Summary by Simon Cook, tour leader.

 From Ushuaia, Argentina to Cape Verde Islands, off West Africa

18^th March – 25^th April

 

The Atlantic Odyssey is one of the best ocean voyages in the world, as the ideally-suited expedition cruise ship Professor Molchanov repositions from Antarctica to Europe.  There are outstanding opportunities to see over 40 species of tubenoses, plus many cetaceans and the chance of endemic landbirds on several of the remote islands visited too.  This was the third Atlantic Odyssey for leader Simon Cook.

 

Pre-cruise birding around Ushuaia was very rewarding and provided encounters with Green-backed Firecrown, Austral Parakeets, Magellanic Woodpeckers, White-throated Caracaras, Magellanic and Gentoo Penguins, Andean Condors, Patagonian Tyrant and Austral Pygmy Owls.  The Drake Passage, between Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula, provided many good seabirds – Soft-plumaged, Kerguelen, Westland and White-headed Petrels plus a single Mottled Petrel. There were albatrosses too, including Black-browed, Grey-headed, Wandering, Southern Royal and Light-mantled Sooty.  Hourglass Dolphins and Fin Whales were also seen.  In Antarctica, Gentoo, Adelie and Chinstrap Penguins were supplemented by Dwarf  and Antarctic Minke, Humpback, Killer and two Southern Right Whales plus many Snow Petrels.

 

En route to South Georgia we had a very close encounter with two Blue Whales; an unexpected Rufous-collared Sparrow (at sea!) and Fairy Prions were also seen. The spectacular island exceeded expectations, with dramatic land and ice-scapes providing a backdrop to countless King Penguins plus Macaroni Penguins, and the (South Georgia) Pipit, Shag, Diving-Petrel and Pintail, newly-hatched Wandering Albatross chicks and gamming adults.  A single, hauled-out Leopard Seal was a surprise find.

 

The journey to Gough Island took several days but was full of interest as well as new birds, amongst which were Sooty and Shy Albatross, Subantarctic Little Shearwater, Great-winged, Grey and Atlantic Petrels and two Cattle Egrets; one landed on the ship and was taken into care.  Cetaceans included Sei, Long-finned Pilot and Southern Bottlenose Whales and an incredible 50-100 Southern Right Whale Dolphins.  Gough Island is very impressive and a zodiac cruise enabled us to see both of the endemic species, Gough Moorhen and Gough Bunting, plus large numbers of the distinctive Northern Rockhopper Penguin and Subantarctic Fur Seal.  The seas around Gough and the Tristan group were alive with thousands of seabirds; Atlantic Yellow-nosed and Tristan Albatross being new for the trip.  Some lucky people saw two Tristan Thrushes on Tristan itself, perhaps the first seen  here by birders for 10 years.  Although it was not possible to land, we were close enough to the other islands to see Inaccessible Buntings and another thrush on Nightingale.

 

On the way to St. Helena we saw many Flying Squid and, once ashore, we had excellent views of the endemic St. Helena Plover.  Two trips on a local boat were excellent for seabirds such as Brown and Black Noddies, Madeiran Storm-Petrels, Red-billed Tropicbirds and Sooty Terns.  Other wildlife that we had extremely close views of were Pantropical Spotted Dolphins and a Manta Ray.  Our Cattle Egret was released successfully outside Napoleon’s home. 

 

At Ascension Island, the offshore islet of Boatswain Bird Island was packed with seabirds. Thousands of endemic Ascension Frigatebirds were noted, along with large numbers of Masked Boobies and noddies plus small numbers of White-tailed Tropicbirds and Red-footed Boobies.  Atlantic Green Turtles were also seen and a visit was made to the large Sooty Tern colony.

 

Our time en route to the Cape Verde Islands included a transit over the Romanche Fracture Zone, an area that combined submarine seamounts (one rising to within 100 metres of the surface) and a trench that at its deepest point was 24,575’/7,728 metres below the surface!  The wildlife on this leg was very varied: Portuguese Man-of-war, Hammerhead Shark, Manta Ray, Leatherback Turtle, another pelagic Cattle Egret, Leach’s, Madeiran and White-faced Storm-petrels, Boyd’s, Cory’s and Cape Verde Shearwaters, Bulwer’s and Fea’s Petrels plus Sabine’s Gull. There were exciting cetaceans too, such as Spinner, Rough-toothed, Risso’s and Clymene Dolphins, as well as Humpback, Short-finned Pilot, Killer, False Killer, Sowerby’s Beaked and Blainville’s Beaked Whales.

 

The island of Fogo, a conical volcano rising from the sea, was our first stop in the Cape Verde Islands.  The island tour added Cape Verde Swift, Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Spectacled Warbler and Spanish Sparrow to our species list.  On the nearby island of Santiago, where the cruise ended, the first (endemic) Iago Sparrow was seen before our bus even stopped at the site!  A male later repeatedly attacked it’s own reflection in wing mirrors and we had excellent views of Buzzard and Cape Verde Warbler.  The new reservoir was also visited and produced Spoonbills and a vagrant Squacco Heron; Kentish Plovers and more very confiding sparrow-larks finished off the day and our trip.

 

By any standards the trip was an outstanding success and it comes highly recommended from past participants to all potential future participants!

 

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WildWings Atlantic Odyssey 2009

 

Wildlife List – Ushuaia to Ascension Island

 

 

This is the list of the wildlife seen during the first part of the 2009 Atlantic Odyssey expedition cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Ascension Island, South Atlantic, between 18th March and  17th April.  Sightings include all those around Ushuaia and at all locations visited i.e. the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, Gough Island, Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, St. Helena and Ascension Island. For relevant species, the order, taxonomy and nomenclature follow A Guide to Antarctic Wildlife by Hadoram Shirihai (A & C Black 2008).

 

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Birds

 

Great Grebe -------------------------- Podiceps major

King Penguin ------------- Aptenodytes patagonicus

Gentoo Penguin -------------------- Pygoscelis papua

Adelie Penguin ------------------------------ P. adeliae

Chinstrap Penguin --------------------- P. Antarctica

Rockhopper Penguin -------- Eudyptes chrysocome

North. Rockhopper Penguin ----------- E. moseleyi

Macaroni Penguin ----------------- E.  chrysolophus

Magellanic Penguin ----- Spheniscus magellanicus

Wandering Albatross ----------- Diomedea exulans

Tristan Albatross ---------------------- D. dabbenena

Southern Royal Albatross --------- D.  epomophora

Black-browed Alb. -----Thalassarche melanophris

Shy Albatross --------------------------------- T. cauta

Grey-headed Albatross ------------- T. chrysostoma

Atl Yellow-nosed Alb. ----------- T. chlororhynchos

Sooty Albatross ------------------- Phoebetria  fusca

Light-mantled S. Albatross ---------- P. palpebrata

Southern Giant Petrel ----- Macronectes giganteus

Northern Giant Petrel ----------------------- M. halli

Southern Fulmar------------ Fulmarus glacialoides

Cape Petrel (Pintado) ------------- Daption capense

Lesser Snow Petrel ------ Pagodroma [nivea] nivea

Great-winged Petrel ------ Pterodroma macroptera

White-headed Petrel ---------------------- P. lessonii

Atlantic Petrel ------------------------------- P. incerta

Kerguelen Petrel ---------------------- P. brevirostris

Soft-plumaged Petrel ----------------------- P. mollis

Mottled Petrel ------------------------- P. inexpectata

Blue Petrel ---------------------- Halobaena caerulea

Broad-billed Prion --------------- Pachyptila  vittata

Antarctic Prion ---------------------------- P. desolata

Slender-billed Prion ---------------------- P. belcheri

Fairy Prion ------------------------------------ P. turtur

Bulwer's Petrel ------------------- Bulweria bulwerii

White-chinned Petrel -- Procellaria aequinoctialis

Spectacled Petrel -------------------- P. conspicillata

Westland Petrel ----------------------- P. westlandica

Grey Petrel ---------------------------------- P. cinerea

Great Shearwater ------------------- Puffinus  gravis

Sooty Shearwater --------------------------- P. griseus

Subantarctic Little Shearwater --------- P. elegans

White-faced Storm-petrel --- Pelagodroma marina

Wilson’s Storm-petrel --------- Oceanites oceanicus

Grey-backed Storm-petrel --------- Garrodia nereis

Black-bellied Storm-petrel -------- Fregetta tropica

White-bellied Storm-petrel -------------- F. grallaria

Madeiran Storm-petrel ------- Oceanodroma castro

Leach’s Storm-petrel ------------------- O. leucorhoa

South Georgian Diving-Petrel --- Pelecanoides georgicus

Common Diving-Petrel ----------------- P. urinatrix

Red-billed Tropicbird -------- Phaethon aethereus

White-tailed Tropicbird ----------------- P. lepturus

Masked Booby ------------------------ Sula dactylatra

Red-footed Booby ------------------------------ S. sula

Brown Booby --------------------------- S. leucogaster

Olivaceous Comorant --- Phalacrocorax olivaceus

Imperial Shag ------------------------------ P. atriceps

Antarctic Shag--------------------- P. bransfieldensis

South Georgia Shag ------------------- P. georgianus

Rock Shag ---------------------------- P. magellanicus

Cattle Egret ----------------------------- Bubulcus ibis

Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

Ascension Frigatebird --------------- Fregata aquila

Upland Goose ---------------------- Chloephaga picta

Kelp Goose ---------------------------------- C. hybrida

Flying Steamer-Duck ----- Tachyeres patachonicus

Flightless Steamer-Duck ----------------- T. pteneres

Crested Duck ------------ Lophonetta specularioides

Chiloe Wigeon ------------------------- Anas sibilatrix

Speckled Teal --------------------------- A. flavirostris

South Georgia Pintail--------- A. georgica georgica

Yellow-billed Pintail ------- A. georgica spinicauda

Andean Condor -----------------------Vultur gryphus

Turkey Vulture ----------------------- Cathartes aura

Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle --- Geranoaetus melanoleucus

Chimango Caracara ------------- Milvago chimango

White-throated Caracara -- Polyborus albogularis

Southern Caracara --------------- Caracara plancus

American Kestrel ---------------------- Falco sparverius

Gough Moorhen ---------------------- Gallinula  comeri

Magellanic Oystercatcher -- Haematopus leucopodus

Blackish Oystercatcher  -------------------------- H. ater

St Helena Plover (Wirebird) -- Charadrius sanctaehelenae

Rufous-chested Dotterel ------- Charadrius modestus

Southern Lapwing ------------------ Vanellus chilensis

White-rumped Sandpiper -------- Calidris fuscicollis

Pale-faced Sheathbill ---------------------- Chionis alba

Brown Skua ----------Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi

Tristan Skua -------------------------------C. a hamiltoni

South Polar Skua ---------------------- C. maccormicki

Chilean Skua --------------------------------- C. chilensis

Pomarine Skua ------------- Stercorarius pomararinus

Long-tailed Skua ------------------------ S. longicaudus

Dolphin Gull ----------------------------- Larus scoresbii

Kelp Gull --------------------------------- L. dominicanus

Brown-hooded Gull ------------------- L. maculipennis

Arctic Tern --------------------------- Sterna paradisaea

Antarctic Tern ----------------------------------- S. vittata

South American Tern ----------------- S. hirundinacea

Sooty Tern -------------------------------------- S. fuscata

White Tern ------------------------------------- Gygis alba

Black Noddy ----------------------------- Anous minutus

Brown Noddy ---------------------------------- A. stolidus

Austral Parakeet ---------- Enicognathus ferrugineus

Austral Pygmy Owl --------------- Glaucidium nanum

Green-backed Firecrown - Sephanoides sephanoides

Ringed Kingfisher ---------------------- Ceryle torquata

Magellanic Woodpecker  Campephilus magellanicus

Bar-winged Cinclodes ---------------- Cinclodes fuscus

Blackish Cinclodes ----------------------- C. antarcticus

Dark-bellied Cinclodes ----------------- C. patagonicus

Thorn-tailed Rayadito -------- Aphrastura spinicauda

White-throated Treerunner - Pygarrhichas albogularis

Fire-eyed Diucon-------------------------- Pyrope pyrope

Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant – Muscisaxicola macloviana    

Patagonian Tyrant --------- Coloramphus parvirostris

Tufted Tit-tyrant -------------------- Anairetes parulus

White-crested Elaenia ---------------- Elaenia albiceps

Chilean Swallow --------------- Tachycineta leucopyga

South Georgia Pipit --------------- Anthus antarcticus

House Wren -------------------------- Troglodytes aedon

Austral Thrush --------------------- Turdus falcklandii

Tristan Thrush --------------------- Nesocichla eremita

Austral Blackbird -------------------- Curaeus curaeus

Patagonian Sierra-finch ------ Phrygilus patagonicus

Yellow-bridled Finch -- Melanodera xanthogramma

Long-tailed Meadowlark -------------- Sturnella loyca

House Sparrow ---------------------- Passer domesticus

Gough Bunting ------------------- Rowettia goughensis

Inaccessible Bunting --------------- Neospiza acunhae

 

Introductions

 

Ring-necked Pheasant -------- Phasianus colchicus

Barred Ground-Dove --------------- Geopelia striata

Common Waxbill --------------------- Estrilda astrild

Madagascar Fody ------- Foudia madagascariensis

Common (Indian) Mynah ------ Acridotheres tristis

Java Sparrow ------------------------ Padda oryzivora

Yellow Canary ------------------- Serinus flaviventris

 

Marine Mammals

 

Blue Whale ------------------ Balaenoptera musculus

Fin Whale ---------------------------------- B. physalus

Antarctic Minke Whale ------------- B. bonaerensis

Dwarf Minke Whale ----------------------- B. species

Sei Whale ----------------------------------- B. borealis

Humpback Whale -------- Megaptera novaeangliae

Southern Right Whale -------- Eubalaena australis

Sperm Whale -------------- Physeter macrocephalus

Southern Bottlenose Whale - Hyperoodon planifrons

Beaked whale ----------------------------- Unidentified

Killer Whale------------------------------ Orcinus orca

Long-finned Pilot Whale ------ Globicephala melas

Hourglass Dolphin ------ Lagenorhynchus cruciger

Southern Right Whale Dolphin -- Lissodelphis peronii

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin ---------- S.  attenuata

C Bottlenose Dolphin ------------ Tursiops truncatus

South American Sea Lion -------- Otaria flavescens

Antarctic Fur Seal ----------- Arctocephalus  gazelle

Subantarctic Fur Seal ------------------- A. tropicalis

Weddell Seal ---------------- Leptonychotes weddellii

Leopard Seal ---------------------- Hydrurga leptonyx

Southern Elephant Seal ---------- Mirounga leonine

Crabeater Seal --------------- Lobodon carcinophaga

 

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Terrestrial Mammals

 

Reindeer ---------------------------- Rangifer tarandus

Eurasian Rabbit ------------- Oryctolagus cuniculus

House Mouse --------------------------- Mus musculus

 

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Butterflies

 

Southern Painted Lady -------- Vanessa brasiliensis

African Monarch ----------------- Danaus chrysippus

Diadem Butterfly -------------- Hypolimnas misippus

Long-tailed Blue ------------------- Lampides boeticus

 

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Selected other Wildlife

 

Shark species

Flying Squid species

Flying Fish species

Krill species

Sailfish species ----------------------- family Xiphiidae

Atlantic Green Turtle ----------------Chelonia mydas

Manta Ray ----------------------------- Manta birostris

Blackfish ------------------------------ Melichthys niger

Java Gecko (St Helena) ----- Hemidactylus frenatus

 

 

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Wildlife List Part 2– Ascension Island to the Cape Verde Islands

 

 

This is the list of wildlife seen during the second part of the 2009 Atlantic Odyssey expedition cruise from Ascension Island, South Atlantic to the Cape Verde Islands, off West Africa, between 18^th and 25^th April 2009. The list covers sightings during the five days at sea and those ashore during visits to the islands of Fogo and Santiago.

 

 

 

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Birds

 

Fea’s Petrel ---------------------- Pterodroma feae

Bulwer's Petrel ---------------- Bulweria bulwerii

Cory's Shearwater ------- Calonectris diomedea                                                                       

Cape Verde Shearwater ----------- C. edwardsii

Boyd’s Shearwater ----------------------- P. boydi

Sooty Shearwater --------------- Puffinus griseus

White-faced Storm-petrel - Pelagodroma marina

Madeiran Storm-petrel -- Oceanodroma castro

Leach’s Storm-petrel -------------- O. leucorhoa

Red-billed Tropicbird ----- Phaethon aethereus

White-tailed Tropicbird --------------P. lepturus

Masked Booby -------------------- Sula dactylatra

Brown Booby ----------------------- S. leucogaster

Red-footed Booby -------------------------- S. sula

Squacco Heron ----------------- Ardeola ralloides

Cattle Egret ------------------------- Bubulcus ibis

Little Egret ----------------------- Egretta garzetta

Great White Egret ------------------------- E alba

Grey Heron ----------------------------- A. cinerea

Ascension Frigatebird ---------- Fregata aquila

Eurasian Spoonbill --------- Platalea leucorodia

Common Buzzard ------------------- Buteo buteo

Common Kestrel ------------ Falco tinnunculus

Common Quail --------------- Coturnix coturnix

Helmeted Guineafowl ------ Numida meleagris

Common Moorhen --------- Gallinula chloropus

Black-winged Stilt ---- Himantopus himantopus

Ringed Plover -------------- Charadrius hiaticula

Kentish Plover -------------------- C. alexandrinus

Greenshank ---------------------- Tringa nebularia

Common Sandpiper ----------- Actitis hypoleucos

Sanderling ----------------------------- Calidris alba

Ruddy Turnstone ------------- Arenaria interpres

Pomarine Skua ---------- Stercorarius pomarinus

Long-tailed Skua ------------------- S. longicaudus

Sabine’s Gull --------------------------- Larus sabini

Arctic Tern ---------------------- Sterna paradisaea

Sooty Tern --------------------------------- S. fuscata

White Tern-------------------------------- Gygis alba

Brown Noddy ----------------------- Anous stolidus

Black Noddy ------------------------ Anous minutus

Cape Verde Swift ------------------ Apus alexandri

Grey-headed Kingfisher - Halcyon leucocephala

Black-crowned Finch-Lark - Eremopterix nigriceps

Cape Verde Warbler - Acrocephalus brevipennis

Spectacled Warbler -----------Sylvia conspicillata

Blackcap ------------------------------- S.  atricapilla

Brown-necked Raven ----------- Corvus ruficollis

Common Waxbill ------------------ Estrilda astrild

Spanish Sparrow ----------- Passer hispaniolensis

Iago Sparrow --------------------------- P. iagoensis

House Sparrow ----------------------- P. domesticus

 

 

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Marine Mammals

           

Humpback Whale --- Megaptera novaeangliae

Killer Whale ------------------------ Orcinus orca

Short-finned Pilot Whale - Globicephala macrorhynchus

False Killer Whale ------ Pseudorca crassidens

Beaked Whale sp.

Sowerby’s Beaked Whale – Mesoplodon bidens

Blainville’s Beaked Whale – Mesoplodon densirostris

Rough-toothed Dolphin ---– Steno bredanensis

Risso’s Dolphin----------------- Grampus griseus

Spinner Dolphin ----------- Stenella longirostris

Clymene Dolphin ---------------------- S. clymene

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin ----- S.  attenuata