Date: 1/12/25 10:32 am From: <badgerboy...> Subject: Re: Further details on cruise ship birding
This is a great discussion--I just have one question: For that giant ship, what percentage of the time can you actually feel it moving--eg swaying, pitching, rolling? I ask because of seasickness concerns. (And yes, I did google this and it was hard to make any sense of the issue there--lots of opinions thrown around)
Guy McGrane, Boone NC
On 1/12/2025 9:44 AM, mtove (via carolinabirds Mailing List) wrote: > > 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. > > Ed LeGrand > > Fauquier County, VA > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Derb Carter <dcarter...> <mailto:<dcarter...>> > To: "'<carolinabirds...> <mailto:<carolinabirds...>'" > <carolinabirds...> <mailto:<carolinabirds...>> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2025 22:32:59 +0000 > Subject: Antarctic cruise > > 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. > > Derb Carter > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Erik Thomas <erthomas...> <mailto:<erthomas...>> > To: Derb Carter <dcarter...> <mailto:<dcarter...>> > Cc: "<carolinabirds...> <mailto:<carolinabirds...>" > <carolinabirds...> <mailto:<carolinabirds...>> > Bcc: > Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2025 20:55:13 -0500 > Subject: Re: Antarctic cruise > > 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. > > Erik Thomas > > Raleigh, NC > --
