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| Wandering (Snowy) Albatross - Diomedea exulans |
We finally boarded the MV Plancius -operated by Oceanwide Expeditions- on the afternoon of 28 March 2018. There were old friends, new friends and "friends we hadn't met yet" among the assembled throng.
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| Boarding at USHUAIA |
The first four days of the voyage saw us sailing east towards South Georgia. The rear decks of the Plancius (above) provided a great platform for photography, especially with the early morning sun behind us.
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| Wandering (Snowy) Albatross - Diomedea exulans (Staten Island in the background) |
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| Northern Giant-Petrel - Macronectes halli |
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| Grey-headed Albatross - Thalassarche chrysotoma |
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| Southern Giant-Petrel - Macronectes giganteus (White Morph) |
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| Cape Petrel - Daption capense |
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| Black-browed Albatross - Thalassarche melanophrys |
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| Soft-plumaged Petrel - Pterodroma mollis |
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| Soft-plumaged Petrel - Pterodroma mollis |
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| Sometimes the action was at the front of the ship |
Jemi got the shots of Grey-backed Storm-Petrels, which often hung around near clumps of drifting kelp.
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| Grey-backed Storm-Petrel - Garrodia nereis |
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| Grey-backed Storm-Petrel - Garrodia nereis |
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| Grey-backed Storm-Petrel - Garrodia nereis
Grey-backed were not the only Storm-Petrels seen in the first few days...
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| Black-bellied Storm-Petrel - Fregatta tropica |
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| Wandering Albatross near Shag Rocks |
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| Evening call-over |
The Wildwings Group (thirty birders) did a daily log, conducted with reasonable despatch by leader Phil Hansboro, because the Dutch birders would always start fifteen minutes later....
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| Slender-billed Prion - Pachyptila belcheri |
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| Slender-billed Prion - Pachyptila belcheri |
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| Fairy Prion - Pachyptila turtur |
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| Antarctic Prion - Pachyptila desolata |
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| Light-mantled Sooty Albatross - Phoebetria palpebrata |
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| (Falklands) Brown Skua - Stercorarius (a) antarcticus |
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| Kerguelen Petrel - Lugensa brevirostris |
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| Kerguelen Petrel - Lugensa brevirostris |
Off to a fine start, then !
These flight shots are simply amazing, John. Did you hear the thud as my jaw hit the ground?
ReplyDeleteThanks David - there were many great photo opportunities during the trip.
DeleteSimply wow...another epic journey John, Wandering Albatross had been a childhood dream of mine and still is! Hope I'll get to see it someday.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, Sounds like you need an "Albatross Encounter" at Kaikoura, NZ !
DeleteYou've really got pelagic BIF photos down to a fine art John............
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stu - as usual, I culled plenty of shots !
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