This was an epic day where no anchovy was safe! It was clear just a few minutes after leaving port that a lot was going on. Large numbers of shearwaters were streaming past us towards distant spots of boiling sea, each speared by hundreds of Gannets. Reaching the first of these feeding frenzies we could see the manic, dolphin-sized Bluefin Tuna breaking the surface as they feasted on the panicking Anchovies. The latter leaping clear of the water in clouds as they tried to escape the carnage.
 |
| Bluefin Tuna |
 |
| Anchovies |
 |
| Carnage |
We moved from feeding frenzy to feeding frenzy, seeing huge numbers of Cory's, Great and Sooty Shearwaters feeding, travelling and resting up in large rafts.
 |
| Cory's Shearwater |
 |
| Cory's Shearwater |
 |
| Cory's Shearwater |
 |
| Great Shearwater |
 |
| Great Shearwater with Anchovy |
 |
| Great Shearwater |
 |
| Great Shearwater |
 |
| Great Shearwater |
 |
| Sooty Shearwater |
 |
| Sooty Shearwater |
The bulk of the shearwaters were of course Manx, with the very occasional Balearic. The Balearics were fleeting and difficult to pick out in the swirling flocks, but one showed distantly, resting on the sea.
 |
| Balearic Shearwater |
 |
| Balearic Shearwater |
 |
| Manx Shearwater |
 |
| Gannet |
The day continued with bigger and bigger feeding frenzies and a couple of glimpses of Minke Whales at their edges. For me the highlight of the day was when we parked close to a feed where first a wave of Tuna charged just a few feet from the boat and then a Minke Whale broke the surface just 30 yards away. This was the first time that I had seen a whale hunting, rapidly twisting and turning just below the surface, then breaking through with open mouth to scoop up the fleeing Anchovies. Bella, the ship's dog went wild about the whale and the Common Dolphins that zipped through.
 |
| Minke Whale |
Through the day we had several Bonxie, Storm Petrel and to keep the run going, 3 Wilson's Petrel.
 |
| Bonxie |
 |
| Wilson's Petrel |
Totals for the day were 3 Wilson's Petrel, 5000+ Manx Shearwater, 750+ Great Shearwater, 350+ Cory's Shearwater, 5 Balearic Shearwater, 50+ Storm Petrel, 20+ Bonxie, 12 Arctic Tern, 300+ Bluefin Tuna, 3 Minke Whale, 30+ Common Dolphin, 1 Blue Shark and 2 Ocean Sunfish. This was an unforgettable day!
No comments:
Post a Comment