Date: 1/12/25 6:44 am From: mtove (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: RE: Further details on cruise ship birding
I echo Ed’s recommendations although it’s of importance to know that for the past 15 years, the Sapphire Princess has had an on-board birder naturalist who is mostly stationed either port or starboard as far forward on Deck 7 (Prominade Deck) as possible for much of the day – every day while at sea. Invariably, there are also other birders on most (all) cruises. What that means is that going with an organized tour, while certainly offering advantages, is not actually necessary. In addition, while having detailed advanced knowledge (and experience) with the seabirds is beneficial, the truth is a lot of species are so incredibly abundant, it doesn’t take long to learn them with or without help. Case-in-point: after seeing literally hundreds upon hundreds of (each) Black-browed Albatrosses, Southern Giant Petrels, White-chinned Petrels, Soft-plumaged and Atlantic Petrels, Pintado Petrels, Southern Fulmars, etc. plus thousands of Prions, tens of thousands of Great Shearwaters and multiple species of Penguin in the thousands (or more) – often at point-blank range – it becomes increasingly simple to recognize the ones which are “different.” It also helps that some of the rarer species do, in fact, follow the ship. In my case, for example both Light-mantled and Sooty Albatrosses and Spectacled Petrels did exactly that. And the Pintado Petrels (AKA Cape Petrels) and S. Fulmars would come by in “squadrons” sometimes so close you felt like you needed to duck. I got into an “obsession” of photographing Soft-plumaged Petrels (which were abundant on only one day – which was shockingly few days) until I realized I’d shot close to 2000 images (in one day!). I then turned my attention to the Atlantic Petrels but at least (deliberately) curtailed the number of pics before reminding myself I had more than enough. It’s not enough for me to say I “SAW” 10 species of Albatross; I photographed 10 species of Albatross; photographed 6 species of Penguin, etc.
I’ve done several Cruise Ship pelagics over the past many years: some to the Caribbean (Eastern, Western & Southern), some along the Mexican Riviera, some Alaska. None of those matched this current trip – and according to Allen (ship’s naturalist), the actual numbers of seabirds on most days were substantially below average (we had “Drake Lake” conditions the entire trip – probably impacted the bird numbers).
Finally, for anyone who is interested, my next planned Cruise Ship pelagic will be Australia to New Zealand (dates TBD). The potential list of pelagic seabirds on THAT is, in fact, about twice that of the SA/Antarctica trip – and the cruise cost is comparable or slightly less.
Mike Tove
Cary, NC
From: <carolinabirds-request...> <carolinabirds-request...> On Behalf Of Edmund LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List)
Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2025 8:49 AM
To: <carolinabirds...>
Subject: Further details on cruise ship birding
For details on birding on these cruises, especially around South America, check out the Wings bird tour website under trips led by Fabrice Schmitt (an outstanding guide, including being very likable!). I did the Wings tour for the Princess cruise that Derb described (in the opposite direction), though apparently he did it on his own. Here are several crucial points. The cost of the cruise is surprisingly low, even with the included food and entertainment. The Wings tour costs a similar amount in addition (and is separate). So what did I get for my money from being on the tour? Not just two very skilled guides and their scopes who were on the bow all day long teaching me subtleties of difficult IDs, but especially the excellent day trips for birding at each port led by guides who knew exactly where to go for the specific birds. THIS would have been very difficult to arrange alone, even if one felt comfortable being able to find and identify all the land birds. Plus you don’t want to miss the boat (when it leaves at 5 PM!), or if you do, it would be a much less unpleasant experience to be with the guides with logistical support back at their office. The shore trips offered by Princess cost about 3x more than I would have expected, perhaps because they may include insurance for not making it back to the ship on time. While it is feasible to do seabirding with a scope on deck by oneself, for me it would have been extremely frustrating even with the excellent bird books now available. Try CONFIDENTLY sorting out the numerous albatross (sub)species with their age-varying plumages, etc. even in your bird books. Plus, having more eyes (especially expert eyes) is surprisingly important despite the excellent viewing conditions 30 feet over the water. You’d think you’d be able to see everything (“it’s right out in plain sight”), though against the blue-patterned background the photons may hit your retina, but a bird’s image won’t necessarily form in your brain.
Bottom line: Highly recommended if you’re into world birding. Highly recommended that you don’t do it alone, unless you’d be comfortable with birding alone in say, Paraguay or French Guiana. Oh, what about going on the same cruise ship that the tour is on, especially if it doesn’t make land stops? Well, as a frustrated “remora” you could manage, but it might be a socially awkward couple of weeks.
I want to echo Mike Tove's observations on his cruise to Antarctica. I did the cruise on the same ship but a different route a year ago. Last year, it departed Santiago, Chile and ended in Buenos Aries after Antarctica and the Falklands, giving three at sea days on both the Pacific and Atlantic sides of southern South America. The current cruise route begins and ends in Buenos Aries missing most of the Pacific which has several seabirds not on the Atlantic side It would be great if Princess went back to the old route but the current one is still an excellent way to see a lot of seabirds.
I had 13 species of albatross, 30 other tubenoses (petrels, storm-petrels, shearwaters, diving-petrels, etc) including Snow and Antarctic Petrel and seven species of penguin. The only miss I had in Antarctica was a long shot chance for a stray Emperor Penguin. I have a public ebird trip report for the entire trip if you are interested. The cruise ship is so stable you can use a scope and the Sapphire Princess has a deck on the bow low enough for great viewing.
One thing Mike did not mention is day long port calls allowing birding of sites in Argentina and Chile and the Falkland Islands. While you do not make landings in zodiacs on a big cruise ship in Antarctica, you can walk with the King, Magellanic, and Gentoo Penguins in your day on the Falklands if you want while looking at the endemic flightless Steamer Duck.
How were the land birds on that trip? Species such as Tussacbird, Magellanic Woodpecker, Austral Canastero, Common Miner, Cobb's Wren, Cinnamon-bellied Ground-tyrant, Blue-and-white and Chilean Swallows, various sierra finches, Patagonian Mockingbird, Diuca Finch, Long-tailed Meadowlark, etc.?
Not that I can afford to go on an Antarctic cruise, but there are plenty of great landbirds in that part of the world that might interest other people. Tubenoses are all just boring shades of black, gray, and white anyhow.
