Cruising for Wildlife.


Cruising holidays, love 'em or hate 'em? If you're a birder it's not always clear cut. Ann and I went on a five week cruise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary, but we're both birders, the route we chose (Buenos Aires to Los Angeles) was deliberate, and enabled us to see twelve species of Albatross and much more besides. The point is that the typical image of a cruising holiday is normally suited to a person somewhat less likely to be interested in wildlife (ship's captains will slow down to enable people to see dolphins if they happen to be close by, but that's about it). There are many specialist cruises both on the oceans and rivers such as the Amazon, several of which we have undertaken, but they have sadly become very expensive as costs have risen and the pound falls against the dollar. If you can afford them they are unbeatable in terms of species seen and sheer experience, plus most people on board will be like-minded (if you don't know them already).

 But don't reject ordinary cruises. You probably won't enjoy the cruise itself but your spouse might. There are few logistics to worry about and all your food, accomodation, transfers are paid for. Sometimes flights are included it the price, and tips may be included or you can pay a reduced amount if you so wish. The only real issue is you can't say you will definitely visit a particular island, so don't target anything on an island. (this happened to us in the Falklands but I had a scope on board so still got the endemic Steamer-ducks even if I couldn't photograph them -strange that it was stable enough to use a scope but "too rough" to put a tender down!)

The biggest problem, if you decide on a cruise, is where to go. If you are an avid lister, (except seabirds), then don't even think about it, whilst it is possible to see large numbers of birds it is very difficult to target more than one or two. However, to us, that's part of the fun, never knowing exactly what you will see, but there'll be some new species. Seabirds can be concentrated in certain areas, such as the Humboldt Current, or around islands, but generally they are found in colder waters or where there are upwellings or seamounts, because that's where the food is. Large areas of the tropics can be devoid of seabirds and it is possible, especially in the Pacific, to sail for a whole day and see nothing at all. If you are happy trusting to luck, you might come across a whale carcass. We did so on a cruise in the Pacific and had Tiger Sharks, numerous shearwaters and storm-petrels, and noddies and boobies, including two rare species which are difficult, namely Polynesian Storm-petrel and Grey-backed Tern. However, this is unlikely on a regular cruise ship, and they certainly won't stop to investigate! Obviously cruises to Antarctica, Alaska, the Humboldt Current, Galapagos etc. will offer plenty of seabirds, other areas will probably also but in lesser numbers. 

We did a cruise from Kenya to Egypt via the Seychelles, the main reason for it was Jouanin's Petrel, and we only saw two rather distantly, but we saw Whale Shark, several species of Flying Fish, and a number of northbound migrants such as Bruce's Green Pigeon. In addition we saw most of the Seychelles endemics, including the endangered Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher. Two we missed because the ship re-routed due to Somali pirate activity, so we didn't visit the main island. This is why if you need to "clean up" don't go on a cruise. Incidentally should you find yourself in the harbour in Jordan  and don't want to go on an expensive tour to Petra, there is an Arabian Tropicbird colony (a proposed split from Red-billed) at the back of the harbour.

Unfortunately I have little or no experience of the more popular cruises, such as The Carribean or Mediterranean, they may be good for seabirds but probably not in large numbers. Typically ships spend a day in a port and offer excursions, these are occasionally good for wildlife, dependent on where you are. They are often expensive though, but there are often cheaper "copies" available on the internet, or you can hire a car or taxis. We hired a guide for a day in Argentina, because I particularly wanted to see Chubut Steamer Duck which is endemic to that small area. We saw it at the Magellanic Penguin colony where the ship ran a tour to, but we got there about two hours before the tour buses so had the area to ourselves until the crowds arrived. We then visited another two or three sites on the way back, and probably saw about fifty species to add to the trip list. At La Digue (Seychelles) I walked to the site for the flycatcher, it was about half a mile from the dock, and saw two males and several females.

In Costa Rica we went on a general tour visiting several spots, these tours aren't usually too pricey. It is impossible not to see wildlife in Costa Rica, but we didn't expect a Bare-throated Tiger-heron to drop in to the small stream next to the cafe where we stopped for lunch. So it's all a bit pot-luck, but a bit of research works wonders. If you're not interested in fine dining/shows etc. many cruise lines have buffets or other forms of entertainment, including gambling, plus there's plenty of shopping if you allow your spouse to spend on non-birding items. And don't neglect the hours of darkness; Ann called me to identify some birds at 2am, feeding on squid in the ship's lights - they were Swallow-tailed Gulls. Storm-petrels are often attracted to ship's lights and will land on deck, they depart before morning and are rarely injured, plus an early morning walk before the joggers get up will usually result in a few birds hitching a lift if you're anywhere near a migration route. 

To sum up, cruising for birds is largely trial and error, but the rewards can be great, and if you or your partner, friend etc. have even a slight hankering towards a "normal" holiday, it can be a great compromise. Some cruise ship operators are looking more to wildlife oriented destinations but these tend to be somewhat expensive, however you will probably see more. Personally I would always go for really specialist trips on small ships, but I realise they are far beyond many people's budgets, sadly they are ours now I'm retired, but you never know.....

If you might be interested in our South American cruise click on this link https://www.aabirdpix.com/Trips/humboldt.htm



Just to wet your appetite further (or rub it in if you like!) I have seen the following species either on or circling for some time whilst on ships- Little Curlew, Pacific Golden Plover, Snowy Sheathbill, Striated Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Red-footed Boobies, Bruce's Green Pigeon, Arctic Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat, Grey Bunting, Chestnut-eared Starling and Middendorf's Grasshopper Warbler. There are doubtless others which I've forgotten, but dependent on the time of travel there may be none.

 

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