Voyage of exploration around the world - leg three: Valparaiso-Papeete
- ph87gb
- Mar 30
- 17 min read
Valparaiso
The arrival of Bolette in Valparaiso signalled a change in the team – well at least a partial change – Peter was staying on through to Papeete. So, as he waved James and Jean off on their 6-day birding trip in Chile he welcomed Jeff, Laura, and Mikey, a little tired after flying to Santiago via Madrid and then having a couple of hours in a coach to get from Santiago to Valparaiso.
With no birding areas within easy reach of the port the day was spent watching the Peruvian Boobies and Peruvian Pelicans fishing in the harbour. One of the bird highlights of coastal Chile is the Inca Tern, a fantastic looking bird, resplendent with long white moustaches. In previous years they were perching on the mooring ropes of the ship offering really close views but this year they kept their distance, and it was a struggle to get a good photo.
Peruvian Booby and Peruvian Pelican (Peter Howlett/OWE)
There was drama in the middle of the day when a large and dense plume of smoke could be seen rising from a hilly part of the town, as we were downwind of the fire it could be smelt too. The drama was heightened by a loud siren going off (think air-raid style) and this was followed by numerous sirens of emergency vehicles. The fire must have been quite inaccessible because the authorities called in two fire-fighting helicopters and a plane.
Late in the day the wind dropped enough to set the telescope up and scan the sea outside the harbour for cetaceans – sadly, none could be found but at least Guanay Cormorant was added to the species list.
Valparaiso-Juan Fernandez Islands – the voyage across the Pacific begins
A pre-dawn check of the decks revealed our first grounded bird in almost three weeks – a rather lovely DeFilippi’s Petrel, it was given a quick check and then given its freedom over the side of the ship. We check the decks every morning for grounded birds and, although it’s very nice to have a chance to see some interesting species in the hand, it is also a rather grim reminder as to how many birds must die on board ships which don’t have the luxury of people checking the decks to liberate any grounded ones.
The weather conditions for our first day crossing the Pacific were very un-Pacific, with 25-30 knots of wind from the NE – although at least being behind us meant we were still able to be on the forward-facing observation deck.
The wind may have been near gale-force but even that can’t mask the blow of a Blue Whale, it is truly impressive to see the spray from the blow hanging in the air for 10 seconds or so after the whale has exhaled, you get a real sense that it’s a big animal creating the blow. It was a great start to the day to see two definite and two probable Blue Whales before 09:30. The whales kept coming during the day, with regular sightings of blows, annoyingly, the sea conditions prevented us from identifying the more distant animals as the bodies of the whales were hidden by the swells.
Blue Whales (Peter Howlett/OWE)
Not all were distant, however, and we had some good clear views of Chilean Blue, Fin, and Sei Whales. Two Blues in particular went past travelling at such speed that they created large splashes as they lunged through the waves on surfacing. So far, all the whales had been off to either side of the ship, finally at 16:30 blows were picked up dead ahead all we needed now was for the animals to play ball and not move too far away. Fortunately, they did not, and all on deck were treated to spectacular views of a Chilean Blue Whale as it surfaced a hundred metres or so from the ship. The animal remaining close to the surface between breaths so that we could see the shape and colour of the body under the water.
Dolphins were in short supply, perhaps not surprising given the sea conditions, just one large pod of 200 or so Common Dolphins were seen during the day. The whale totals for the day were good with 9 Blue, 10 Fin, 2 Sei, 1 Sperm and 37 large rorquals (either Blue, Fin or Sei).
Blue Whales (Peter Howlett/OWE)
On the bird front DeFilippi’s and Juan Fernandez Petrels were particularly in evidence and were by far the most numerous species seen during the day, in fact no counts of the other 15 species seen got over seven. Birds of the day were two Chatham Albatross, which definitely made Jeff’s day as, despite several previous trips along the coast of Chile, they had eluded him. Other interesting species included Kermadec Petrel, an addition to the cruise list, Pomarine Skua and both Red-necked and Grey Phalarope.
DeFilippi's and Juan Fernandez Petrels (Peter Howlett/OWE)
Not a bad first day at sea for the new team.
Robinson Crusoe Island
Dawn on our second day found us at anchor in Cumberland Bay on the north coast of the 2nd largest of the Juan Fernandez Islands, Robinson Crusoe Island. The island was called Más a Tierra up until 1966 when it was renamed by the Chilean government to reflect the history associated with the island and with the intention of trying to attract tourists. The island looks spectacular from the sea with the cliffs behind the main town rising steeply to a serrated ridge, the highest peak on the island is 915m.
While the crew were prepping tenders to take us ashore, we saw first-hand what happens when you floodlight the sea (the lights were needed so that the crew could work safely) – thousands of flying fish were drawn in around the ship, no doubt feeding on smaller fish attracted by the lights. Unfortunately, the flying fish were flying at high speed and, not being able to change course once on the wing, many were killed colliding with the hull of the Bolette.
As it got light, we could see a couple of thousand Pink-footed Shearwaters offshore, Robinson Crusoe Island is home to an estimated 5-6000 pairs, which are in the middle of chick rearing at this time of year, so you’d expect to see quite a few near to the island at dawn and dusk.
Once ashore it was difficult to believe we were on an isolated island 670km out in the Pacific Ocean, it felt like we could have been in any rural Chilean town. San Juan Bautista, the capital, and home to 850 or so people had plenty of 4x4s, satellite dishes and some very nice housing. However, the quality of the housing may have been a side effect of the 2010 tsunami which destroyed most of the town and killed 16 people.
The prime aim of the day was to see the two endemic birds on the island: the Juan Fernandez Firecrown (a hummingbird) and the Juan Fernandez Tit-tyrant. First stop was going to be a walk up to the Selkirk viewpoint, where Alexander Selkirk spent a lot of time looking out for a ship to rescue him (for those unaware he spent four years and four months living on the island and is the basis of Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe). The idea behind this being that we needed to get above the non-native trees dominating the area around the town to stand any chance of seeing the two birds. Things didn’t get off to an auspicious start, Mikey styled out a trip where the jetty met dry land, but it was soon apparent that his ankle wasn’t going to be up to slogging up a hill.
Green-backed Firecrown (left) and male and female Juan Fernandez Firecrown
There are actually two species of hummingbird on the island, the other being Green-backed Firecrown, a species widespread throughout Chile, and it seemed they were particularly abundant on the island. We saw dozens of them as we made our way out of the town but alas no sign of the one we wanted. Mikey persevered for a kilometre or so up a dusty track and was on the verge of calling it quits and heading back into town when Jeff found a single Tit-tyrant – one down – and shortly after we had a fleeting glimpse of a bright red male Juan Fernandez Firecrown. That was enough for Mikey, and he headed back into town and more level ground.
The others headed up the path and once above the introduced conifers Jeff, Laura and Peter had good views of the Juan Fernandez Tit-tyrant. Climbing a little further we had a good view of Cumberland Bay with Bolette at anchor and at that point Peter bailed out, deciding he didn’t really want to continue slogging up the hill in the heat, leaving Jeff and Laura to continue up to the viewpoint. There were plenty more Tit-tyrants to be seen as they continued up but sadly no further sign of the Firecrown.
Unsurprisingly, the eateries near the landing jetty were rather busy with people off the Bolette but a short walk away to the east side of town and Peter, Jeff and Laura found another restaurant, quieter and with the added bonus that it sold cans of locally brewed beer! The other attraction to heading to the east side of town was a boardwalk which gave good views of another endemic animal – the Juan Fernandez Fur Seal. They could be seen elsewhere around the harbour, but the boardwalk gave a chance to see them hauled out.
After lunch Jeff and Laura made their way up another trail which ended on a plateau above the town and had brilliant views of several Juan Fernandez Firecrowns. In the meantime, Mikey had found out from the locals that there was no need to leave the town to see the Firecrown, you just needed to find the right flowering shrub. This he had done and after waiting a couple of hours finally had good views.
By late afternoon, the bars were calling to Peter and Mikey who decided to let the heat go out of the day before trying to find a Firecrown for Peter (who had still only had the brief glimpse first thing in the morning). A couple of beers and a pizza later – what a setting – Mikey and Peter stood station by the bush where the Firecrown had shown earlier. It took a while but finally a male turned up and perched briefly before departing. We could now depart the island happy that everyone had seen the two endemics.
Alejandro Selkirk Island then onwards towards Easter Island
Clear skies and a serene, flat calm sea greeted on the morning of day three, with the island of Alejandro Selkirk (formerly known as Más Afuera), the largest of the Juan Fernandez group, ahead of us. Given the island is home to perhaps one million pairs of Juan Fernandez Petrel and 120,000 pairs of Stejneger’s Petrel there were quite a few birds around us. We estimated several thousand Juan Fernandez and several hundred Stejneger’s Petrels, there were also 50 or more Pink-footed Shearwaters, they don’t breed on the island so can only assume the feeding was good close to the island.
The number of birds around will have been the reason a circuit of the decks before dawn revealed four White-bellied Storm Petrels, one DeFilippi’s Petrel and one Juan Fernandez Petrel grounded on board. The Juan Fernandez was a brute of a bird and needed to be liberated straight away as we didn’t have a bag big enough for it. Fortunately, we managed to find an unlit part of the ship to release it and the DeFilippi’s – which seemed tiny in comparison. Two of the White-bellied Storm Petrels had managed to make their own way off the ship as we couldn’t relocate them, the other two were bagged and released soon after dawn.
Juan Fernandez Petrel and White-bellied Storm Petrel in the hand
As we approached the island a single Sei Whale was seen and as we left the island behind, we had a pod of 30 or so Common Dolphins. An hour later another pod of 30 Common Dolphins, was picked up, both pods were frustratingly distant and only identified by studying photos (digital cameras have been a boon for identifying cetaceans and seabirds at sea). Despite the fantastic conditions it was early afternoon before we had another cetacean sighting, a pod of 300 Striped Dolphins that appeared to be heading somewhere in a hurry, the area of white water around them visible from quite some distance.
Bird numbers had dropped off very quickly as we left Alejandro Selkirk Island behind, and it was pretty slim pickings for the rest of the day. Despite that we managed to see two Gould’s Petrels, a new bird for Mikey and Peter, so not a complete write-off. Otherwise, a few Grey Phalaropes and a dozen Sooty Terns were about it.
Juan Fernandez, Stejneger's and Gould's Petrels
Cetacean sightings remained rare too, even though conditions had remained excellent all day, with a couple of small pods of dolphins too far away to identify and then a spectacular large and very active pod of 300 Striped Dolphin late on, which really churned the sea up. However, the day was not done.
With conditions as they were we had an early dinner then returned to the deck to continue watching until sunset, a very wise decision as it turned out. A few minutes before sunset two large fins were picked up ahead of the ship – two bull Killer Whales! There were two females/youngsters with them too, what a way to end the day. The light was going as they passed down the port side several hundred metres away but still gave excellent views.
Killer Whales (Peter Howlett/OWE)
The day of the Beaked Whales
Another beautiful day with light winds and sea state 0-1, which lasted the whole day. Things got off to a slow start with very little in the first hour or so, however, that changed while we were having breakfast. With the millpond conditions the splash of a breaching whale was difficult to miss, even more so when it breached about 20 times in succession – Southern Bottlenose Whale – fantastic. It was great to be able to get so many of the breakfasting guests onto them and the spectacle was thoroughly enjoyed by all, what a way to start the day.
Southern Bottlenose Whales (Peter Howlett/OWE)
Despite the conditions the rest of the morning proved a bit of a slog, with only a frustrating view of four distant, unidentifiable beaked whales around mid-morning. Birds were scarce too, just the odd Juan Fernandez and Black-winged Petrel to keep us going.
With things so quiet we all went for an early lunch and had just resumed deck watch when more distant splashes were spotted. Amazingly, it was another pod of southern Bottlenose Whales, four this time. They were a long way from the ship but easily identifiable from photos.
We were all buzzing from that encounter when more splashes were seen, these were even more distant, probably 1.5-2km from the ship. Photos showed they were a group of four beaked whales but which species? From the photos we could see that the animals were a two-tone grey, paler on the underside but the most obvious thing was the long beak. The lack of white on the beak and the steep melon surely ruled out Grey’s Beaked Whale and going through the field guide species after species was ruled out until only one was left, Pete, Jeff, and Mikey all independently came to the same conclusion – Spade-toothed Beaked Whale.
Putative Spade-toothed Beaked Whale
To say it was frustrating that the animals were so distant is an understatement, Spade-toothed are only known from a handful of strandings and only been seen at sea once, so our views, whilst exciting, were a little bittersweet.
Peter was giving a talk in the Neptune lounge in the afternoon so was going to be below for one and a half hours or more and the infamous speaker’s curse was going to strike big time! Just as he was starting his talk a mother and calf beaked whale passed down the starboard side, followed by three other more distant animals. Despite getting good photos of the mother and calf their identification remains a mystery as they never showed the right bit of the beak to enable identification.
Unidentified beaked whale and calf (Jeff Clarke/OWE)
The three more distant animals were photographed breaching and could be identified as Strap-toothed Beaked Whale – another rarely seen species! Shortly after that there was another group of three beaked whales, this time Goose-beaked Whale, one of the most widespread of the beaked whales species. These were followed a few minutes later by two Pygmy Sperm Whales – the millpond conditions were ideal for spotting these diminutive cetaceans, which never show very much of themselves. Having missed the earlier beaked whales Peter fortunately made it back on deck just in time to see one of the Pygmy Sperm Whales just before they submerged ahead of the ship.
Unfortunately, that was it for the day as far as cetacean sightings were concerned, apart from a late sighting of three unidentified beaked whales, seen by one of the guests while the team were having supper. We did, however, see our first Red-tailed Tropicbirds, a spectacular bird – as all the tropicbirds are.
This was an out-standing day, to see so many beaked whales in such a relatively small area of ocean is amazing and may mean that there is something special going on that, in an ideal world, would warrant further research.
Onwards towards Easter Island
We were now over deep water (4000+m) without any features that might cause upwellings and improve our chances of seeing wildlife, and it was going to stay that way until Easter Island, still two days away. Highlight of the day was seeing our first Christmas Shearwater, a species none of the team had seen before. Otherwise, birds were a bit thin on the ground, although we still managed to log over 100 Juan Fernandez Petrels. Other highlights were: three Black-winged Petrels, another two Kermadec Petrels, two Cook’s Petrels, five Red-tailed Tropicbirds and a single Long-tailed Skua. Despite being out in the middle of the Pacific we were still seeing Grey Phalaropes, seeing them out here makes you realise just what oceanic little birds they are.
Black-winged Petrel and Grey Phalaropes (Peter Howlett/OWE))
A cetacean (even just a dolphin sp.) had been seen on every one of the 29 sea days since leaving Liverpool (that’s not including any day with a port stop). Today, the 30th sea day, was to be the one to break that run, it had to happen sooner or later.
The following day was more of the same sea state-wise, although we did manage to see some cetaceans – 80 Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphins, plus another 20 dolphin sp. later in the day. The team also had another new bird species, Henderson Petrel, one of the species we had hoped to see in this area. Herald Petrel was also added to the seabird list for the trip, a new species for Peter.
Juan Fernandez Petrel remained the most numerous species seen during the day, although at 35 birds that’s not many for a whole day of observing. They were run a close second by Grey Phalarope, with 23 seen.
Mikey was lucky enough to catch sight of a Leatherback Turtle as it drifted past close to the ship. Sadly, unless you’re standing in the same place you don’t stand a chance of seeing them as they’re gone in a few seconds.
Easter Island
We were due to tender ashore at Easter Island, but the weather dictated otherwise. There was a large westerly swell washing ashore at the main landing and, although the backup site was a little quieter, it was still too rough to get the tenders alongside. A huge disappointment to many of the guests on board, particularly those who had come on this cruise specifically for this.
Anakena moai (Peter Howlett/OWE)
Everyone had to be content with a circumnavigation of the island, which at least did allow us to see one of the biggest groups of moai and, perhaps best of all, the quarry site. We had set the telescope up on deck and were able to give quite a few guests a much better view of the moai.
Ahu Tongarika moai (left) and RanoRaraku moai (right 2)
We’ve seen a lot of flying fish during the various legs but today there seemed to be even more than usual and also much larger than we normally see. Either way, we got some great photos of them.
Flying fish (Peter Howlett/OWE)
Masked Booby and Great Frigatebirds breed on the island so unsurprisingly were seen in good numbers, best birds were five Christmas Shearwaters and four Henderson Petrels.
Sadly, this was another day without cetaceans – something we were going to have to get used to.
Brown Noddy and Christmas Shearwater (Peter Howlett/OWE)
Onward to Pitcairn
Next stop, although only a circumnavigation, was Pitcairn Island, another two day’s sailing. Our first day was very quiet, not helped by 35-40 knot winds and also 4000m deep, featureless abyssal plain beneath our keel. The wind eased late on, and we did manage a pod of 35 Pan-tropical Spotted Dolphin, so at least it wasn’t a cetacean-free day. Birds were very hard to come by and we logged just six in the course of the day! Most unusual was a DeFilippi’s Petrel, much further west than would be expected, we also picked up yet another Long-tailed Skua.
White Tern (Peter Howlett/OWE)
Things improved a little the following day, at least there were a few more birds, including our first White Terns, fantastic birds, and a tick for half of the team. We also had quite a few small Pterodroma petrels, with four identified as Cook’s and another five not seen well enough to identify. Christmas Shearwater, Kermadec Petrel and Masked Booby rounded out the species list. Unfortunately, it was another blank day for cetaceans.
Pitcairn Island
The island came into view not long after dawn and as we approached there was a definite uptick in the number of birds. A couple of Henderson Petrels to get the ball rolling then as we got nearer increasing numbers of White Terns, along with Brown and Black Noddy, and Red-footed and Brown Booby feeding just east of the island.
A group of islanders came out to spend part of the day on board selling gifts, while we completed three circumnavigations of the island. The sea was a spectacular colour, and the island looked fantastic.
As we circled the island, we picked out quite a few Red-tailed Tropicbird along with a couple of White-tailed Tropicbirds. Frigatebirds were also to be seen; all were Great until a Lesser put in an appearance just as we about to leave the island. At the same time as the Lesser Frigatebird flew past a Kermadec Petrel and Bridled Tern also flew over the ship.
Black Noddy (Peter Howlett/OWE)
As soon as we left the island behind us, we lost the birds, and the last few hours of the day were hard work with just a few White Tern and the odd Brown Noddy to keep the interest going. With 25 knots of wind, it was always going to be difficult to find cetaceans and we ended with yet another cetacean-free day.
Onward to Tahiti
The last two sea days of this leg before we docked in Papeete, Tahiti. Once again it was going to be two days over 4000m deep water with no features and to add to that the weather was pretty grim too, with squally showers and the wind occasionally up to 50 knots when the squalls came through. Needless to say, the last two days were without a cetacean sighting, not a great way to bring the leg to an end but we did have a few birds to look at.
White Tern and Polynesian Shearwater (Peter Howlett/OWE)
Highlight of the first day was Polynesian (Tropical) Shearwater. Once upon a time there were just lots of different races of Little Shearwater, but genetic research has shown that most deserve species status so there are quite a few new species to be aware of – Polynesian being one of them. There were also occasional feeding flocks of Red-footed Booby, White Tern and Brown Noddy.
Red-footed Booby, Wedge-tailed Shearwater and Brown Noddy (Peter Howlett/OWE)
The second day was the worst weather-wise, with frequent squalls and a three-four metre swell. Still, we added another new species – Tahiti Petrel – another that had been on the wish list for Peter and Mikey, along with a few more Polynesian Shearwaters and our first Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. Frustrating sighting of the day went to a dark-rumped storm petrel that just stayed too far away to get anything on it. It would almost certainly have been interesting as there aren’t meant to be any dark-rumped storm petrels in this area!
Papeete
A final change in time zone setting overnight, to match Tahiti, meant we had an hour or so of light before we docked. It proved very fruitful too, with some fantastic views of Polynesian Shearwater, Pomarine Skua and Wedge-tailed Shearwater.
As we approached the harbour entrance Great Crested and Grey-backed Terns put in an appearance, adding to the species tally.
Arrival in Papeete meant it was time for Jeff, Laura, and Peter to head home and for Mikey to be joined by Emma Neave-Webb, Russ Neave, and Karen Hetherington for the next leg to Sydney. However, our flights were not until the evening, so we had time to catch up with the incoming team and have a little wander around Papeete sea front. As it turned out the only bird worth looking for was the Wandering Tattler that Russ had found the previous day, fortunately that was easy enough and we had very good views of it.
Wandering Tattler (Peter Howlett/OWE)
The good start to this leg had petered out somewhat, especially on the cetacean front, but the early sightings would stick in the memory. As would the sights of Easter Island and Pitcairn Island, we feel very privileged to have been able to see this part of the world.
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