Seabird Safaris

Between 2000 and 2012 I went on 12 mini-cruises across the Bay of Biscay to Spain to look for cetaceans and seabirds. For the first five years we went from Plymouth to Santander and then the next five years we did Portsmouth to Bilbao on 'The Pride of Bilbao' which was a much better crossing as it was a day longer and there was time in Santurzi to walk around the hills behind town.

When P&O sold its ageing ferry and gave up the route, Brittany Ferries took it over and operated a triangular route to Santander, leaving from Portsmouth and returning to Plymouth or the other way around. It wasn't a very convenient route so after three years on this route we retired from the Biscay crossings.

They had been one of our annual trips that I looked forward to and over the years had seen a lot. Fin Whales were seen on every trip, with one trip totalling 34. We saw two Orca on the very first trip and over the years also saw Sperm Whale, Cuvier's Beaked Whale and Pilot Whales on multiple crossings along with the occasional Minke Whale.

Dolphins were frequently seen with Common, Bottlenose, Striped and Risso's all recorded along with many Harbour Porpoise.

The variety and number of seabirds changed depending on the date of the crossing: we went between late July and early September and found the last week of August to be the most productive. Five species of shearwater were regularly seen: Cory's, Great, Sooty, Balearic and Manx with two Barolo seen on one crossing.

We've also seen three species of Skua: Great on all crossings, many Arctic and a few Poms. European Storm-Petrel was seen on all bar one trip, Sabine's Gull on many trips and the occasional Grey Phalarope along with various other waders, gulls and terns.

Land birds were seen on most crossings, often landing on the ferry. Wheatears were the commonest along with the occasional Reed and Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff and Yellow and White Wagtails. One year a flock of Crossbills flew over when we were in the middle of Biscay. As they were heading west, the next landfall was America so I doubt they made it unfortunately. Another time a Short-toed Lark flew over and there was the odd Turtle Dove and even an Osprey.

Once docked in Spain you typically had a few hours for a wander around. There wasn't a lot to see in Santander but there was a small town park which was productive when we arrived early morning but not on recent crossings when the ferry docks in the early afternoon as it's usually very hot and the park is full of people. The first year we found a Wryneck in the park and most years there were Pied Flycatchers.

Bilbao arrivals (actually at Santurzi) were much better as we always arrived early morning and took a cab up to the top of the hill (Serantes), had a walk around for an hour or so and slowly walked back down to the harbour. 

The whole hillside was a migrant trap and we would typically see multiple Red-backed Shrikes, Hoopoes, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Common Redstart and Nightingales. Among the resident birds were Cirl Bunting, Serin, Zitting Cisticola (usually in the fields about halfway down) and various warblers like Melodious and Sardinian.

There's usually a lot of raptors around: Griffon Vultures were seen regularly along with Black Kite, Booted Eagle, Honey Buzzard and one Hen Harrier.

We also tried to identify all the butterflies we could and over the years saw 22 species including Tree Grayling, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Berger's Clouded Yellow and Geranium Bronze.

Return in 2025

After a long gap I'd been wanting to go again and when looking into it this year, discovered that Brittany Ferries had bought another ferry and were offering Seabird Safari Mini-cruises from both Portsmouth and Plymouth, returning to the same dock as departure.

So, on August 6th I met up with my friends John & Janet at Paddington for the train down to Plymouth. We elected for this route as the timings were more convenient for us. The train was packed with teens heading to some festival, each one carrying about five times their own bodyweight on their backs while various items were projecting from all angles.

We soon arrived at Plymouth and not long afterwards boarded the ferry and headed to our cabins to get ready for the crossing. As an organised Sea Safari we met in the bar where we should have had a short introductory lecture but the IT gremlins put paid to that so we all headed up to the top deck instead. The Sea Safaris are run by ORCA and they had a number of guides who patrolled the decks looking for cetaceans and pointing them out. They also were able to commandeer half of the top deck and rope it off for us which kept the deck clear of the other passengers.

As we headed south across the Channel we started seeing Manx Shearwaters and at one point there was a huge stream of maybe 500 birds which also included at least ten Greats among them. The occasional Gannet went past and a sole Kittiwake. 

Manx Shearwaters

The first pod of Common Dolphins were soon seen and there were a few Cory's Shearwaters and one Balearic. As I was scoping a Cory's a European Storm-petrel flew past, the only one I saw all trip.

We went down to the restaurant for dinner early evening then went back up on deck for the last hour and a half of daylight, seeing a Northern Bottlenosed Whale, more Common Dolphins and a group of about ten Harbour Porpoise. More Manx went past along with several Gannets, two Shag and a single Bonxie, the only skua we were to see on the whole trip.

Gannets with a few Manxies

Shags

The next morning I was back on deck for sunrise at 6am. In previous years the approach to Santander was one of the most productive areas as there are deep canyons in the southern part of Biscay but this year we saw very little with just one pod of Common Dolphins and no tubenoses. The only bird of note was a Willow Warbler which remained on board until land was in sight.

Approaching Santander

We docked in Santander just before midday and once through passport control strolled down the marina to the park where we had an ice-cream. It was hot outside and there was very little bird activity apart from Sparrows and Pigeons. We did see a Speckled Wood butterfly of the Spanish race which is quite different to the UK ones as it's mostly orange.

Onboard the ferry in sunny Santander

We boarded the ferry for the return crossing and went straight up on deck, scanning the surroundings for raptors but there were none in sight this time. Heading up into the bay was a repeat of this morning's leg and again was fairly unproductive although we did get our first group of Striped Dolphins. Single Cuvier's Beaked Whale and Fin Whale were both seen by the ORCA spotters but I didn't manage to see them.

Sunset

On the last morning we were back on deck at 6am, not far from the French coast. Shearwaters soon started appearing and several groups of Common Dolphins went past. After breakfast we headed into the channel for the final run up into Plymouth. A group of Blue-finned Tuna were actively feeding and a few more shearwaters were seen along with Fulmar and Kittiwake.

We docked at 11am and got a taxi back to the station for our homeward journey. Although it hadn't been as productive as previous years it was a nice break and one I intend repeating.

July birding

July typically sees the true start of autumn migration, especially with waders and this was definitely the case this year. There was also plenty of fine settled weather to look for insects as well.

Rainham Marshes

I've started increasing my visits to Rainham after the midsummer break and went seven times this month. I added two new birds to my London yearlist: a Crossbill heard flying over the woodland and a moulting Ruff that was present most of the month.

Ruff with a Black-headed Gull

Also around on the reserve were five Great Egrets, regularly seen feeding out in Aveley Pools. They appear to be a family party so may have bred in the vicinity.

4 of the 5 Great Egrets

A couple of Green Sands hung around but there was no sign of the hoped for Wood Sand so that'll have to wait for next month. Black-tailed Godwits streamed back in decent numbers, mostly still sporting their summer dress.

Black-tailed Godwits

Dragonflies were regularly seen, taking advantage of the sunny weather. On one particularly day I saw Norfolk Hawker, Lesser Emperor and Southern Migrant Hawker, all recent colonists. I still haven't photo'd the last two so I'll keep trying for those. Butterflies are still a bit thin on the ground, possibly due to the heatwaves we've had drying all the vegetation up. I did manage to see a Clouded Yellow on one visit. As usual, Jersey Tigers were frequently seen.

Jersey Tiger

Dagenham Chase

I put in a lot of effort this month with 18 visits. The Slack continued to dry up during the month despite the odd day of heavy rain and a few days of pumping water into it. Green Sands were present on most days with up to six seen but the best wader on show was a Black-tailed Godwit that remained for the entire day and was my first one on the patch.

Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Moorhen

A Great Egret decided that a stretch of the River Rom was to its liking and remained for a couple of weeks. Although mostly visible from the main road by the entrance to Grenfell Park, it often wandered down the river towards The Chase and could be hard to find.

I spent a lot of time searching the elms and oaks for hairstreaks but couldn't find a single one. Gatekeepers were everywhere and I did manage the odd Common Blue.

Common Blue

I also went round all the ponds and lakes regularly looking for the afore-mentioned London colonists but haven't had any success so far.

female Banded Demoiselle

Beam Parklands

I visited seven times in July. My local patch was in the news mid-month when a wildfire burnt a large section of it and got quite close to some adjacent houses. This is the third year in a row that there's been a fire here and while the grassland has already started to recover following some rain, the gorse bushes took a severe battering and may not recover.

Bird wise it was fairly quiet until the last week of the month when I saw my first Buzzard of the year and, even better, heard my first ever Green Sandpiper on the patch.

I also popped into Barking Riverside and Mayesbrook Park but both sites were fairly quiet. Hopefully things will be busier in August.

June birding

June is often a quiet month for birding and with long spells of hot dry weather in the capital, it was particularly slow. I usually turn my attention to insecting instead but even that was hard at times with dried out waterways and vegetation.

Beam Parklands

I visited my local patch five times in June and walked up into Beam Valley CP a few times as well. The Cuckoo was still calling and warblers such as Blackcap, Common & Lesser Whitethroats started singing again after raising their first brood. Small and Essex Skippers were both found after a bit of searching along with a few other common butterflies but the only dragonfly seen was Black-tailed Skimmer.

Pair of Black-tailed Skimmers

Dagenham Chase

I managed a respectable 14 visits this month. From the middle of the month there were clear signs of the autumn migration commencing with a rise in the number of Lapwings on The Slack (reaching 20 by the end) and the first returning Black-headed Gulls. The water level is severely low at the moment but they are proposing to start pumping water into it this week.

I spent a lot of time searching all the elm trees for White-letter Hairstreak but to no avail. Although there are a lot of elms, there's very few mature ones as the rest have succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease. 

Last year I saw a lot of damselflies on Crowfoot Marsh but haven't found any this year and I suspect it's because of the dogs that go into the water. If the dogs have been treated with a particularly toxic anti-tick/flea treatment it washes off in the water and kills off all the insects.

Despite all this I still managed to find a reasonable number of insects here this month. After finding the first Marbled Whites in the area last year, their colonisation continues and this year they've expanded their range out of Fels Field.

Black-and-Yellow Longhorn Beetle

Marbled White

Red Admiral

Ringlet

Rainham Marshes

I went to Rainham three times but only did the loop around the reserve once. I was particularly targeting dragons and damsels and managed six species, a fairly low total as it was a struggle to find any damselflies. I was especially pleased to find and photograph Norfolk Hawker as that was my main target for the day.

Norfolk Hawker

Ruddy Darter

Small Red-eyed Damselflies

I also had a wander around the country lanes outside of Rainham Village hoping to find some partridges. I didn't manage any but instead saw a Barn Owl which was probably bird of the month.

Goresbrook Park

This small park is a couple of minutes walk from my house but I rarely visit it as it's a bit hopeless. A river runs through it - The Gores - but is hideously choked with Himalayan Balsam. There's been some attempt to plant trees and shrubs but they're mostly dead which is a shame as it could be a nice place with a bit more effort. I had a wander round looking for butterflies, most of which were feeding on a Buddleia.

Comma

South London

I ventured south of the river a couple of times, first to Epsom Common to look for Black Hairstreak. It was just my second visit to this site, the first being many years ago to see a Little Bittern. It's a fairly easy journey on the train but there are some very specific instructions to follow to get to the hedge the hairstreaks live on. 

As we got there I saw one fly past and then never saw any more for the whole time we were searching. We met a few other people who were also searching but they hadn't found any although they had been seen earlier in the week. I'll give it another go next year. At least there were other butterflies and insects around and we got great views of White Admirals.

Variable Longhorn Beetle

White Admiral

The following week we went to Crossness where the Ruddy Shelduck was located on the foreshore. It was one of the hot days so we only walked part of the route and took a bus  back to Abbey Wood station.

Ruddy Shelduck

Small Red-eyed Damselflies

The dry summer has taken its toll on my garden and everything is looking like it belongs in the Atacama Desert. However, the few flowers that are thriving have been a boon for insects and I found a few Small Skippers on the lavender in my front garden and, best of all, a Bee Beetle in the back garden, a really stunning insect.

Bee Beetle

May Birding

After the rush of incoming spring migrants in April it predictably quietened down in May but I did manage to see a couple of hoped for good birds in London.

Rainham Marshes

I managed 12 visits in May, starting on the 1st when I left The Chase hurriedly on news of a Blue-winged Teal at Rainham. It was best viewed from the riverwall and showed well when it was feeding then it tucked itself up for a nap.

Female Blue-winged Teal, Rainham Marshes

It was the third Blue-winged Teal I've seen in London (the others were at Brent Res & Fairlop CP) but it was the first record of this American duck here so proved popular for the Rainham patchlisters during its short stay. A Ruddy Shelduck of unknown origin flew in while I was there.

A Little Egret in full breeding finery put in regular appearances right in front of Ken Barrett hide during the month and was very popular with the togs.

Little Egret

Another long-staying white bird was a Spoonbill, often seen on Purfleet Scrape; although I think there were actually two different birds.

Spoonbill eyeing up a Tufted Duck

It was also a good month for waders, particularly so in the second part of the month with several flocks of Ringed Plover and Sanderling occurring. My best day of the month was on 24th when I found a Bittern flying in from the east, an unexpected bird for this time of year as most Rainham records are in winter. Even better was to come whilst we were stood on the riverwall as Sam found a Roseate Tern on the Thames which we managed to see a couple of times. Surprisingly it was also seen the following day allowing a few latecomers to catch up with this fairly rare bird in London. We also managed to see two Curlew Sandpipers in with a flock of Sanderling.

Common Sandpiper

Knot

Whimbrel

Red Kites were seen regularly over the reserve and Hobby numbers increased during the month but no one was able to nail a Red-foot despite the national influx of this scarce falcon.

Corn Bunting on the Tip

As the spring migration petered out it was time to start looking for insects with more butterflies and dragonflies on the wing but this month happened to be good for moths as well. Wall butterfly seems to be having a good year at Rainham with frequent sightings along the riverwall.

Azure Damselfly

Cinnabar

Cream-spot Tiger

Dewick's Plusia

Small Copper

Small Tortoiseshell

Small White

Dagenham Chase

I visited here 12 times this month, one of which was an afternoon trip to see a fine drake Garganey having spent the morning at Rainham where I had seen another Garganey.

Garganey on The Slack at Dagenham Chase

Beam Valley

I made weekly visits to both Beam Parklands and Beam Valley CP. With most of the summer migrants now seen with the obvious omission of Hobby here, I was mainly recording breeding birds but did still manage one new bird for Beam Parklands when a Shelduck flew over. I also called in to Breton's Park to check on the heronry.

Warren Gorge

I visited this nature reserve at Chafford Hundred for the first time. I took the 372 bus to Lakeside Shopping Centre then walked through the car park and railway station to the Gorge.

Greylag Goose family

Other sites

I also made single visits to King George V Res, Beckton Creekside, Barking Riverside, Parsloes Park and Hutchinson's Bank. The latter was at the end of May and was a bit disappointing for butterflies apart from Small Blue which were everywhere.

Small Blue, Hutchinson's Bank

Peacock, KGV Res