Going Pelagic

I had plans this year to organise 2 or 3 pelagics trips out into Liverpool Bay, after the reasonable success of the exploratory sailing last year. However, the weather conspired against my efforts and in the end only one trip was made in mid-July. With these pelagic trips you are at the mercy of the elements with the main constraining factor being the wind and its affects on offshore waters. This saw two of the trips in August and September 'blown-off'.

The day the boat managed to get out into the bay was not ideal for a couple of reasons. Harsh sunlight was beaming through the clear skies which is not ideal for predominately black and white birds. More importantly the wind was gently blowing in from the north, the wrong direction, and which would see the birds coming in and taking off facing away from the boat.

Prior to the trip I had spent a couple of days mixing up some chum and filling the kitchen (I was not too popular) with some fishy aromas. Chum is a concoction of mashed up fish and oils used to attract the birds to the boat. Since my trip last year I had done some trawling of the Internet looking for suitable chum additives and found some interesting products such as krill meal and shellfish extract (I wouldn't recommend opening that one indoors or near cats). I even made up a bucket of liquidised seaweed off the local beach mix with some cod liver oil hoping that it might attract some storm petrels that can be found out in the bay during July.

With an early departure we headed out of Liverpool marina on the 'Discovery', down the Mersey and out into the Bay. We soon passed the Burbo Bank Wind Farm and after about an hour and 15 minutes sailing were around 25 miles offshore. The chum line was started and appeared as a snaking flat patch of oil and floating particles extending way out behind the boat on the calm sea. The birds soon started to arrive with the a Fulmar appearing first.

It was not too long before one of several gannets started to show along with  numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gull that started building up behind the boat. The Gannets would circle overhead before plunge diving, often very close to the boat, to whole mackerel that were being dropped over the side. We had regular visits from Gannets throughout the trip all accompanied by some amusing commentary from the skipper on the progress of the birds towards the mackerel.

A young bird circling the boat

Offshore gas platform and trawler in the background

With the wind in the wrong direction the birds were usually hitting the water facing away from us.

Surfacing after a dive. The birds still facing slightly away from the boat to take advantage of the wind direction to lift them back off the sea.

 

The Gull numbers continued to build until we had a good number sat on the sea behind the boat.

A solitary tiny storm petrel appeared in the chum line approximately 100m back from the boat but too far for any photography. However, the bird watchers on the trip enjoyed the view of the small black bird as it 'danced' around in the chum for about 10 minutes. I suspect the petrel was put off from following the oil line back to the boat by the large numbers of big gulls.

During the day we saw several  'pirates of the high seas', the Great Skua. The large powerful birds cut a menacing presence through the air and certainly seem to put fear into the similar sized Lesser Black-backed gulls which would take to the air every time one came close in to the boat.

Most of the time the gulls were happily feeding off the chum line picking up the small floating particles whilst on the wing.

We saw good numbers of Manx Shearwater while we were out there and had the occasional one coming in close but never stopping on the chum. I did end up with one nice frame filling shearwater photograph which somehow an annoyingly I have managed to delete!! So only have this one to show which is a big crop but have included to show you one of the birds speeding low across the surface.

Overall despite the conditions it was a very enjoyable 10 hours out at sea and all aboard seemed to enjoy themselves. Importantly I learnt some lessons on chumming which hopefully I can try out on the next trip out into the blue yonder next summer.

Beyond the Horizon

Living on the coast, I often look out to sea and wonder what birds life can be found out in the ocean swell of Liverpool Bay beyond the horizon. We get glimpses of these pelagic birds occasionally, after storms and gales, as birds struggle along the shoreline against the pummeling winds. So for a couple of years I have been thinking about getting out there to find out and finally got round to doing so at the end of August.

There are a couple of cruises that go out there with the Mersey Ferry but my view was they never went far enough and more importantly did not use chum.  Chum is a mixture of mashed up fish and fish oil that creates a trail behind the boat for the birds to home in on. Many seabirds use scent to find food.

So for a couple days prior to trip my friend Steve and I had the fun task of making up some chum for the trip. We made up fresh chum and also frozen some down into large blocks. The recipe for our 'pelagic potion' was based on a lot of Internet research I had undertaken  It was a smelly task as we  and the house quickly took on the odour of a fish market on a hot summer's day as we blended fish and fish oil.

The boat was booked and passengers assemble comprising 3 photographers and 4 birdwatchers. This was an exploratory voyage as noone had really done this before. What we would find was unknown but anticipation was high for our 10 hour trip as we headed out of Liverpool Marina in the darkness before first light.

It was fairly rough as we headed out the Mersey and muddy estuary waters quickly gave way to clear green blue of the offshore. I must confess my sea legs used to be fairly wobbly until I discovered Avomine which seems to combat any motion nausea with great effect. We headed outwards, past the Burbo Bank Wind Farm and end up about 25 miles out into Liverpool Bay. The Wirral peninsula where I live became a small speck on the horizon. The chum bags were placed over the back of the boat and we waited to see what would arrive. An oily slick of fish particles could be seen extending far out the back of the boat and flattening the waves.

First to arrive was a particularly favourite seabird of mine the Fulmar which came arcing low across the waves and pattered across the surface in typical petrel style just behind the boat.

While we waited for next bird, numerous Manx Shearwater could be seen skirting across the waves but just slightly out of distance for photography. The next bird that came in was a Gannet. The bird came diving in literally within a few feet of the boat to the sound of whirring camera shutters. Several gannets visited the boat while we were out there. I never thought I would be photographing Gannets off the Wirral coast!

A Gannet and Fulmar battle it out over a small mackerel.

A flock of gulls had started to assemble along the chum line consisting of Lesser Black Backed Gulls with their bright yellow legs.

Also amongst them was one of my favourite gulls, and the world's largest, the Greater Black Back. These are such impressive birds.

The gull activity attracted the attention of two Great Skuas, pirates of the seas, which briefly circled around the boat looking for scraps.

Time seemed to pass all to quickly and we started making our way back to port. En route we spotted some bird activity and found a large raft of Manx Shearwater. I must admit I did not fair very well with my photos of these birds, although they are my first images of this species, but there is always next time.

During our trip out there we also spotted Arctic Skua, Guillemots and a young Mediterranean Gull as well as groups of Scoter flying at distance. We did not find any Storm petrels but I think that was really about timing as we were probably too late for Storm Petrels and too early for Leach's Petrel. Overall, a great day was had by all. I learnt a great deal from our maiden voyage and would adopt a slightly different approach in the future.

I cannot wait to get back out there and we are hoping to run a series of pelagic trips out into Liverpool Bay next summer between July and September. If you would be interested in joining me on this unique photography / bird watching adventure then please drop me a line through the contact form and I will send you the details as they become available in the near future.