Atlantic Odyssey

Part 1: USHUAIA-ST HELENA

Day 1: Ushuaia, Argentina

Embark in Ushuaia in the afternoon and sail down the Beagle Channel where we hope to find Magellanic Penguin and Magellanic Diving Petrel.

Days 2-4: At sea

An excellent selection of seabirds could be found including Blue, Soft-plumaged and White-chinned Petrels, Wandering, Black-browed, Grey-headed and Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, Cape Petrels, Antarctic Fulmars plus Slender-billed and Antarctic Prions.

Days 5-7: South Georgia

We have three days scheduled on the amazing Subantarctic Island of South Georgia and plan to visit the abandoned whaling settlement at Grytviken (where ship clearance will take place) but there are multiple options for other landings where the wildlife encounters can be incredible.

The most impressive King Penguin colonies are arguably at Salisbury Plain and St Andrew’s Bay but there are plenty of other beaches which are also very special such as Gold Harbour and Stromness.

Another possibility is Cooper Bay where there are excellent chances of seeing Macaroni Penguins whilst zodiac cruising around the sheltered coves.

Following the recent successful rodent eradication project, the number of sites where one can find the endemic South Georgia Pintail and South Georgia Pipit have increased significantly so there are now good chances of finding both these species during your visit which was certainly far from guaranteed just a few years ago.

Days 8-12: At sea

The ship should have a good tailwind as it heads in a north-easterly direction towards Gough Island and there should be opportunities to see an impressive variety of Antarctic and Subantarctic seabirds.

Many of the seabirds seen previously will still be with us and the possibilities including Grey-backed, Black-bellied and White-bellied Storm-Petrels, Fairy Prion, Kerguelen, Atlantic, Grey and Great-winged Petrels, Great and Sooty Shearwaters, Common and South Georgian Diving Petrels, Southern and Northern Giant Petrels plus up to eight species of albatross (Wandering, Tristan, Grey-headed, Black-browed, Sooty, Light-mantled Sooty, Shy and Atlantic Yellow-nosed).

Our first Spectacled Petrels should also be encountered along with Subantarctic (Little) Shearwaters.

Day 13: Gough Island

Gough Island is a World Heritage Site and a spectacular home to millions of breeding seabirds. Landings are not permitted, but subject to weather conditions, we hope to zodiac cruise close to the shore and look for the endemic Gough Moorhen and Gough Bunting plus Northern Rockhopper Penguins and the distinctive local form of Subantarctic Fur Seal.

Days 14-17: Tristan da Cunha

We plan to call at the settlement of Edinburgh in the north-western corner of the main island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. We have allowed two reserve days for bad weather which, unfortunately, is very common here.

Often regarded as the remotest inhabited island in the world, there are now relatively few birds around the village (due to rats and cats), so we hope to visit nearby Nightingale Island (weather and landing conditions permitting) where hundreds of thousands of Great Shearwaters nest and both Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross and Northern Rockhopper Penguin can be found. Tristan Thrushes and Tristan Buntings should also be hopping around our feet and the much scarcer Grosbeak Bunting can be found in the remanent woodland on the top of the island.

If permission is obtained (and weather and landing conditions allow it), we may also try to visit Inaccessible Island with its endemic flightless rail and bunting.

NB: It is important to appreciate that the weather and local sea conditions mean that the chances of landing in the Tristan archipelago are generally less than 50%. Due to local regulations, landings cannot be attempted on either Nightingale or Inaccessible until you have been ashore at the settlement first.

Days 18-21: At sea

Not far to the north of Tristan, we will enter subtropical waters and thus will start to see a different selection of seabirds and dolphins. We will soon leave many of the southern seabirds behind with Spectacled Petrels often being the last to disappear. New species should include Band-rumped Storm-Petrel and Bulwer’s Petrel, whilst flying fish definitely add a tropical edge. Expect calmer seas and balmier days.

Days 22-24: St Helena

St. Helena is another island where many endemic species have become extinct and just eleven land bird species now breed here, nine of which are introduced. The most important is the endemic ‘Wirebird’ or St Helena Plover, a small thin-legged shorebird which we should find in fields in the centre of the island.

White Terns nest all along the coast and in the trees in the small community of Jamestown. Red-billed Tropicbirds and noddies fly around our vessel at anchor, whilst Pantropical Spotted Dolphins can often be seen, occasionally leaping several metres into the air and then spinning back into the water.

The WildWings group sometimes also takes a short cruise in a local boat for dolphins and breeding seabirds.

Many also go on an optional tour which visits some of the sites from the period when Napoleon was exiled on this remote island including Longwood House where he died in 1821. Optional dinners ashore in local restaurants are also highly recommended.

For those not disembarking the ship (for the flight to South Africa), the ship is scheduled to depart in the evening of day 24.

Part 2: ST HELENA-CAPE VERDE

Days 25-26: At sea

At sea in the infamous ‘doldrums’ with more lazy balmy days. The birding can be slow but both Cory’s Shearwaters and Sooty Terns should start to appear and we often encounter Sperm Whales on this leg.

Day 27-28: Ascension Island

Ascension Island is a dry volcanic island with a moist and richly vegetated hilltop known as Green Mountain which tragically has lost all the endemics that used to live here.

We plan to zodiac cruise Boatswain Bird Island, an offshore stack where thousands of endemic Ascension Frigatebirds hang in the air and Masked, Red-footed and Brown Boobies along with White-tailed Tropicbirds compete for breeding space.

Since the last of the feral cats have been removed, some seabirds are now returning to nest on the main island again and the Sooty Tern colony can hold up to one million breeding pairs when the birds are present.

After dark, there may be an opportunity to witness the amazing spectacle of female Atlantic Green Turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs.

Days 29-33: At sea

During this stretch we will cross the Equator and may encounter King Neptune!! New seabirds to look out for include Boyd’s and Cape Verde Shearwaters, Fea’s Petrel, Cape Verde Storm-Petrel, White-faced Storm-Petrel plus tropical dolphins and some of the slightly larger cetaceans such as Melon-headed Whale and False Killer Whale.

Day 34: Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde

The Cape Verdes is where our odyssey will end at the small city of Praia on Santiago Island.

There may be the option of a land birding excursion for endemics such as Cape Verde Warbler, Iago Sparrow and Alexander’s Swift plus more before the trip concludes.

NB: As on all expeditions, our exact itinerary is subject to sea, weather and government and local permissions.

• Atlantic Odyssey Trip Report 2018