Yellow and Marbled White butterflies danced across the meadows.

After a brief pit stop in Potes we had lunch overlooking the Lebeña Valley. This excellent raptor viewpoint was quiet today, though a high-altitude Alpine Swift and Griffon Vultures on the nest were highlights. Heading across the valley to the Church of Santa Maria, we found Common Broomrape, Bush Crickets, and Common Blue butterfly. Birds of prey continued to soar over, including Black Kite, Griffon Vulture and Peregrine, and we found ourselves eye-to-eye with a group of Wall Lizards sheltering in the crack of a dead tree stump!

Returning to the hotel via Potes for a late afternoon ice cream and a walk through the delightful old town, it was still possible to combine retail therapy with birdwatching, as Serins, Black and Common Redstarts nest in town.

29th May

Our last full day in the Picos began with a delightful dawn walk through the beech woods by the hotel. With the mist hanging on the mountain tops and the sound of cow bells in the meadows below, it is such a peaceful way to start the day! Approaching an open glade we found both Roe and Red Deer grazing together - a delightful comparison of these two similar-looking, but different-sized mammals. Further up we encountered Tree Pipit, Nuthatch, Spotted Flycatcher, and Griffon Vulture, and we heard the guttural sounds of a calling Black Woodpecker. We also discovered two outstanding orchids - Pink Butterfly Orchid and Bird's Nest Orchid!

After an excellent traditional Spanish farmers breakfast we took the cable car to the high tops. It's just 10 minutes from the hotel to the high mountains on a cable car that takes us 800m in altitude with the utmost ease! The landscape here is spectacularly barren. High mountains, boulder fields and snow patches predominate, with sparsely vegetated alpine pasture in the more sheltered areas. Here we encountered Chamois, Northern Wheatear, and Water Pipits conducting their spectacular parachuting display flights. Taking the path towards the high ridge we began searching for Wallcreeper, but the low cloud obscured the cliffs on which we regularly see them. The closest we got was a distant calling bird somewhere high above us. However, the other alpine speciality birds gave us tremendous views. Both Alpine Choughs and Alpine Accentors joined us for lunch as they searched for breadcrumbs, and a superb Snow Finch perched on a boulder for several minutes. Heading back to the cable car via a shallow pool, we found over 20 fiery Alpine Newts, and Common Toad spawn.

By mid afternoon we were back in the valley. We decided to take a short drive to the village of Pembes, stopping at a number of spectacular viewpoints along the way. Here we saw Ant Lions, Marbled White butterflies, Booted Eagle and a distant Honey Buzzard. Bonelli's Warblers and Blackcaps were singing in the trees, and the meadow flowers swayed in a haze of blues, pinks and yellows. Chatting to a local farmer, he told us that only the older generation were prepared to work the land in this traditional way, with younger people generally leaving the area to work in Santander and Bilbao. The future of this fantastically diverse habitat may therefore be in some doubt.

30th May

Leaving the hotel early in the morning we headed for Bilbao and the ferry port, making a stop at a cafe in the lowlands on the way. Here, we saw Black Kite, Melodious Warbler and Ramping Fumitory, before arriving at port to be greeted by a pair of Black Redstarts - the first time they have bred next to the terminal building in 10 years! Boarding the ship, we readied ourselves for another afternoon's whale watching in the Bay of Biscay!

The return trip across the Bay was in contrast to the south-bound crossing in that the action started from the very start and did not finish until the very end! Shortly after the group started watch on Monkey Island a group of 8 Risso's dolphins were observed slowly cruising at the surface. Risso's dolphin are not seen on every trip, so it was a great surprise when a group of 6 were seen only 45 minutes later. Eight Common Dolphin were seen between these sightings, and by the end of the day 73 Common Dolphin were seen in 15 encounters. Not to be outdone, the Striped Dolphins showed why they are considered to be the acrobats of the sea. Ninety-eight were seen during the day, during which animals were seen leaping several feet in the air whilst twisting and turning. May is usually a quiet month for Fin Whale, yet the group managed to see a total of 9 during the northbound crossing. On one encounter animals were seen pushing through the water on their sides whilst they fed. Two groups of Pilot Whale were seen, totalling 15 animals, which included two small calves. One unidentified Mesoplodon was seen as it breached three times and just as the group were about to pack up for the day a battle scarred bull Cuvier's Beaked Whale surfaced. It rolled slowly over as it swam within 100m of the boat. What a fantastic end to an amazing day's whale watching. Other sightings during the day included 3 Sunfish, Manx Shearwater, Great Skua, Sandwich Tern and Kittiwake.

31st May.

Thick fog hampered viewing for most of the morning, but a lucky few managed to see 2 Harbour Porpoise later in the morning. Several Manx Shearwater, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Gannet and 2 House Martin were also seen. As the Pride of Bilbao entered Portsmouth Harbour those on the top decks were able to see the Warrior, Victory and the aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Illustrious.