Just a few notes for anyone thinking of doing a trip down to Paradise Bay, Antarctica on a LARGE CRUISE LINER.
We travelled on the Norwegian Star from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and then onto Antarctica Paradise Bay via the Drake Passage before returning to our starting port via a sail-by of Elephant Island and stops at both Puerto Madryn and Montevideo.
Considering there were only two hard-core birders on the boat I managed to see a host of seabirds from the ship over the cruise.
Albatrosses seen included Atlantic Yellow Nosed, Black Browed, Northern Royal, Southern Royal, Snowy, Light Mantled and Grey Headed.
White Chinned, Atlantic, Northern Giant, Southern Giant, Grey Backed, Wilsons, Blue, Soft Plumaged, Antarctica, Cape, Common Diving and Magellanic Diving Petrels were all seen on a number of occasions. Southern Fulmar and three Snow Petrels were seen in Paradise Bay. Snowy Sheathbills were seen as we passed Elephant Island with the penguins.
We saw three species of Skua (Chilean, South Polar and Arctic), both Slender Billed and Antarctica Prions as well as Manx, Great, Sooty and Cape Verde Shearwaters.
Over the twelve days we saw South American, Common, Antarctica, Sandwich, Snowy Crowned and Royal Terns and Gentoo, Magellanic, Chinstrap and Adelie Penguins.
In addition, I saw a range of Cormorants (Neotropical, Imperial, Magellanic) and Antarctica Shag while a Magnificent Frigatebird was seen as we left port on day 1. Gulls included Brown-Hooded, Kelp and Dolphin.
I didn’t hire any birding guides during the holiday and a few brief excursions from the ports allowed me to add a number of land birds, giving me 150 species for the holiday of which 84 were lifers.
Although the holiday didn’t include any Antarctica landings, and we had to miss the Falklands due to bad weather, the cruise added some dream birds if you are prepared to spend one eye on the sea when you can! It was also a fraction of the cost of birding on an Expedition Ship.
We travelled on the Norwegian Star from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and then onto Antarctica Paradise Bay via the Drake Passage before returning to our starting port via a sail-by of Elephant Island and stops at both Puerto Madryn and Montevideo.
Considering there were only two hard-core birders on the boat I managed to see a host of seabirds from the ship over the cruise.
Albatrosses seen included Atlantic Yellow Nosed, Black Browed, Northern Royal, Southern Royal, Snowy, Light Mantled and Grey Headed.
White Chinned, Atlantic, Northern Giant, Southern Giant, Grey Backed, Wilsons, Blue, Soft Plumaged, Antarctica, Cape, Common Diving and Magellanic Diving Petrels were all seen on a number of occasions. Southern Fulmar and three Snow Petrels were seen in Paradise Bay. Snowy Sheathbills were seen as we passed Elephant Island with the penguins.
We saw three species of Skua (Chilean, South Polar and Arctic), both Slender Billed and Antarctica Prions as well as Manx, Great, Sooty and Cape Verde Shearwaters.
Over the twelve days we saw South American, Common, Antarctica, Sandwich, Snowy Crowned and Royal Terns and Gentoo, Magellanic, Chinstrap and Adelie Penguins.
In addition, I saw a range of Cormorants (Neotropical, Imperial, Magellanic) and Antarctica Shag while a Magnificent Frigatebird was seen as we left port on day 1. Gulls included Brown-Hooded, Kelp and Dolphin.
I didn’t hire any birding guides during the holiday and a few brief excursions from the ports allowed me to add a number of land birds, giving me 150 species for the holiday of which 84 were lifers.
Although the holiday didn’t include any Antarctica landings, and we had to miss the Falklands due to bad weather, the cruise added some dream birds if you are prepared to spend one eye on the sea when you can! It was also a fraction of the cost of birding on an Expedition Ship.
