It’s 5am here & I have already seen 2 life bird right after I stepped on deck - Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross & Soft-plumaged Petrel. No decent photos yet but many very excited birders make for tough shots. The bird activity is picking up and it should be great viewing from my balcony once we get to Marion Island tomorrow morning…
We entered what I consider the basic pelagic zone -- far from shore and the water/air is cooler.
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
Soft-plumaged Petrel
6am and I already have 6 new life birds including Brown Skua, Common Diving Petrel, Grey-headed Albatross & Southern Giant Petrel! I feel like I haven’t put my camera down in 2 hours.
Brown Skua
Grey-headed Albatross
Southern Giant Petrel
I decided to use a lull in the afternoon to get a reflexology treatment – it was great to feel a little pampered.
It was an Albatross kind of day… in a good way. Indian Yellow-nosed, Wandering/Snowy, Sooty and a Juvenile Wandering/Snowy. I also found out the Southern Ocean, where we are now is the Windiest and Roughest in the world. There is a new patch going on shortly!
Sooty Albatross (looks like a cartoon character to me)
Indian Yellow-nose (bottom) Sooty (top) Albatross
"The massive and impressive Wandering Albatross. This will always be a special bird as the first time I saw the species on a pelagic from Cape Town it brought a tear to my eye. This special close up sighting was on the Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 organized by BirdLife South Africa "I now belong to the higher cult of mortals, for I have seen the Albatross" Robert Cushman Murphy This species has the longest wingspan of any bird-getting up to 3.6m. A Wandering albatross can fly 120,000km (75,000 miles) in a single year. This is equal to circumnavigating the entire Southern Ocean three times over. These sea birds can fly 40km/hr, and 950km/day. The species name exulan is Latin for “exile” or “wanderer”, a fitting name for the species.”
Juvenile Wandering/Snowy Albatross
Wandering/Snowy Albatross
Just love seeing these Indian, Yellow-nosed Albatross. Enjoyed multiple close-up sightings of these magnificent birds recently in the southern oceans on the Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 trip. What a privilege to spend time with these amazing birds.
The smallest albatross, still with an impressive wingspan of over 2m-they breed on Prince Edward, Amsterdam and the other Indian Ocean islands. These birds have an interesting behavior known as “torpor.” Torpor is a state of decreased activity and lowered metabolic rate that helps conserve energy during long flights and periods of inactivity. Albatrosses can enter this state while flying, allowing them to rest and sleep in short bursts while remaining airborne. This adaptation is crucial for their survival, as they spend a significant portion of their lives soaring over the vast open ocean."
Nature Travel Birding (by Marc Cronje)
" I now belong to a higher cult of mortals, for I have seen the Albatross" Robert Cushman Murphy, I could not have said it better.
Later in the day a few other types of birds started showing up. Prions and new (for me Shearwaters - Little and Subantarctic)
Subantarctic Shearwater
Prion - (very difficult to ID exact species, so I won't even try) Rarely seen/photographed family
Tomorrow morning we wake up in sight of the islands...
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