4th to 6th January, Liverpool to Southampton
This was to be Ocean Wildlife Encounters big cruise for 2025, commencing with a short leg from Liverpool to Southampton, where many more passengers embarked and those on a short Mini-cruise would leave the MS Bolette.

The first team from OWE, consisting of Paul Hill, Martin Kitching and Christine Murdie, met up and after leaving their luggage in their cabins were soon up on deck 8 starting the trip list off with a few gulls and Turnstone around the dock. As dusk fell we departed Liverpool an set off into the Irish Sea.
Our first full sea day, travelling down the Irish and Celtic Seas produced many of the expected seabirds; mainly Kittiwakes and Gannets, with the occasional Great Skua and a single Manx Shearwater. Conditions were good for cetaceans and over 70 Common Dolphin were seen, with a couple of pods exceeding 20 individuals including calves.


Our Shore Day in Southampton was spent shopping for the things we’d forgotten to pack!
7th and 8th January, Southampton to Lisbon
Two sea days travelling to our second Port, and we were met with mixed weather. On the 7th we had good visibility, and only a slight 2m swell and a Force 4 or 5 wind. Seabirds were thin pickings with just a few Kittiwakes and Gannets seen, although an immature Sabine’s Gull was unexpected, as was a Cattle Egret that joined the ship for a rest in the afternoon. Eleven Common Dolphin were seen along with a Fin Whale. The weather on 8th was a different story, with a heavy swell of 6m and winds approaching Force 9. The doors to Deck 3 were closed off and everyone was advised to stay inside. However, the rear doors to Deck 3 were open and we were able to find some shelter and continue our observations across the Bay of Biscay. A total four Common Dolphin were seen and a single Sperm Whale. Gannets made the occasional appearance and Kittiwakes braved the storm.

9th January, Parque Eduardo VII, Lisbon
Today was a Shore Day, and the OWE team visited the Parque Eduardo VII in Lisbon. The 26-hectare park is a small public green area situated in the central part of Lisbon. The trees and vegetation were alive with small birds and we soon lost count of the number of Chiffchaff and Blue Tit we’d seen. Blackbirds were plentiful and White Wagtails fed on the lawns with Meadow Pipits. Less familiar birds included several Sardinian Warbler, a few Firecrest, Short-toed Treecreeper and half a dozen Black Redstart. A small lake had bathing Yellow-legged, Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gull, allowing us to get a good comparison of the three species. In addition, two species of raptor were added to the trip list in the form of a Booted Eagle soaring over the park and a Kestrel. After a stop for the obligatory Pastal de Nata we headed back to Bolette, a look at the beach near the port revealed three Sanderling and a couple of Turnstone, whilst every tree seemed to have a Chiffchaff or four, and a male Black Redstart fed in the shade of parked cars.





Sailing out of Lisbon, we passed the statue of The Sanctuary of Christ the King, and witnessed the ‘Jewelled Handle’ on the Moon. This clair-obscur effect, looking like a bright curve separate from the illuminated face of the Moon is caused by the lunar dawn breaking on the peaks of the Montes Jura mountain range before sunlight illuminates the valley below.

10th and 11th January, Entrance of the Straits of Gibraltar to Tenerife.
We awoke on 10th January to calmer seas off the Straits of Gibraltar and were soon on Deck 6 for the start of a day of seabirds and cetaceans. With much better conditions than our last sea-day, we were soon picking up. It took us a while to get our eye in, but eventually we were watching Leach’s and Band-rumped Storm Petrels. The latter is considered to be a complex of several species, best identified on geographical range and time of year, as they are very difficult to separate at sea; the individuals we saw today, based on where we were and the timings, were considered to be Madeiran Storm Petrel. Small Shearwaters seen were identified as Barolo Shearwater. A single adult Kittwake was well south of the bulk of the wintering population, whilst a few Gannet were still seen.


The day saw our first encounter with several cetaceans; two unidentified beaked whales, three unidentified small whales, five Sperm Whale, over 20 Striped Dolphins approached the ship, allowing for photo opportunities and a further 6 unidentified dolphins were seen. Away from the seabirds and cetaceans a single turtle was seen.


On the 11th again we were up on Deck 6 around dawn on the approach to Santa Cruz. As we approached the port we were suddenly surrounded by Pilot Whales, with many identified as Short-finned Pilot Whale. The Canaries are at the northern edge of the range for Short-finned Pilot Whales and at the southern edge of the range for Long-finned Pilot Whales. The two species can hybridise in this area, so you need a good look at the animals for identification. Striped Dolphins again put in appearances with around 30 seen. Seabirds were not as apparent as the previous day, but we saw our first Bulwer’s Petrel of the trip. As we approached the harbour, Atlantic Yellow-legged Gull began to appear with smaller numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gull. Several Little Egrets were present around the harbour.


Once docked Martin and Paul headed into Santa Cruz to a small town park, where many locals were enjoying a siesta. However Canary Island Chiffchaff and Canary Isle Blue Tit were seen along with Garden Warbler and Firecrest. Several Common Chiffchaff and Collared Dove were present and Ring-necked Parakeets screamed as they flew around, prospecting for nesting sites. Monarch butterflies adorned many of the plants and the males appeared be having territorial tussles. The Monarch butterfly is native to Mexico, North America and Canada, but in recent years has colonised the Canary Islands.


12th to 13th January; Tenerife to Cape Verde
The 12th was to be one of our most productive seadays so far, but we had to wait until the afternoon for most of the action! The day was mainly spent of Deck 6 and the morning was occupied looking at various storm petrels. Our first White-face Storm Petrels were seen and we enjoyed views of Band-rumped and Leach’s Storm Petrels again. Non seabird interest included a migrating Barn Swallow, presumably on it’s way north from the Cape Verde Islands.


Around 16:00 we started to get our first Whale action of the day, when a huge blow was seen, followed by several smaller blows. The height of the blow could only really be one species Blue Whale!! Not seen by everyone, but we didn’t have to wait long until we saw several more blows, from all directions and of all shapes and sizes. We were in amongst some migrating whales!! Over the next hour we were able to see blows from several species and our estimates were of four Blue Whale (including two close to the Bolette), seven Fin Whale, two Sperm Whale, 14 Humpback Whale, two Beaked Whale sp., and a further three unidentified whales. At least nine Atlantic Spotted Dolphin were also seen, and a Loggerhead Turtle was noted.



On 13th we hoped for a repeat of yesterday’s sightings, but most of the day we were over deeper water. Seabirds though kept us occupied during the day; White-faced, Leach’s and Band-rumped Storm Petrels were present for most of the day with a single Bulwer’s Petrel. Many seabirds nest on islands in the Atlantic but only visit the nesting colonies during the breeding season, so spend much of their life out in the Atlantic (and other oceans) looking for food. Even when nesting, they return to their nesting burrows at night, to avoid detection by predators.
The day produced a single Brown Booby, and 12 Loggerhead Turtles, whilst Cetaceans included six Atlantic Spotted Dolphin, a single Fin Whale and one unidentified whale.


14th January, Praia, Santiago, Cape Verde
The Cape Verde islands are home to several endemic species of bird. Those who ventured off ship saw Cape Verde Sparrow and Cape Verde Swift. Non-endemic species seen included Black-crowned Sparrow Lark, Grey-headed Kingfisher and Red-billed Tropicbird. As we left Cape Verde, the final hour on deck before dusk produced several Band-rumped Petrel and a single Fea’s “Type” Petrel, probably Cape Verde Petrel given our location.
15th to 21st January, Cape Verde to Rio de Janeiro
The long crossing of the Atlantic, and some hot seadays were ahead of us. Temperatures were beginning to get into the mid-twenties, so more time was spent in the shade on Deck 3. Our days were mixed but most days we were entertained by Brown, Masked and Red-footed Boobies as they dived after the multitudes of flyingfish disturbed by the ship. The lack of a decent field guide for flyingfish hampered identification of many of the fish. The occasional Flying Squid was also seen.





Our first day produced several invertebrates on the ship – no doubt stowaways from Cape Verde – moths included Striped Hawkmoth, Delicate, Bordered Straw and Scarce Bordered Straw, all species that occur as migrants in the UK under suitable weather conditions. Several Vagrant Emperor Dragonfly were seen and also a couple of Desert Locust. Seabirds on the day included a Scopoli’s Shearwater and a Band-rumped Petrel. Given that we were over in excess of 4,000m of water, Cetacean sightings were a bit thin, with just two sightings of two Beaked Whales.
On 16th seabirds again dominated the sighting for most of the day; ten Cape Verde Shearwater, single Cory’s and Scopoli Shearwaters, twelve Bulwer’s Petrels and numerous Leach’s and Band-rumped Petrels. Just after 16:30, the cetacean action started with a pod of between ten and fifteen Short-finned Pilot Whales and two Kogia sp (Pygmy or Dwarf Sperm Whale). A pattern was starting to emerge for the cetacean sightings!
The 17th was another day dominated by seabirds. Over 35 Band-rumped Petrel and ten Bulwer’s Petrels were surpassed by the flocks of Sooty Tern (totalling over 100 birds) and Black Noddy (over 150) plus 12 Brown Noddy. However, it was the number and views of Red-footed Booby, with over 30 surrounding the ship and attracting at least four Magnificent Frigatebirds and a single 2nd Calendar Year Great Frigatebird. The latter bird was an exceptional record, with the nearest known breeding colony some 1,800km to the south of our position. It is potentially only the second record of this critically endangered population of Great Frigatebird in the area.






Cetacean sightings started again at around 1715, when distant splashes and small blows were seen. As we drew level, five Spinner Dolphin were seen, shortly followed by at least three Killer Whale, including two bulls.
Deep water again on 18th, but still a few seabirds were apparent; Red-footed and Masked Boobies were fishing around the Bolette, attracting the attention of two Magnificent Frigatebirds. Over 100 Sooty Tern were seen, but other seabirds were only seen in single figures. The first cetaceans of the day were six Spinner Dolphin at around 09:00, then five Short-finned Pilot Whale in the early afternoon. By the end of the day we had logged 8 Short-finned Pilot Whales and over 20 Spinner Dolphin.


Our penultimate seaday on 19th, and so far, we had not had a blank seaday on the trip, with cetaceans seen every day, would our luck hold out? At noon we had an unidentified whale blow, followed less than an hour later by unidentified dolphins breaching and splashing. So we had still seen whales or dolphins on every day we were at sea and just one day to go.
Our last seaday was one of the hottest, so most of the time was spent on Deck 3, and it was to prove to be a hard day. Five or six Brown Booby fished off the boat, occasionally joined by Masked or Red-footed Boobies. It wasn’t until almost 16:00 (when most of the regular passengers were having afternoon tea) that we saw our first cetacean action when two Risso’s Dolphin passed the port side. As we were watching them vanish towards the stern, a pod of six Pantropical Spotted Dolphin headed up from the stern playing in the wake of ship! To finish the day off we saw a shark close by the portside from Deck 3. A single Loggerhead Turtle and a swordfish were seen by passengers during the day.



21st January, Rio and depart
Along with many passengers we were on Deck 6 for 05:00 and daybreak to see the spectacular scenery as we approached Rio. Magnificent Frigatebirds and Brown Boobies were everywhere and as we started to enter the harbour, Neotropical Cormorant were evident. The skies above Rio had “kettles” of soaring Magnificent Frigatebird and Black Vulture.
After bidding fairwell to many passengers and crew, and handing the OWE baton over to Peter Howlett, James Phillips and Jean Obray, we disembarked the Bolette and headed for the Airport and our flights home. For Martin and Paul it is only a brief goodbye, as they will be rejoining the Bolette for further adventures in Port Louis, Mauritius, in March.

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