STAFF: SHEARWATER CABIN 518

NEWS FROM THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

Following is a brief recap of our recent days in the South Atlantic--

April 9: En route to Gough Island, the seabirding must be one of the
most spectacular in all of the world! Thousands and thousands of GREATER
SHEARWATERS and BROAD-BILLED PRIONS followed our vessel, along with
SPECTACLED PETRELS, SOOTY ALBATROSSES, ATLANTIC YELLOW-NOSED
ALBATROSSES, and WHITE-BELLIED STORM-PETRELS. It was a glorious day!

April 8: We arrived at Gough Island about noon in wonderful sunshine. We
made a great Zodiac cruise of about two and a half hours, as no landings
are permitted on Gough. We saw several thousand NORTHERN ROCKHOPPER
PENGUINS, finishing their end of season molts on the rocky shoreline.
Thousands and thousands of SUBANTARCTIC FUR SEALS, many of them pups,
were thrashing about in the surf. Without too much trouble at all we
spotted the GOUGH BUNTING and then, the GOUGH MOORHENS, with chicks.
Incredibly, one of our staff spotted a SOOTY ALBATROSS NEST on a cliff
with a downy youngster! Altogether, this was an excellent outing.

April 9: We arrived at Tristan da Cunha Island about 11 am. Customs and
immigration officials boarded our ship for clearance, in case that we
had the opportunity to land with local guides for hikes. This was not to
be. Extremely strong winds prevented us from being able to get to shore
with the Zodiacs. In fact, the winds reached 43.4 meters/second, or 85
knots, or 157km/hour, or 97mph!! Once again, those hurricane force winds
crept up on us. The ship tacked back and forth in the lee, keeping us as
comfortable as possible.

April 10: Our ship relocated to Inaccessible Island. The winds had died
down, but the swell had increased. Hence, we could not land on Tristan,
again. However, at Inaccessible Island, we were able to make a glorious
one hour Zodiac cruise! Beautiful waterfalls cascaded down the steep
slopes of the island. And, TRISTAN THRUSES, as well as INACCESSIBLE
BUNTINGS were flitting about. This was just delightful for the birders,
who were able to add at least two much sought after species to their
lists. Several HAMMERHEAD SHARKS appeared, scouting around our vessel.

April 11: Back at Tristan da Cunha again, we had high hopes of a landing
and hikes. But, this was not to be. Seas and swell were far too high,
and the harbor was officially closed by the harbormaster. So, we set off
for Cape Town, South Africa. The weather forecast did not look good at
all. Once again, the dreaded "triangles" were on the weather map. We
feared the worse with this low pressure system.

April 12: Easter Sunday: Wake up call by "Dobra Ootra" as I am now
called! The Easter Bunny delivered some giant sized chocolate eggs! The
captain is deftly avoiding the "triangles" and our ride is not at all
bad. Today, there was not much wildlife around-- only a very few birds
and no cetaceans of any sort.

We are still several days from our final destination in Cape Town. Our
on board lectures continue, along with many quizzes, and a Final Exam is
in preparation.

From,
Debra Shearwater in the South Atlantic
3734S/0327W

(No replies, please)

STAFF: SHEARWATER CABIN 518

April 5, 6, & 7, 2009: CROSSING THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

Well, the good weather forecast did not hold up, and we encountered some
pretty stiff seas in a low pressure system, April 4- until early April 6
with large swells and a Beaufort 7-10. The night of April 5th was the
most difficult for sleeping, if not almost impossible.

However, the seas improved somewhat yesterday, and we awoke this morning
to very nice conditions, indeed. The BROAD-WINGED PRIONS are numbering
in the thousands, following round and round the ship, while we are in
awe of eye to eye contact with the greatest of the albatrosses:
wanderers at eye level from the bridge! Many of the birders have been
shooting photographs all day for the past two days. No wonder-- the
tubenose list for the past two days numbers 27!! Eight species of
albatrosses: SNOWY, TRISTAN, SOOTY, LIGHT-MANTELED SOOTY, ATLANTIC
YELLOW-NOSED, BLACK-BROWED, GRAY-HEADED, and "SHY". Petrels have
included: NORTHERN GIANT, SOUTHERN GIANT, KERGUELEN, GREAT-WINGED,
ATLANTIC, SOFT-PLUMAGED, GRAY, WHITE-CHINNED, and SPECTACLED. Prions
have included: BROAD-BILLED, ANTARCTIC, SLENDER-BILLED, and SALVIN'S
(presumed). Shearwaters have included: SOOTY, GREATER, and LITTLE. While
storm-petrels have included: WHITE-BELLIED, WILSON'S, and GRAY-BACKED.

This afternoon, Roger, one of the partcipants of the Bird Holidays group
noticed a bird that was hiding in one of the Zodiac boats on the stern
deck. It turned out to be a SOUTH GEORGIAN DIVING PETREL. I picked it
up, while Roger and Luke Cole shot photographs of its blue legs with a
black stripe down the back of the leg, and its blue feet, black on the
bottom! The little bird, which fit quite easily in the palm of my hand,
flew off-- and, we are hoping for the best for it.

If all goes well, tomorrow we will do a Zodiac cruise at Gough Island,
where we should be in the early morning. (Landing on Gough Island is not
permitted due to the abundance of seabirds). Cross fingers that we get a
chance to see the Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Gough Moorhen, and Gough
Bunting.

Debra Shearwater
4149S/1312W
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STAFF: SHEARWATER CABIN 518

NEWS FROM THE SOUTH ATLANTIC 5109S/3009W

Greetings, Adventurers,
It is hard to believe that so much can happen in a day-- and the days
just slip by so quickly. But, I will try to give an update on where we
have been and what we have seen.

March 28-March 30: We departed Antarctic Sound, headed for the South
Orkney Islands, intending to land at the Argentine station, Orcadas.
Unfortunately, the weather was not in our favor. We encountered gale
force winds, making landing conditions impossible. So, carried on at
sea, heading for the grandest of the sub-Antarctic wildlife islands,
South Georgia. So, we bid farewell to the huge tabular ice, although
plenty of icebergs and bergy bits were still around. Sea days were
filled with birding & searching for cetaceans. One morning began with 3
Southern Right Whales & the day ended with Hourglass Dolphins bowriding
for prolonged periods of time! One morning, we encountered 15 Orcas!

March 31-April 3: The jagged, snow-dusted peaks of South Georgia had all
of us on the bridge as we entered Cooper Bay. A Zodiac cruise was
undertaken, where we saw many Macaroni Penguins & the world's most
southerly passerine, South Georgia Pipit, feeding on the drifting kelp
along with newly fledged Wilson's Storm-Petrels! Imagine that! In the
afternoon, we landed at the stunning Gold Harbor, filled with many
thousands of King Penguins & their chicks in various life stages. Over
the next several days, we made landings at Salisbury Plain (another
large King rookery), Fortuna Bay, Grytiviken (where we held an Antarctic
Barbecue), and finally, at Prion Island in the Bay of Isles on the
afternoon of April 2. On one landing, we were able to find a young
Light-mantled Sooty Albatross in the nest! Prion Island is a special
landing site with special limitations due to the nesting Wandering
Albatrosses. Walking on the new boardwalk to the top, we were greeted by
at least a dozen albatrosses on their nests! In due time, we were able
to witness the most extensive display of gamming that I have seen since
2001 on Albatross Island (now closed to tourism). It was quite
spectacular to see and hear their displays with as many as six
individual birds getting into the act at once! What a view the
albatrosses have from this lofty height! Looking down at the nearshore,
one of our party spotted a slow moving Southern Right Whale. Now, we had
completed six out of our six scheduled landings at South Georgia-- a
record for me! In the evening our EL announced that the forecast for our
five day journey to Gough Island was so excellent, that we would make a
seventh landing on South Georgia at Stromness Harbor. This early morning
landing was quite beautiful, hiking the hillsides to waterfalls, -- and
finally, sunshine glistening on the ragged peaks. Many of us thought of
Sir Ernest Shackleton, and his heroic walk over these peaks, into the
whaling station at Stromness. In all, we saw all of the South Georgian
endemics.

April 4: We are now headed full speed toward Gough Island, still some 4
days away. Conditions are unbelievably excellent, with horizon to
horizon visibility and calm seas! A Gray Petrel just flew by, and I just
saw half a dozen Hourglass Dolphins. The ship is running at 13 knots due
to the very strong current. All is well, and we many on board are taking
advantage of our lecture program.

At sea,
Debra