Leaving Marion

We only had about 6 hours around Marion Island on Wednesday morning. At 10 AM local time the great ship will be turning around and headed back to Durban. The blue dot, is where we are now. The wind & seas are quite high today.

This was the route we took around the Islands vs. the route in 2022 (That left out of Cape Town & returned to Durban)

I have been birding from my balcony because the decks are crowded, cold & windy, plus you have to stand all the time - not my wheelhouse. So I decided to sacrifice the guide expertise and see how I do on my own (well my neighbor Aart is also on his deck - so we birded together). It was possible to do that because there aren't a ton of birds we can see, plus doing the drawings helped.

Great-winged Petrel

Great-winged & Soft-plumage Petrel

Great-winged Petrel

Light-mantled Albatross & friends

With a Gray-beaked Whale

Sooty Albatross

The only "poop" shot of the trip...

Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross

Gray-beaked Whales (Mother & Child)

I didn’t really expect to get any new birds today, but I am pleasantly surprised that I have been able to identify birds on sight that two days ago I would have needed a guide to “give” me an ID. To me that is a more important development than a new life bird.

As of today I have 22 new life birds - definitely missed a few and I will likely never have another chance, but I will chalk it up to JOMO. I could ID a Gray-backed Storm-petrel with my naked eye and yesterday I called out a Light-Mantled Albatross before the guides - that my friends is progress. It actually makes me feel like a real birder!

There was some sunshine --

The wake from the back of the boat

The pool while in the high seas

This morning’s roiling sea…

It will take 2.75 days to get back to Durban and who knows what we will see along the way, but I am looking forward to the journey!