ORCA Wildlife Report Tales of the Caribbean - SAGA Sapphire 5Th January 2020 – 7Th February 2020
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ORCA Wildlife Report Tales of the Caribbean - SAGA Sapphire 5th January 2020 – 7th February 2020 Your ORCA Wildlife Guides: L – R: Charlotte Kirchner (Wildlife Officer), Terry Carne, Andy Gilbert (Team Leader) and Jan Storie. Charity No: 1141728 www.orcaweb.org.uk Sunday, 05.01.2020: Southampton, United Kingdom The ORCA team met at the cruise terminal in Southampton for the first time, to embark on a month-long journey together. After settling in our cabins, our Team Leader Andy gave us a short tour around the ship and promptly was recognised and welcomed by passengers that he had met on previous cruises with SAGA. After a fantastic dinner, we settled early, to start whale watching in the morning. Monday, 06.01.2020: Day at Sea The upper decks remained closed for the day due to rough seas and wind. Our team improvised by setting up for surveying at deck 9 starboard for the morning, where we spotted a small pod of pilot whales - a great first sighting on this incredible voyage! After lunch, our Wildlife Officer Charlotte gave a presentation on the whales, dolphins and other wildlife we were hoping to see on our journey to the Caribbean in the Britannia Lounge. The remaining day was used to observe wildlife on the port side of deck 9. Tuesday, 07.01.2020: Day at Sea Sightings today increased by 150% to the previous day, as we managed to spot not only short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), just like the day before, but additionally spotted two other cetaceans! The larger whale, which was sighted blowing (exhaling) and rolling through the water, might have been a large rorqual, that we could not identify closer. The second one was a medium-sized cetacean, too big for a dolphin, breaching out of the water twice, leaving us guessing what it might have been. We had to leave the sundeck early, to get ready for the Captain’s cocktail party! Wednesday, 08.01.2020: Day at Sea We had a fantastic morning sailing past Cabo São Vincente, the South-Westernmost point of the European continent. Calm seas promised ideal whale watching conditions! During the early hours, we were able to spot several pods of dolphins, out of which a dozen individuals were identified as short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). One of the pods was particularly easy to spot, as they were feeding below a large group of kittiwakes. Just before lunchtime, we were lucky enough to spot one of the elusive, deep-diving beaked whales. We were unable to identify the species but managed to get a couple of wonderful pictures. Around teatime, after a very calm afternoon with little sightings (some might believe that the crew drill might have scared off the animals), the ORCA team spotted a large rorqual whale, possibly a juvenile fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) just a couple of hundred meters away Charity No: 1141728 www.orcaweb.org.uk from the SAGA Sapphire! Many passengers joined us on deck 12 today and shared their wonderful wildlife experiences with us and helped us to spot cetaceans! Beaked whale Thursday, 09.01.2020: Funchal, Madeira This morning the SAGA Sapphire docked at the wonderful island of Madeira. While passengers headed out on excursions, the ORCA team had a wonderful morning on the island, exploring the fantastic fauna of Funchal. Besides a myriad of island canaries, we were able to spot a female endemic Madeiran wall lizard. Island canary Female Madeiran wall lizard Charity No: 1141728 www.orcaweb.org.uk Back on board, many passengers joined us on the sundeck for the sail away. More than 50 dolphins, most of them short-beaked common dolphins, were escorting us out on the sea, while Madeira, covered in clouds and rainbows, slowly disappeared behind us. Friday, 10.01.2020: Day at Sea After spending the morning with anticipation, it was not one of the ORCA team, but a passenger to spot the first whale of the day! What a sight: An enormous splash up on the horizon, that got larger as we started getting closer. The large white pectoral fins of the acrobatic whale made us identify it as a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Later on, the team’s lunch came to an abrupt end, when a passenger came down to report she had seen large, tall blows at the horizon. Jan was able to spot out and record them, but we couldn’t identify the species of what must have been a large rorqual whale. Half an hour before our watch ended, we were surprised by yet another breaching whale. We could identify it as a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) from a picture taken by our surveyor Terry, that clearly showed the characteristic white armbands. Saturday, 11.01.2020: Day at Sea Already before breakfast, the ORCA team was surprised by the wonderful sight of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) – a first ever sighting of this species for two of our four surveyors! And the day continued to be full of surprises. In the morning a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) was surfacing alarmingly close to the Sapphire. Fortunately, the whale managed to turn around in the last second and gave some impressive views for passengers, crew and our team! Surfacing fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) close to the Sapphire. Charity No: 1141728 www.orcaweb.org.uk As the day went on, the ORCA team, plus their new friend, Rustie Lee, spotted another fin whale, a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and a Leach’s petrel – it does pay off maximising deck watch time after all! Later in the day, we spotted a whale in the distance that was most likely a sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), a close cousin of both fin and minke whale. A fabulous day in the middle of the Atlantic, which ended in a sparkling evening at the second formal night! Sunday, 12.01.2020: Day at Sea The wildlife today was rather winged and sparse. While the ORCA Wildlife Guides spent the whole day out on the deck, the whales just didn’t seem to show up. Passenger Ann spotted the first bird sighting of the day, a great shearwater in the early morning hours! We sighted a couple more of these birds over the course of the day. Passengers spotted the first flying fish of our crossing from the Verandah deck and more kept coming in over the afternoon. The highlight of the day, that made it into the Captain's daily announcement was a catamaran, that was spotted around mid-day. It was the first sign of human life on the Atlantic since we departed from Madeira! Catamaran spotted at around 23.42 South and -36.54 East. Charity No: 1141728 www.orcaweb.org.uk Monday, 13.01.2020: Day at Sea We spotted a very small turtle hiding underneath a clump of seaweed but it didn’t show itself enough to identify the exact species. On the same day a very colourful fish, about the size of a small-medium shark, was briefly seen from the starboard side and subsequently identified as a definite fish rather than a shark. This green and yellow mahi-mahi is sometimes referred to as a dolphin fish in the Caribbean. As we were approaching the Caribbean, we have also seen a number of pieces of loose fishing nets that are referred to as “ghost gear” and sadly these items cause huge issues for marine life as they indiscriminately entangle and kill both fish, marine mammals, and sea birds. It is estimated that around 300,000 marine mammals die from entanglement and bycatch in fishing gear annually. Tuesday, 14.01.2020: Day at Sea In the afternoon the team was surveying from deck 9 and we were surprised by a huge splash which turned out to be a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) coming from a deep dive and breaching half of its body above the surface! Incredible! Sperm whales dive to a maximum of 2,000 meters and feed on deep water squid. Breaching sperm whale. Charity No: 1141728 www.orcaweb.org.uk Perhaps the strangest sighting of the cruise was the flying squid that we saw this afternoon amongst the flying fish. These cephalopods squirt water out to propel themselves out of the water reaching speeds of 11.2 m/s – faster than Usain Bolt’s top speed of 10.31 m/s! Flying squid Wednesday, 15.01.2020: Day at Sea The last few days were fairly sparse with regards to marine mammals and sea birds, as we were crossing over the very deep ocean (more than 5,000m deep at times) and as the sea was choppy, it was difficult to spot far away animals. This deviated our attention to the fabulous flying fish that can be easily seen from the sides of the ship, racing through the air as they escape from our path. Around 60 species inhabit tropical and subtropical waters worldwide and ten of them can be found in the waters our route is taking us. At noon the captain announced that there was a nearby catamaran. The sailors had started their transatlantic crossing from the African coast before New Year’s and after more than a fortnight had passed, we were the first people they got in contact with. Naturally we deviated our course to say hello to them. Charity No: 1141728 www.orcaweb.org.uk Flying fish Transatlantic adventurers on board the catamaran. Thursday, 16.01.2020: Saint John’s, Antigua & Barbuda After one transatlantic crossing and six days on sea, we were finally approaching the island of Antigua, our first stop in the Caribbean! The ORCA team set up for watching before coming into the harbour and a variety of different seabirds were spotted.