Sea Safari Trip Report 15th-17th August 2017

Special Guest: TV Presenter and ORCA Patron - Nigel Marven

ORCA Sea Safari Guides: Andy Gilbert, Richard Allcorn, Andy Osborn, Hazel Pittwood, Katrina Gillett, Tracy Guild,

Emma Juxon, Marion Smith, Trudy Russell

This was the second trip of the year with special guest Nigel Marven. Sadly the last trip he was on in June was a

bit of a bumpy ride, and with decks closed due to the bad weather we were pleased to see that this August trip

was forecast blue skies and calm seas. With extremely experienced and knowledgeable guides and 90 whale and

dolphin enthusiasts we were ready with anticipation as to what the Bay of Biscay had in store for us.

The evening started off with a short

briefing out on deck as we left Portsmouth.

As we passed the Naval dockyard we saw

them preparing for the arrival of the

Queen Elizabeth II aircraft carrier, which

was due to arrive into Portsmouth the

following morning. As we were having

dinner we could see the aircraft carrier

that was stationed off the south of the Isle

of Wight. Following dinner our ORCA guide

Andy Gilbert gave our guides a brief

overview of what we were likely to see

over the next few days, explaining how the

bathymetry of the Bay influences the

species that we see. This was then

followed by a very informative and Nigel Marven giving his talk to ORCA Sea Safari passengers

ORCA Guides with special guest - Nigel Marven

Credit: Mark Rees

Credit: Tracy Guild

Sea Safari Trip Report 15th-17th August 2017

interactive talk from our special guest Nigel Marven, best known for his TV series Prehistoric Park, about his

travels and filming not just with cetaceans but with all marine life including swimming with gray whales, belugas

and nautilus.

The following morning we were up on deck at 5.30am eager for what the day had in store. The sea state was

really good with no white water in sight and as the sun started to rise, it was clear we were in store for a nice day

on deck. We hadn’t even been up on deck

for 10 minutes before there was a shout of

sighting, as a pod of 15 or so common

dolphins came breaching in towards the

side of the ship. This was shortly followed

by the sighting of a minke whale on the

port side of the ship, its blow hole and fin

clearly visible before it sank beneath the

waves. We were at the top of the

continental slope at this point, an area that

divides the coastal zone on the continental

shelf (200m in depth) from the deep

pelagic zone (up to 4000m in depth). It is

an area of nutrient rich upwelling currents

that cause a mass accumulation of

cetaceans and a variety of species due to the high food availability here, particularly in summer months where the

nutrients bloom in the warmer waters and higher levels of sunlight. Over the next two hours we had 32 sightings

of dolphins with a total of 328 animals, plus two sightings of sunfish. The dolphins were a mix of two species

bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. They were putting on quite a show, and causing a lot of excitement

and getting the blood rushing as we were all running from one side of the ship to the other! There was a lot of

breaching activity and at times a flock of sea birds

were a good indication of feeding activity as

shearwaters, gannets and gull species were flying in

a circle around the area or the gannets were diving

providing a good indication that food was present. In

these areas dolphins were seen under the birds,

moving like a dart in the water and creating much

splashing as they fed on fish.

The sightings continued as we headed off the continental

slope and into the deeper waters of the Bay. It was 08:30

when we had our first sighting of a whale blow about half

way out to the horizon, before the sea suddenly became

alive with whales. Over the next half hour we had 9 more

Credit: Edward Butler

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

Credit: Paul Soulby

Sun fish (Mola mola)

Credit: Paul Soulby

Can you spot the blow?

Sea Safari Trip Report 15th-17th August 2017

sightings of whales, 4 of which we could correctly identify to fin whales, with the others we didn’t see enough of

the animal to identify it to species. These whale sightings were interspersed with common dolphins and as the

morning progressed none of us knew which side to be on as there were shouts of ‘sighting!’ continuously

occurring from all sides. As we travelled further into the Bay we had a further 39 sightings before lunch of which

20 were whales, the majority of which were fin whales and a few that were quite close to the ship giving us a

great view of how they glide through the water and showing their blow, long sleek back, small dorsal fin in

comparison to their size before sinking beneath the waves. At this time of year it is believed that fin whales are on

a migration route through the Bay of Biscay, with August and September being the peak months for sightings of

these majestic animals. It is not fully understood where they come from

or where they go, but the continental slope within the Bay provides an

excellent food source due to the nutrient rich upwelling’s.

We knew that this area was rich in food as not only were we seeing

whales, dolphins and a variety of bird life but we were also seeing the fish

themselves. Tuna were leaping out the water, looking almost like small

dolphins. The distinctive characteristic that enabled us to determine that

Credit: Paul Soulby

Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). Can you see the mist left over from its blow?

Credit: Edward Butler Credit: Edward Butler

Tuna

Credit: Paul Soulby

Sea Safari Trip Report 15th-17th August 2017

they were fish was direction of the tail whereas cetaceans have horizontal tails, fish like tuna have vertical tails. As

lunchtime arrived things started to quieten within the bay with sightings becoming less frequent as we were now

in the deepest part of the bay. At 13:15 we knew that we were closing in on the deep sea canyons by Spain as we

had our first sighting of Cuvier’s beaked whales, 3 in total seen half way out to the horizon, including a male

(noticeable by its lighter skin tone and scarring) with two females (darker in colour). Beaked whales are a rare

sight in most parts of the world due to their elusive behaviour, and long dives for their food. The Bay of Biscay is

one of the few places in the world where you can see beaked whales, such as Cuvier’s beaked whale frequently,

particularly on the southern and northern shelves where deep sea canyons are present.

Tuna was becoming a frequent sight too with schools of tuna breaching out the water and causing a lot of

commotion on the sea surface. This was followed by our first sighting of striped dolphins, a cousin to the

common dolphin with their grey bodies and black stripes going from their eye to their tail stock and to their

pectoral fins. We also saw a few rare melanistic common dolphins, a real treat! Melanism is a genetic condition

that causes the darkening of the skin due to increased amounts of melanin in the skin tissue.

By 14:00 the sea had calmed to a glorious sea state 1, the sun was shining and it was a gloriously warm and sunny

day as we were on our approach over the canyons to Santander. Suddenly we had a shout of dolphins off the

starboard side; they were about 900m (half way to the horizon) in a disturbed patch of water. Looking through

binoculars there was much confusion as to whether the dolphins were Risso’s dolphins or pilot whales. After

looking through many people’s photos it was believed that actually both Risso’s dolphins and pilot whales were

in the same pod and were feeding. These two species are known to group together in singular pods especially

when feeding. This was a great sighting and brought our

species numbers up to 7 species.

Half hour later and we had our second sighting of Cuvier’s

beaked whales, two in total close in on the port side

showing their pale white faces and scarred bodies. These

animals (particularly the males) are scarred due to them

fighting with one another for territory and also for the

attention of females. This sighting occurred right over the

canyons and the calm waters gave us a great view of them.

By 15:00 we were back over the shallow zone as we saw

Melanistic common dolphin

Credit: Graham & Sharon Skingle

Credit: Graham & Sharon Skingle

Striped dolphin

Sea Safari Trip Report 15th-17th August 2017

Santander on the horizon throughout the last hour and half on deck we had a mix of common, striped and

bottlenose dolphins as well as more tuna and a couple of ocean sunfish. All in all it was an amazing day in the Bay

and we were thoroughly looking forward to the quiz tonight and to see what tomorrow has in store.

The following morning we awoke to a sea state 4 and a bit of a swell. We had just past the northern slope and

were now in the shallow zone. This meant that the chance of seeing the larger whales had dramatically reduced

but today was a chance to see more coastal species such as a variety of dolphins, harbour porpoises as well as

minke whales.

Our morning started off with common dolphins coming in

towards the ship on both sides, for the first hour of the morning

they just kept coming. At 07:00 we then had a minke whale close

in to the ship, its small bushy blow visible against the very grey

coloured sea and sky. Sadly by this point the rain had started

coming down and the visibility started to reduce dramatically as

we approached the Pointe du Raz on the coast of Brittany.

Despite the fog we were still seeing common dolphins right up

close to the ship.

By 10:00 the fog had started to clear as we went through Ile

D’ouessant off the north-west coast of Brittany. It was one of the occasions that the ship went close into the

coastline and through the islands, an area renowned for its bottlenose and Risso’s dolphins as well as its minke

whales. We were in luck! Here we were sheltered from the wind and so the sea had completely calmed to a sea

state 2. Suddenly someone shouted that they could see splashing close to the shoreline. On closer inspection

through the binoculars these were identified as bottlenose dolphins. 10 animals were seen to begin with but as

Credit: Graham & Sharon Skingle

Santander

Credit: Graham & Sharon Skingle

Great Shearwater

Sea Safari Trip Report 15th-17th August 2017

we continued up the coast we saw more and more, very

close to the shore travelling along the coast. We

estimated there to be about 18-20 animals in total. We

also got some great views of sunfish which were clear to

see in the calm water here. By the time we had passed

through the islands the frequency of the sightings were

dropping off. An hour after passing through the islands,

as we were giving our debrief talk, we spotted a huge raft

of birds both sat on water, flying and diving. It was such a

large group of them that we could see them far off in

front of the ship and we could keep watch for any

cetacean activity. Once in line with the flock we could see

fast moving fins within the mix of diving birds. On closer

inspection we saw at least 6 harbour porpoise (the smallest cetacean species seen in European waters) having a

feeding frenzy, their triangular shaped dorsal fins clearly distinguishable. There were so many birds here it was

the largest gathering that many of the experienced guides had ever seen. Seeing the harbour porpoise’s meant

we had now seen an impressive 9 cetacean species in total on this sea safari. Our day ended with another two

sightings of common dolphins right in the heart of the English Channel. By this point the rain had completely

cleared and it was a pleasant day as we travelled towards our end point of Plymouth.

Overall, it was an incredible trip with sightings galore. A big thank you goes out to Nigel Marven for his captivating

talk about his adventures with marine life, as well as joining us out on deck throughout our trip sharing his

experiences and talking to all passengers being particularly attentive to the children that joined us. Also a massive

thank you to all the passengers that joined us on this sea safari I hope you had as much fun as us guides did.

Credit: Graham & Sharon Skingle

Shearwater sp.

Sea Safari Trip Report 15th-17th August 2017

Birds Seen

Sandwich Tern

Arctic Tern

Manx Shearwater

Balearic Shearwater

Sooty Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Cory's Shearwater

Shag

Cormorant

Northern Gannet

Northern Fulmar

Black headed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Whimbrel

Common Scoter

Guillemot

Razorbill

Great Skua

Arctic Skua

European Storm Petrel