1761: Birding Down Under 13 Nov 2017

Day 1: Monday 13 November
Invercargill

Passengers from around the globe gathered in Invercargill, New Zealand’s southern-most city. We spent the night at the Kelvin Hotel and gathered for dinner to meet with our expedition leader Rodney who warmly welcomed us all and provided information for the day ahead, and the adventure we were about to set out on.

Day 2: Tuesday 14 November
Invercargill

Having assembled at the Kelvin Hotel in Invercargill the previous evening, many people met up for breakfast and at 09:30 joined Chris Collins from the Expedition Team for the short walk to the Invercargill Regional Museum. Here we were met by one of the curators who had arranged for us to view a short film about the Subantarctic Islands. After this, we were free to wander around and view the various galleries, before returning to the lecture theatre for a short film about Henry, the museum’s famous Tuatara. The film explained that Henry was believed to be at least 111 years old and after many years of failure, the museum had succeeded in getting him to breed.

We were then invited to go to see the Tuatara display where we could not only see the museum’s most famous resident but the curator fetched a different individual so we were able to not only see one of these creatures up close but were also able to gently feel its skin.

After lunch and a couple of hours of free time, the bus for our transfer to Bluff arrived and we were soon on our way to the port. It was only a short ride and after clearing security, we were soon at our home for the next two and a half weeks, the Spirit of Enderby. Rodney Russ, our Expedition Leader and the owner of Heritage Expeditions, and other members of the Expedition Team were there to meet us and everyone was soon aboard and settling into their cabins.

We then had a couple of briefings and the practical safety drill before the first of many excellent dinners prepared by our chefs Matt and Connor.

By 21:00 the pilot was aboard, the crew released the lines and we sailed away. Although the sun was quickly setting out to the west, many stayed out on deck to enjoy the view as we left the harbour and began our adventure.

Day 3: Wednesday 15 November
The Snares

It was a pleasant and smooth night aboard the Spirit of Enderby and shortly after breakfast had concluded, everyone joined Rodney in the lecture theatre for the Zodiac briefing and an introduction to The Snares. 

By 09:00 these had concluded and a little later, five Zodiacs were in the water and we set off to explore. It was only a short distance to the coast of the island and we soon found our first Snares Crested Penguins. This species only breeds on The Snares and it was a new bird for just about everyone and the first of several speciality penguins we could expect to see on our expedition.

Following the coastline round, we found the first of the two endemic landbirds with some nice looks at the Snares Fernbird. Passing through a short natural tunnel in the rock, we entered a sheltered bay where there were several Snares Tomtits flitting around. Unlike its counterpart on the mainland, the tomtits here were all black and are now widely considered to be an endemic species.

Cruising around, we were able to explore numerous inlets and bays and with the forest almost coming down to the shore, it was a fascinating morning. The penguins were certainly reasonably numerous and there were further sightings of the fernbird and tomtit. 

Continuing onward, we reached a point known as the ‘Penguin Slide’ and we watched from the Zodiacs as hundreds of penguins made their way up and down an extremely steep slope between their burrows and the sea. The angle was really extreme and it was amazing that the birds could climb up and down just using their clawed feet for grip.

All too soon, it was time to head back to the ship and after lunch, there were two briefings with Rodney first giving an introduction to the Auckland Islands with this followed, a little later, by a quarantine briefing. After this had concluded, everyone was invited to bring their gear to the bar library and lecture room for inspection.

Outside, there were an excellent selection of seabirds with the species seen including Antipodean Wandering Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Campbell Albatross, Sooty Shearwater, Fulmar, Antarctic, Fairy and Broad-billed Prions, Cape Petrel and White-chinned Petrel.


Photo credit: C. Collins

Day 4: Thursday 16 November
Enderby Island – Auckland Islands

During the night, the Spirit of Enderby continued southwards towards the Auckland Islands and shortly before dawn, the anchor was dropped offshore from Enderby Island. After breakfast, Rodney invited everyone to join him in the lecture theatre to outline the plans for the day, however, with the weather rapidly deteriorating he took the decision to delay our departure until 11:00am. As a result, Lisle gave us an excellent lecture about the seabirds we could encounter on the expedition, showing a fantastic range of his photos and providing us with tips on how to identify all the likely species.

Not long after Lisle had finished speaking, two Zodiacs were launched and everyone was soon shuttled to our landing site on Sandy Bay where there were several dozen New Zealand (Hooker’s) Sea-Lions lounging on the shore. 

Although the weather had improved somewhat since breakfast, it was still not particularly pleasant with light rain and a strong wind. Nevertheless, everyone joined the walk across the island which initially went through some Rata forest and mixed scrub before the boardwalk crossed a more open area where there were thousands of Ross Lilies. Many of these bright yellow flowers were in full bloom and made a colourful carpet as we walked towards the cliffs on the far side of the island. 

There were numerous New Zealand Pipits as we continued onwards and several Southern Royal Albatross were seen sitting on their nests, although most of these were somewhat distant from the boardwalk.

Arriving at the cliffs on the opposite side, Rodney reminded us that there were two options – he would lead a long walk which would follow the coast around the island for several miles, whilst Chris and Lisle would offer a shorter option. 

For the keen birders, one of the major target on the island was the Subantarctic Snipe and Rodney had warned us that finding this species could be a challenge, however, his group had barely gone much more than a few hundred metres when a lone individual was spotted skulking in the vegetation. This was remarkably confiding and not only did all the ‘long walkers’ get to see it but it stayed long enough to allow those with Chris and Lisle to also come over and see it. Suddenly the trickiest speciality on the island was not as difficult as we had expected!!!!

The long walkers continued onwards and over the course of the next few hours had some great wildlife encounters as well as seeing a good percentage of the island. Highlights including some nice looks at the Auckland Island Flightless Teal, a pair of New Zealand Falcons, some great views of Red-crowned Parakeets and the somewhat bizarre sighting of a Yellow-eyed Penguin several feet up a tree in the Rata Forest!!!

Those who took the shorter option also had a great time with at least two more Subantarctic Snipe being seen exceptionally well, a New Zealand Falcon that sat in a dead branch for more than 20 minutes at point blank range and a male teal that swam around a small pond a matter of metres from its admirers.

In the late afternoon, the two groups converged at the far end of the beach where everyone was able to watch an extremely obliging Yellow-eyed Penguin. By now the weather was utterly different to the early morning and instead of drizzle and an annoying wind, we had blue skies and only a gentle breeze. It had definitely been a good call delaying our departure and the overwhelming consensus was that we had all had a spectacular day irrespective of the walk we had chosen.

After another delicious dinner, there was an unexpected announcement from Rodney to advise everyone that a Southern Right Whale had been spotted off the port side of the ship. Many people headed outside to see this rarely seen species and whilst it was a little distant, the lack of a dorsal fin and the smooth back were clearly visible. 


Photo credit: R. Bester

Photo credit: L. Gwynn

Day 5: Friday 17 November
Carnley Harbour – Auckland Islands

At 02:00 the Spirit of Enderby left Enderby Island and four hours later we cruised into Carnley Harbour at the southern end of the Auckland Islands archipelago. This spectacular location is the remains of an ancient caldera and provides a sheltered anchorage for shipping. We continued westwards to Tagua Bay and after breakfast and a briefing from Rodney, the Zodiacs soon had everyone ashore for a walk through the forest towards the World War II station and lookout. 

After a scramble off the beach, initially the path was relatively flat and the botanists were very pleased to find several Spider Orchids. Although some of these were in flower, they were highly cryptic and being only a centimetre or so above the ground, were not easy to see.

After climbing up a couple of hundred feet or so, we came to the remains of the buildings where the coastwatchers had lived during the Second World War. Rodney explained that individuals were posted here for a year and the team’s role was to watch for enemy shipping as there was a fear that Carnley Harbour might be used to gather a fleet for a possible invasion of New Zealand or Australia. In the event, however, only one ship had been spotted and this was a passing Allied vessel.

Continuing onwards, we reached the lookout where the Coast Watchers had spent the daylight hours and Joseph, our DOC representative, explained that the Department of Conservation maintained this small hut as a historical reminder of what had happened here.

The views were certainly impressive and as we returned to the shore, some were lucky enough to see a Yellow-crowned Parakeet. Whilst it disappeared comparatively quickly, several Tomtits, Tuis and Bellbirds were also found.

By 11:30 the last Zodiac had left the beach and as lunch concluded, we exited Carnley Harbour and began our journey towards Macquarie Island. The sea began to quickly build and as the afternoon progressed the swell steadily swung around making the movement rather unpleasant with both pitching and rolling. This did not, however, deter the birders from looking for seabirds and over the course of the afternoon an excellent selection of species were seen with the highlight arguably being the impressive number of White-headed Petrels. As well as these, other sightings included Antipodean Wandering Albatross, Grey-backed and Black-bellied Storm-Petrels and Sooty Shearwaters.

Given the tricky conditions, the chefs had organised a simpler dinner and after this and the nightly bird log, many people retired to bed given the ongoing conditions.


Photo credit: R. Bester

Day 6: Saturday 18 November 
At Sea to Macquarie Island

It was a bumpy night as we continued southwards towards Macquarie Island and many people had a somewhat interrupted night but despite this, there was a good attendance at breakfast. Although the seas moderated fractionally during the morning, it was too rough for lectures so it was a leisurely morning with an opportunity to catch up on lost sleep, download photos, read or relax.

Those who looked for birds from the bridge found it was rather slow but despite this a decent range of species were seen including White-capped, Southern Royal, Light-mantled Sooty and Campbell Albatrosses, White-headed Petrel and a lone Wilson’s Storm-Petrel. For some, however, the highlight was a Blue Petrel, a species which is not always seen in New Zealand waters on this expedition.

By late morning, the seas had moderated somewhat and during lunch, we left New Zealand waters and entered Australian waters. As a result, many of the birders were back on the Bridge in the afternoon looking for new birds for their Australian lists. Nothing different was seen but Southern Royal Albatross, Campbell Albatross and White-headed Petrels were new Aussie birds for many.

By the time dinner was called, the seas were continuing to improve and after another great meal prepared by Matt and Connor (despite the inclement conditions for much of the day) many retired to bed in the hope of a better sleep than the previous night.

Day 7: Sunday 19 November
Sandy Bay – Macquarie Island

After the lumpiness of the previous night, the sea was much improved and by the time breakfast was announced, the sea was reasonably benign. Shortly after this had finished we arrived at Buckles Bay where we said farewell to the AAD staff who had travelled with us from Bluff.

Two Zodiacs were launched to take them and their gear ashore to the Australian base and with calm conditions in the bay, this was a straightforward operation. Once the Zodiacs were secured, Rodney asked the Captain to set a course for Sandy Bay and during the transit, he gave us an introduction to Macquarie Island and what we could expect on our landing at Sandy Bay.

By the time the briefing had concluded, we had arrived and everyone was soon ashore, landing at what is surely one of the most amazing places in the world. There were literally thousands of Royal and King Penguins and many people spent the rest of the morning wandering around the beach watching these amazing birds. As long as we moved slowly, the penguins seemed to be extremely tolerant of our presence and there were some fantastic photographic opportunities. 

As well as the beach area, we were also able to follow a short boardwalk which climbed to a colony of Royal Penguins. As on the beach, there were Brown Skuas watching the penguins and occasionally they would dive in and attempt to grab an egg.

Back on the beach, as well as the penguins there were good numbers of Southern Elephant Seals and whilst there were some large males, the beach was dominated by dozens of ‘weaners’ who had only recently been abandoned by their mothers. Most of these were extremely rotund and were quietly dozing on the beach although occasionally they would wake up and look at us with their huge black watery eyes. 

Whilst most of the larger males also spent their time asleep, occasionally a fight would break out between some of them and they would rear up and thump into each other. November is, however, not the time for serious fighting between the seals and these arguments would soon subside and the animals would then go back to sleep.

After an incredible morning ashore, many reluctantly returned to the ship for lunch but the option was there to go back to Sandy Bay in the afternoon and the vast majority of the group did this enjoying more of the wildlife spectacle. 

It truly had been a momentous day, however, there was one final wildlife highlight after dinner when a large male Orca (Killer Whale) was seen swimming along the port side of the ship. Although it disappeared fairly quickly, many people were able to get outside in time to see this apex predator.


Photo credit: L. Gwynn

Photo credit: L. Gwynn

Day 8: Monday 20 November
Lusitania Bay and Buckles Bay – Macquarie Island

For many, the day began with an announcement from Rodney at 06:20 to advise everyone that we were approaching the King Penguin colony at Lusitania Bay and many of those were not already on the Bridge got up to see the spectacle.

This colony is the largest on Macquarie Island and according to the island Ranger staff, it had been a bad breeding season with ‘only’ 30,000 chicks compared with a more typical total of twice this number. Despite this, there were tens of thousands of penguins and as the Captain took the ship along the coast offshore from the colony it was a highly memorable experience with good numbers of birds in the water as well.

By the time breakfast had finished, we were back at Buckles Bay and after a briefing from Rodney, we were all soon ashore. There were four groups each of which was accompanied by staff from the station and whilst the routes each group took was slightly different, all largely visited the same areas. These included the ‘switch back’ board walk which climbed up the side of the hill where we were able to get a great view and also photograph the giant petrels as they flew by. Another stop was the carcass of a recently deceased male elephant seal on the beach where dozens of giant petrels and skuas had gathered to feed.

A popular spot was the Gentoo Penguin colony where we had some great photo opportunities of the adult birds and their chicks. Whilst many of the youngsters were several weeks old, there were others which were a lot younger; indeed there was the odd pair which still had eggs. 

The four groups also all went to the north end of Hasselborough Beach where there were several Eastern Rockhopper Penguins. Although these spent some of the time hidden amongst the boulders, from time to time they would emerge and everyone was able to see their fourth species of penguin for the island. Other highlights included the endemic Macquarie Cormorants, some of which showed exceptionally well.

As well as enjoy the wildlife, we were invited to meet up with some of the AAD staff in their mess hall and enjoy a hot drink, scones and jam. This was a good opportunity to learn more about life on a working base and some also took the chance to buy souvenirs and send postcards. These, however, would arrive long after we had all disembarked the Spirit of Enderby as the next boat which would take out the mail was only due in March 2018!

By 14:00 we were all back at the landing site and all too soon our time on Macquarie Island was over. We had, however, been extraordinarily lucky with the weather and had seen some fantastic wildlife.

After a late lunch, many took the opportunity to relax and download photos and those who persevered on the bridge saw relatively little with Light-mantled Sooty Albatross and Antarctic Prions being amongst the species seen. 


Photo credit: C. Todd

Day 9: Tuesday 21 November
At Sea to Campbell Island

It was a smooth night on the ship as we headed north-eastwards towards Campbell Island and with a full day at sea and moderate conditions, several presentations were organised. The first of these was by Chris Todd who introduced us to the flora of the Subantarctic Islands. Chris showed photos of many of the plants that occurred along our journey and discussed their distribution.

Later in the morning, it was the turn of Rodney who gave us an introduction to Campbell Island. Rodney spoke about the history (including the exploration of the island), geology and wildlife of the island and also the huge project to eradicate pests.

After lunch, a short video about the pest clearance on Macquarie Island was shown. Until relatively recently, there had been a whole host of introduced predators and pests on the island including cats, rabbits, rats, mice and Wekas and these had been systematically removed over a number of years to the point where the island was now free of these introduced species. It was anticipated that this would lead to a significant increase in the number of breeding seabirds over the coming years and species such as the Grey Petrel had already recolonised the island after seemingly being absent for many years.

The final presentation of the day was by Chris Collins who spoke about the cetaceans of the Southern Ocean. Chris explained that there was a wide range of species that could be seen along our route including baleen whales, beaked whales, dolphins etc. 

Whilst many people went to all or some of the lectures, others spent their time on the bridge or outer decks looking for wildlife and with benign conditions, only a gentle breeze and a following sea, conditions were positively pleasant. Whilst the seabirding was a bit slow at times, a good range of species were found including Southern Royal, Campbell, Grey-headed and Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, good numbers of White-headed and Mottled Petrels as well as several Subantarctic Shearwaters. 

Day 10: Wednesday 22 November
Perseverance Harbour – Campbell Island

By late the previous evening, Campbell Island was in sight and in the early hours we entered Perseverance Harbour and spent the rest of the night at anchor. After breakfast, Rodney invited everyone to join him in the lecture theatre where he outlined the plans for the day; he explained that ordinarily there were two options, a long walk which would last all day, or a Zodiac cruise in the morning followed by an excursion in the afternoon which would walk along a boardwalk to Col Lyall but due to the low cloud and poor visibility he had concluded that it would be inadvisable to offer the long walk.

As a result, five Zodiacs were in the water shortly after the briefing concluded and we set off to explore the coastline of Perseverance Harbour. Our principle goal was to find the Campbell Island Flightless Teal and almost as soon as the first boat reached the shore, there was a radio message to alert everyone that a pair of these endemic ducks had been found. 

We had some good views of these as they fed around the seaweed covered rocks of the shore and were also able to get some reasonable looks at the island’s other endemic, the Campbell Island Cormorant, before continuing onwards around the bay. It soon became apparent that it would be a spectacular cruise for teal as over the course of the next couple of hours a total of twenty individuals were found, smashing the record for the number previously seen on Zodiac cruises here.

During a brief landing, many people went to see what is often known as the ‘loneliest tree in the world’ as it is the only large tree for several hundred miles. For the keen birders, however, news that a Campbell Island Snipe had been located caused considerable excitement and many hurried through the tussock grass to the spot where the bird had been sighted. Whilst a reasonable number saw the bird, it soon disappeared between the tussocks by which time it was time to return to the Zodiacs and continue our journey around the bay.

After lunch back on the ship, there were two options with some joining Rodney for more snipe searching whilst everyone else joined the rest of the expedition team on a walk along the Col Lyall boardwalk. This boardwalk was an impressive bit of engineering as it went for over 4kms initially through the Dracophyllum woodland before entering a more scrubby habitat and then eventually emerging onto more open tussock as well as crossing numerous areas of boggy ground and small creeks.

Our goal was to reach the area where the Southern Royal Albatrosses bred and despite encountering a somewhat belligerent sea lion along the track, everyone safely reached the zone where the albatrosses could be found and we had some fantastic views of these huge birds. Although we had seen plenty of them at sea, it was only when we were up close that it was possible to appreciate the huge size of these monster birds.

A little later the ‘snipe hunters’ joined everyone else on the boardwalk and we learnt that they had found about half a dozen birds so everyone was satisfied irrespective of their goals. 

By 18:00 everyone was heading back to the ship and at 18:30 Rodney called a meeting to inform everyone that one of the crew had been taken ill and we were going to divert to Auckland Island so a helicopter could be sent to collect him. Whilst it was a very unfortunate end to a spectacular day, everyone understood the situation and a little while later, we began our journey northwards.


Photo credit: C. Collins

Photo credit: Heritage Expeditions

Day 11: Thursday 23rd November 
At Sea

With our crew member safely stable we arrived at Auckland Island this morning, the helicopters arrived to airlift him and afterwards we continued our journey eastwards towards our next destination. Along the way Lisle and Chris gave a Prion identification masterclass on the bow, separating the many Antarctic, Slender-billed, Fairy and Fulmar Prions, and scoring a bonus Salvin’s Prion as reward for determination. Other creatures seen included Gibson’s Albatross, our first hint of our destination – Antipodean Albatross – and lots of other seabirds of the usual description. 

Day 12: Friday 24th November
At Sea

A day at sea is never a day wasted; today we spent the majority of the light hours on deck watching for seabirds and cetaceans and although we weren’t rewarded with any major surprises, we did have superb views of a range of birds including several prion species, including some nice Slender-billed, lots of albatross of many varieties including 5 types of ‘Great’ albatross, and lots of White-headed, Mottled and Soft-plumaged Petrels. The highlight came in the form of our first good Antipodean Albatross. This rare and extremely range-restricted species only breeds on the Antipodes, our next destination, and as such it was a major target for both the birders, and the nature photographers on board. Besides the deck watching Chris Todd gave an informative lecture on the flora of these islands, and Lisle gave an in-depth exploration of all things photographic to prepare everyone for the up coming islands. 

Day 13: Saturday 25th November
Antipodes and Bounty Islands

By the time that most onboard awoke this morning Anna’s voice was already in their ears telling them that it was time to wake if they wished to join our planned excursion for the morning. Overnight we had arrived off of the Antipodes and we were sat in Ring Dove Bay by sunrise. Ring Dove, being the old name for prions, is very apt here as we began to load the Zodiacs amid a constant procession of Fulmar Prions. Any who had missed this bird until this point needn’t have worried, as it is almost certainly guaranteed here, with good looks to boot. 

Once in the water we all picked up speed and headed toward the coast of the island. Ahead of us we could see tantalising black and white dots, and out of nowhere several medium sized penguins burst from the water ahead of us… Erect-crested Penguins! Arriving at the rocky, wave-cut island we first of all made our way into a small channel. On one side were New Zealand Fur Seals and Southern Elephant Seals, on the other side were lots of very regal, straight-spined Erect-crested Penguins. For some this was the final species in a quest to see all of the world’s penguins so it was cause for celebration indeed and warranted the achieved whoops, cheers, fist-pumps and giggles of excitement. If this wasn’t enough, there was a lone and very approachable Eastern Rockhopper Penguin amongst the lower penguins, giving excellent comparisons of the two species. Once the rockhopper is split from Northern and Southern, which will surely happen soon, the Antipodes will feature two very special penguins indeed. 

Moving on from the penguins we surveyed the coast at length and with great scrutiny, hoping to find yet more birds endemic to this small group of islands. There are two endemic parakeets on the Antipodes, and the first rocky bay gave us our first parakeets in the form of several Reischek’s Parakeets high on the vegetated slopes. We were making great time, with two of our few targets under the belt in the first half an hour or so. Moving further along the rocky, jagged coast we checked every little bay and gully for parakeets, finding lots of Reischek’s for our troubles and a couple of frustratingly brief, high and flighty Antipodes Parakeets. Still, at least we had seen the bird. It was with extreme relief that Lisle called through that his boat had a “low and excellent Antipodes Parakeet” in front of them and that we may all wish to check out this bird… and what a show master it was. Low, in full view and allowing a respectfully close approach this was the dream encounter with this normally very difficult bird. Hundreds of photos were taken and all returned to the ship elated with their experience here. 

Moving onwards with the day we spent around 10 hours at sea, trying our hardest to make up time lost to the evacuation by visiting the Antipodes and Bounties in the same day. The waters were surprisingly quiet in terms of diversity, but the quality was very high indeed. Constant companions included Antipodean Albatross, Fulmar Prion and a handful of Campbell and Black-browed Albatross but the highlight of this transit came in the form of a large-billed, brute-ish prion that featured a bi-coloured dark and blue bill, identifying it as the rarely encountered MacGillivray’s Prion. This meant that with the day priors Salvin’s Prion we had seen all of the world’s currently recognised prion species in a single trip, something that has more than likely never been achieved before. 

Under cloudy, dark, grey skies we approached The Bounty Islands this evening. As such the light began to fade rapidly, meaning a Zodiac cruise wasn’t an option. The beauty of the Bounties though is that a Zodiac cruise isn’t required to enjoy the wealth of the islands. Before we had even reached these isolated rocks the endemic cormorant, Bounty Islands Shag, had approached the vessel multiple times for close neck-turned looks. This is the rarest shag in the world, living only on these wave-battered and storm-smashed islets and nowhere else on the planet. We also enjoyed good views of the tens of thousands of Salvin’s Albatross that call these islands home, as well as endless processions of porpoising Erect-crested Penguins. We also had good looks at more Fulmar Prion here, this subspecies showing a much thicker, stubbier bill than those at the Antipodes. 


Photo credit: C. Collins

Photo credit: L. Gwynn

Photo credit: R. Bester

Day 14: Sunday 26th November
At Sea to Chatham Islands

Today is a big day in any birder’s calendar, for today we enter the waters surveyed and inhabited by two of the world’s rarest seabirds… the Chatham Island Petrel, and Taiko, or Magenta Petrel. Around a dozen or more birders met on the bow of the ship before dawn, setting up for the hoped for glimpse of either of these birds. The early morning passed rapidly, with calm and settled seas giving a wealth of distraction including a huge pod of Southern Right Whale Dolphins, one of the most sought after mammals in these waters. Some very close approaching Long-finned Pilot Whales were most welcome, but were overshadowed by a small pod of Southern Bottlenose Whales. A further small group of large beaked whales remained unidentified but were not Southern Bottlenose Whale, adding to their tantalising mystery. Many encounters with Mottled, White-headed and Soft-plumaged Petrels gave many of us repeated beat-skips in our hearts, hoping for the fabled Magenta. At around 10:00 Chris screamed “What’s this at 1 o’clock?!” And we all turned to be faced with the all-dark back of a large Pteredroma petrel. Lisle instantly shouted “TAIKO!” As all hell broke loose. Bodies flung themselves across the bow, cameras rattled away endlessly and even more than a few tears were shed. The bird gave simply unbeatable views, giving Lisle enough time to run to the PA system, announce the bird’s presence, and return and still have excellent views. Hanging around the ship for 5 minutes or more meant we were able to get undoubtedly the best ever photos of this species at sea. An incredible encounter if ever there was one. 

An experience like this morning is exceptionally difficult to top and it is with little wonder that the remainder of the morning and afternoon were relatively uneventful. That is, if you don’t count the flocks of MacGillivray’s Prions as eventful. Something strange is going on this year and we recorded at least 30 of these globally rare birds, something we will have to look into further. By late evening we had arrived off of the south coast of main Chatham Island and found ourselves amongst literally thousands of White-faced Storm-Petrels, flock after flock passed as we scored our first Chatham and Northern Buller’s Albatrosses. We gave the island one pass before darkness fell and were rewarded with yet another Taiko giving excellent views. The light was low for this one, but to see it chased by a Cook’s Petrel was again very special. 


Photo credit: L. Gwynn

Photo credit: L. Gwynn

Photo credit: L. Gwynn

Day 15: Monday 27th November
Waitangi – Chatham Islands

With the Chathams being 45 minutes ahead of ship time it was another early morning for the team today. We arose early after a peaceful sleep in the sheltered bay of Waitangi and boarded the Zodiacs after a hearty breakfast and collecting our packed lunches. Landing on the sandy beach we instantly had great views of Chatham Islands Oystercatcher before boarding buses and minibuses to travel to the Aoatotra Reserve further down the coast. 

Arriving at the reserve we were given a short talk about the work of the Taiko Trust by Bruce and Liz before being given the opportunity to help their work financially by buying merchandise. Some bought Chatham Albatross t-shirts, others dapper Taiko caps. Most of the group spent a few hours on a hike through the reserve, traversing the valley and making their way to the coast, having lunch by a beautiful and rugged cove. Dense dank fern stands, natural forest and open slopes made for a trek through time seeming like something more akin to Jurassic Park than the modern world. Along the way they found Chatham Island Warbler, Chatham Parakeet, (Chatham) Tui, (Chatham) New Zealand Fantail and lots of the huge Chatham Pigeon. In fact, all three groups scored a complete clean sweep of Chatham Island endemic birds, as well as a handful of Weka on the way back to the town of Waitangi. After a cold or hot drink and a stroll on the beach it was time to head back out to sea. This evening was dedicated to trying to hunt down a Chatham Petrel but something had changed. The wind had died, the sea had calmed and the birds had all but disappeared. The evening was relatively slow, in terms of activity, and we moved on without axillaris. 

Day 16: Tuesday 28th November
Mangere and South East Islands and Pyramid Rock

Another busy day in the islands of New Zealand, it was all eyes on deck as we approached Mangere Island at around 06:00, and all bums in boats by 06:30 when Rodney gave the go ahead to launch Zodiacs for a cruise around the island. Before we had even left the vicinity of the ship we had an incredible photographic session with some ultra amiable Pacific (Northern Buller’s) Albatrosses, giving the best possible photos we could have hoped for. We began the cruise at the only patch of thick vegetation left on the island, the site of the original effort to save the Black Robin from extinction. Unfortunately for us the robin is a denizen of the thickest parts of the forest, and almost never at the forest edge, so the chances of seeing it are practically zero. However, there were plenty of goodies for us to focus our attentions on as we rounded the island. Chatham Warblers were plentiful, as were New Zealand Fantails and Tui. Further along we found Chatham Red-crowned Parakeets and then another parakeet landed in view – with an orange crown – Forbes’s! This is an ultra rare bird, and being able to Zodiac here is just as rare, so it was perhaps only about the third time it has been seen on these expeditions. The morning was well and truly made. As if this hadn’t been enough we managed a fantastic photographic session with a colony of Pitt Shags and some truly excellent views of a low and close Chatham Island Tomtit. Before it was all over though we were alerted by Rodney to a terrifically obliging pair of Shore Plovers on the edge of a wave platform. This is one of the rarest shorebirds in the world, but giving directions to the bird by using two more exceptionally rare waders, Chatham Oystercatchers, is an experience not to be forgotten. We eventually had up close and personal time with these birds, giving the most amazing photographic opportunities. 

After an exceptionally pleasant trip around Mangere we set steam over lunch for South East Island and our final Zodiac cruise of the expedition. With all of the targets accounted for it really was just a matter of enjoying a slow and gentle drive around the island, getting close encounters with more New Zealand Fur Seals including some playful youngsters, yet more obliging Shore Plovers, a handful of Chatham Parakeets, another great Chatham Tomtit and some perpetually comical Little Blue Penguins. Before long though it was time to make our way back to the ship and start our journey back towards Dunedin. Our time in the Chathams wasn’t yet over though; no trip here is complete without a visit to the intimidating jut of rock known as Pyramid Rock. As we approached, the bird numbers increased exponentially until we started our rounds around the island, surrounded by Pacific Albatross and handfuls of Chatham Albatross. Despite good looks at a few individuals and some rafts, as well as the nesting birds on the island, the Chathams remained shy and wary. 

Once we were a few miles off of the Pyramid, Chris and Lisle had a plan to change the minds of the shy Chatham Albatross. With a bucket full of fish guts and a box of fish frames, the heady mix of fish started to be thrown off the back of the ship and everybody assembled on the back deck to watch the show. It took a few minutes but once the birds got a whiff of the chum it was all go – a huge mix of Salvin’s, Chatham, Pacific, Northern and Southern Royal, Pacific and White-capped Albatrosses followed the ship giving arms-length views and some of the best available photographic opportunities of seabirds anywhere in the world. 

Once the show was over we picked up a little speed and headed out to sea. A few of us gathered on the bow this evening to see the Chathams off over calm seas and were rewarded with dozens of Dusky Dolphins, a handful of Southern Right Whale Dolphins mixed in, and a brief but excellent pair of Strap-toothed Beaked Whales just before darkness. 


Photo credit: L. Gwynn

Day 17/18: Wednesday 29th & Thursday 30th November
At Sea to Dunedin, crossing the Chatham Rise

With memories of some of the world’s wildest and most rugged islands fresh in our minds, the final two days of the expedition were a time for reflection and appreciation, diary writing and photo processing, watching birds and cetaceans from the deck and enjoying a relaxed social time with new friends and family. To stimulate minds even further, and give people an insight into what goes into making these islands what they are, and this expedition as successful as it is, a series of lectures and films gave an overview, including the Black Robin story, telling the tale of one of the rarest birds in the world, and Rodney gave a well-attended talk on the behind the scenes logistics that go into running these expeditions. To tantalise minds and imaginations even further, Chris Collins gave a highly detailed and tempting overview of the birds and beasts of the Russian Far East and all that we encounter on our journeys north through the east-Arctic wonderlands. 

The weather remained calm throughout our passage and got calmer so as we travelled westwards toward the New Zealand mainland. Deck watching proved particularly fruitful with plenty of Cook’s Petrels seen and photographed, bountiful Grey-faced Petrels and a good suite of cetaceans including several good groups of Southern Bottlenose Whale, an obliging if brief Sei Whale and several groups of Mesoplodon beaked whales including a group positively identified as Gray’s Beaked Whale.

At the end of our final day at sea Rodney gave a briefing for departures and Chris Todd premiered a slideshow he had worked on throughout the voyage featuring photos from himself, Lisle and Chris Collins, as a visual narrative of the epic journey we had just undertaken. Before long though the sun had set on another day in the Southern Ocean and it was time for celebratory drinks and a spectacular final meal prepared by Matt and Connor, before setting to bed ready for the busy day to come. 

Day 19: Friday 1st December 
Dunedin

Early this morning we found ourselves at rest beside the wharf in Dunedin. After a final breakfast feast it was time to say goodbye to all of our new friends and comrades in adventure before departing.