At sea to Tristan da Cunha
This voyage offers one of the finest opportunities to see seabirds in the world. To date, in addition to excellent viewing onshore at seabird colonies in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, the many days at sea are not without interest.
As we continue to make our way from South Georgia to Tristan da Cunha, crossing this expanse of the South Atlantic Ocean, we have been in the company of seabirds all the way. No matter how far we have been from the nearest landfall at no time has it been possible to look out from the ship and not see a seabird, and more typically many. The majority of these birds are members of the petrel family, which range in size from the tiny storm-petrels to the bird with the largest wingspan of all, the wandering albatross. These birds are totally at home in the open ocean and only ever return to land in order to find a safe place to lay and egg and raise a chick. For the rest of the year they are at sea, where we have found them.
As we have moved from South Georgia to Tristan da Cunha, from Antarctic waters to temperate, we have encountered a marked transition in the seabird species seen at sea. Instead of light-mantled sooty albatrosses, we now see their dark-mantled relatives. And instead of white-chinned petrels we now see the spectacled petrel, which only breeds in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago and only on the delightfully named Inaccessible Island. From coastal to oceanic and Antarctic to temperate, these changes have increased the diversity of seabirds we have encountered. After Tristan da Cunha we will continue to the north and move into tropical regions, where we will encounter a new and exciting variety of seabirds.
This voyage offers one of the finest opportunities to see seabirds in the world. To date, in addition to excellent viewing onshore at seabird colonies in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, the many days at sea are not without interest.
As we continue to make our way from South Georgia to Tristan da Cunha, crossing this expanse of the South Atlantic Ocean, we have been in the company of seabirds all the way. No matter how far we have been from the nearest landfall at no time has it been possible to look out from the ship and not see a seabird, and more typically many. The majority of these birds are members of the petrel family, which range in size from the tiny storm-petrels to the bird with the largest wingspan of all, the wandering albatross. These birds are totally at home in the open ocean and only ever return to land in order to find a safe place to lay and egg and raise a chick. For the rest of the year they are at sea, where we have found them.
As we have moved from South Georgia to Tristan da Cunha, from Antarctic waters to temperate, we have encountered a marked transition in the seabird species seen at sea. Instead of light-mantled sooty albatrosses, we now see their dark-mantled relatives. And instead of white-chinned petrels we now see the spectacled petrel, which only breeds in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago and only on the delightfully named Inaccessible Island. From coastal to oceanic and Antarctic to temperate, these changes have increased the diversity of seabirds we have encountered. After Tristan da Cunha we will continue to the north and move into tropical regions, where we will encounter a new and exciting variety of seabirds.
