Biscay trip 27-30.8.07

Juvenile Woodchat Shrike, Santurtzi, Spain (digiscope)

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike, Santurtzi, Spain (digiscope)




Common Dolphins (DSLR)

Reed Warbler on the Monkey Island of the Pride of Bilbao (DSLR)

Two adult Sabine's Gulls (DSLR)

Two Great Skuas (DSLR)

Gannet (DSLR)

Fin Whale blow in the sunset. You can tell how windy it was by the stupid angle of this blow, almost looking like the bushy low blow of a Sperm Whale to the unwary (DSLR)

I'm just back from guiding a Company of Whales trip with Micky Maher on the Pride of Bilbao. It was a wee bit choppy from start to finish so our sightings were somewhat limited. However, the dull weather brought some cool migrants to the hill in the port at Santurtzi. Despite the weather, a good time was had by all I hope. Here is what we saw:

9 Fin Whales (15 unidentified large rorquals),
1 Minke Whale,
6 Bottle-nosed Dolphins,
139 Common Dolphins,
7 Striped Dolphins,
2 Ocean Sunfish,
11 Sabine's Gulls,
4 Sooty Shearwaters,
1 Manx Shearwater,
37 Great Skuas,
2 Arctic Skuas,
21 Storm Petrels.
Migrants recorded on or from the ship included
50 Shoveler,
5 Grey Herons,
3 Ringed Plovers,
1 Reed Warbler,
1 Willow Warbler,
1 Chiffchaff,
1 White Wagtail
3 Red Admirals.

In Spain we had
Woodchat Shrike,
14 Red-backed Shrikes,
2 Hoopoes,
3 Wrynecks,
3 Cirl Buntings,
5 Serins,
Black Redstart,
Melodious Warbler,
Tree Pipit,
Whinchat,
Pied Flycatcher and Spotted Flycatcher.

Click the pix!