Back from Norway!

As some of you may know, last week I attended this year's Gullfest - an annual birding festival run by Biotope (http://www.biotope.no/p/gullfest.html) in the far north-eastern Varanger Peninsula in Norway. I joined fellow young birders Jonnie Fisk, Ed James, Tim Jones, James O'neill and Olly Metcalf to explore the amazing selection of birdlife on offer in the region, as well as attending the superb events run as part of Gullfest. It was great also to see Darren Woodhead (leading bird artist in the UK), along with Biotope coordinator Tormod Amundsen (also an awesome photographer), plus a whole host of other interesting people like ringer Kane Brides.

All-in-all it was a superb event, hugely enjoyable, and made very dramatic indeed by the arctic conditions! I will write a full review on my blog in the coming weeks, but for now here are a few images to wet your appetite!

Arctic birding! This was in pursuit of a white morph Gyr Falcon, shortly after Ed had spotted one mobbing a White-tailed Eagle out of the car window! #onlyinNorway

The aurora was pretty spectacular on our first night in to the south of Kirkenes in the Øvre Pasvik National Park 

One of the highlights of the trip -HAWK OWL (absolutely stunning birds, with such an inferior demeanor)

King Eider - these showed amazingly well in the harbour where Gullfest is based, on the island of Vardo

Siberian Jays were present in the sparse Birch and Pine forests in the Øvre Pasvik National Park 

The island beside Vardø is called Hornøya, and is home to tens of thousands of auks, including a fair number of smart Bridled Guillemots (above) and Brunnich's Guillemots

The NGB team

Dolphin Encounter - a superb weekend wildlife cruise

I was lucky enough to be crewing an AK Wildlife Cruise last weekend, when we had a rather special encounter with numerous Common Dolphin pods and feeding frenzies off the coast around Falmouth. It was a pretty special experience, and so I thought I'd write up a blog post on the trip, including some of the other wonderful wildlife that we saw.

The day of our cruise dawned calm and cloudy - a slight breeze from the north and somewhat chilly, which were promising conditions for the day's trip. After preparing the vessel - 'Free Spirit' - for her day's work, and collected our clients for the day (a group of students from the university), we motored out of Falmouth marina with high hopes and anticipation for what the day might bring. 

St Mawes Lighthouse

Even just cruising through Falmouth harbour can be great for wildlife, getting close views of Little Grebes, Shags, Cormorants, Little Egrets and a broad selection of gull species; and further out in the bay can often reward with Great Northern Divers and the odd Black-necked or Slavonian Grebe. On this particular occasion, were weren't treated to anything extraordinary as we headed out to sea, but it is nevertheless great to see these smart and under-appreciated species.

Our immediate course for the morning took us in a series of zig-zags out from Falmouth Bay heading east past the Roseland Peninsula. Our aim was to scan the sea and pick up on some pods of dolphins. The sea was relatively flat, and the lighting reasonable for spotting our quarry, but disappointingly they just weren't there! We scanned and scanned for the best part of two hours, right and left; front and back; but there was no sign. Guillemots, Razorbills, Gannets and Kittiwakes sidled by, but our target cetacean species were just not out there. Somewhat disappointed at this lack of activity, we headed due north to take a look at the adjacent coastline, which is home to a diverse range of seabird and coastal bird species...

Working along the cliff-dominated coastline near Gerran's Bay, we stopped off at various seabird breeding colonies, where breeding adults were already busy constructing nests and congregating on the cliff ledges: Cormorants and Shags with their large messy nests of sticks and rope and seaweed; Fulmars pairing up on ledges with crying calls as squabbles between individuals became vocalised; and Guillemots lining up on their precarious perches too, though perhaps not thinking of breeding quite yet. We also had the fortune of coming across a pristine pair of Velvet Scoters in the bay, which gave a superb fly-by before heading out to sea. Great Northern Divers, Shags and Slavonian Grebes were great to see here too.

The gorgeous Velvet Scoters - a scarce species around the coast here, and a new one for me. The drake (left in the above image) is a stunning bird!

One of the breeding colonies of Cormorants. Apparently, the collective noun for these stocky seabirds can be a 'flight', a 'gulp', a 'sunning' or even a 'swim' of Cormorants. Which one to use depends on context I guess! What I do know, however, is that their long-winded scientific name (Phalocrocorax carbo) translates to a 'Bald Raven' (Phalakros and korax), with carbo translating to 'charcoal'. Not a particularly glamorous description!

There were plenty of Shags around the coast, and many of these glistening adult birds had already partially constructed their twiggy nests

After this great selection of birdlife, it was time to head seaward again, this time a little more E of the St Mawe's, but more or less to our previous position. As we headed out of the bay, we could see two gull and gannet feeding flocks on the horizon - no more than a mile distant - and so set our bearing and steamed off to find out more. Half way to one of these work-ups, the familiar dark shape of half a dozen dorsal fins broke the surface some 200 metres away: they were Common Dolphins. Finally! Obviously attracted to the fish the birds were feeding on, the dolphins were moving in that direction, but came to check us out and gave great views for everyone on board...but we didn't expect what ensued in the following two hours!

A short film that I compiled from video footage taken on the trip

Common Dolphins - always a delight to see, especially as they are particularly playful and will readily come and bow-ride 

The next two hours were utterly superb: where previously had been nothing at all, now it was full of cetaceans! The feeding flocks of birds were concentrated on bait balls of Herring, which was attracting more and more Common Dolphins in for the free-for-all. As we drifted alongside the developing feeding frenzies, dolphins began appearing out of nowhere and we spotted pod after pod all around us. We watched on as some of the pods closed in on the bait ball of small fish, working it into a tighter and tighter ball as the dolphins encircled on all sides. It was amazing to watch, especially with various other pods joining in and splitting off to come and eye us and the boat out - swimming alongside and riding the bow just a metre from our feet! Here is a video the shows some of the events unfolding: 

It really was pretty awesome, and not just because of the dolphins: just as much action was taking place above water, with Gannets and tens of gulls frantically trying to pick off any fish they could get a hold of. We came several of these bait balls, and in between the feeding flocks we were constantly surrounded by Common Dolphins, with our final estimate numbering some 180 animals! We were busy trying to get records inputted to our GPS database and sightings forms every few minutes - ultimately this data is going to be used to advise for areas of conservation importance for cetacean hotspots in the area, and allows for particularly good foraging areas to be pinpointed.

Some more images from the encounter:

A lovely juvenile, with rich yellow colouration

Most of the above images were taken of bow-riding dolphins, which species such as these Common Dolphin thoroughly enjoy! It is great fun lying on the bow of the boat, looking down on the sleek fusiform shapes of these superb creatures as they power ahead of the boat on the preceding wave

And a few shots above concentrating more on the feeding side of things, although the videos show this much better!

 I had great fun trying to photograph the Gannets as they dived like arrow shots into the water after the fish below. It is quite a challenge to stay locked on as they tuck in their wings and assume an amazingly streamlined shape. I was lucky to get a few reasonable images as they went about this brilliant spectacle

And so all-in-all it was a pretty cool day, with 180+ Common Dolphins, two Velvet Scoters, a host of fantastic seabirds and perfectly calm seas to accompany. AK Wildlife Cruises run throughout the year, and almost always see cetaceans on the trips out around the coast - they had 500 Common Dolphins on Saturday! If you are interested in coming along to one of these trips, then check out the website or facebook page for more details.

Signs of spring

Well, it seems that the clutches of winter are really loosening their grip on the landscape, and thus allowing the spread of colour and life to begin in earnest. The last few weeks has seen a gradual - but definitely noticeable - advance in the progress of spring: hazel Catkins dangling with ever-growing fronds from above; Daffodils carpeting the brown fields in a blaze of bright yellow; snowdrops delicately patterning the ground in satin-white; the ever-growing chorus of birdsong at dawn; and the early nest-building of crows and buzzards already underway in tree-tops.

The weather, on the other hand, does not seem to quite understand the advancement of the season: some of the winter's coldest weather has been persisting over the last few weeks, accompanied by the inevitable Cornish rain and drizzle, and plenty of windy storms and gales. However, there has been the occasional day when the sun has appeared in ernest, basking the land in a real warmth that allows us to reminisce of what summer and spring can feel like. I can't wait to leave the wet, grey tendrils of winter behind as a wave of new life emerges from sea, sky and land.

Hazel Catkins in the morning sunshine

Cornwall is the UK's main producer of Daffodils for floral displays and amenities, growing vast acreages of the colourful plant in the distinctly mild climate. These plants - the very epitome of spring - have been flowering down here since January!

More plants! Snow Drops and Primroses are getting their flowering period in before any deciduous trees begin thinking about unfurling their fleshy leaves and shading out the ground flora of woodlands

BIRDS!

I have been getting out birding as often as I can, and it has been great to see the gradual restlessness and behavioural changes take place as spring edges closer. The dawn chorus has steadily been growing louder and louder, particularly as day length increases: everything from Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming away on rotting trunks to the tinkling songs of Goldcrests and the repetitive melodies of Song Thrushes. Partly due to the mild conditions this winter, there has been a steady exodus and general absence of wildfowl and thrushes in the county, which has been particularly noticeable on patch: whereas back in December the nearby College Lake was teeming with Wigeons and Teals and whatever else, all there is making use of the freshwater are Coots and Tufted Ducks now. Thrush numbers have likewise been very low this winter, but the odd flock have been appearing on campus. Great Crested Grebes are perhaps the exception to the wildfowl trends...the number of pairs on the nearby reservoirs have doubled over the last month, and are already carrying out their pair-bonding dance moves, flicking heads from side to side in synchrony; a superb sight.

one of the local Great Crested Grebe pairs - I am looking forward to trying to capture these stunning birds in their dancing display

Kingfisher

Moths haven't featured too highly as yet, I suppose partly in response to the chilly temperatures predominating over recent weeks. However, we have got a Robinson trap established on campus now, which is great, and we are really looking forward to seeing what the diversity of lepdioptera is like at the university. Out year list so far stands at a grand total of three: Hebrew Character, March Moth and Common Quaker

March Moth! A cracking moth, even if it was a day late (trapped on the 2nd)

Hebrew Character - by far the commonest species around at the moment

Grey Squirrel

Birding the university campus has been great fun, especially as spring approaches: the likes of singing male Firecrest, overwintering Blackcaps, Green Woodpeckers and fly-over Ravens are amongst the highlights so far, but a wealth of common garden birds make any morning meanderings vastly entertaining! I have been keeping a handful of feeders topped up for ringing activities in the coming weeks, and they have been attracting Nuthatches, Coal Tits, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and the more unwelcome visitor pictured above! I am really looking forward to seeing what the campus grounds will produce in the coming months, particularly with our partaking in the University Bird Challenge. The year list is coming on well, with over 60 species including the likes of Peregrine and Black Redstart... 

Nuthatch

Robin 

Starling

Kestrel

Peregrine Falcon

Rook - rather spectacular iridescence!

I have been getting out around Falmouth's coast with AK Wildlife Cruises most weeks, which has been brilliant to get a look at the wealth of overwintering divers, grebes and seaducks which inhabit the various coastal estuaries and bays. Falmouth holds some nationally important wintering areas for species such as the Great Northern and Black-throated Divers, with rich feeding grounds providing the ideal staging for seeing out the winter months. Whilst out on the cruises, we have seen as many as 15 Black-necked Grebes, 5 Slavonian Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, 20 Great Northern Divers and various other species, which is fantastic! It won't be too long until these begin dispersing to breeding grounds, but I'm hoping they will acquire breeding plumages before leaving!

Slavonian Grebe

Great Northern Divers

a smart male Red-breasted Merganser

adult Cormorants are endowed in their splendid breeding plumage now, with the crisp white frosting on crest and neck, deep blue eye and bright yellow facial features making them really rather stunning

As an end note, the invertebrate side of things (besides moths) is slowly gaining momentum, with the likes of queen Buff-tailed Bumblebees emerging and the odd Red Admiral or Peacock making an appearance. However, I think the cold temperatures recently have been slowing the emergence of many species, particularly moths. Looking forward to when things really start hotting up!

Pill Bug (Armadillium vulgare), otherwise known as the Rollie pollie or Pill Woodlouse. The similar Pill Millipede has two legs per segment, but both display the same anti-predator defence of rolling up into ball

And a Snail to end with...but by no means the least of the bunch!

I have a busy few weeks ahead with uni work, deadlines, assignments, exams and a cheeky trip to Norway, so keep your eyes on my Facebook page and Twitter feed for more regular updates!