As the survey team got up early on Thursday 6 September they were met with the grey skies of an early autumn. That was to be the only grey in this otherwise colourful and excellent survey.
Heysham, just north of Morecambe, is a relatively small port, offering goods and passenger services to the Isle of Man, and Belfast and Warrenpoint in, Northern Ireland, and Dublin in Ireland. Our survey was scheduled to take place over 2 days, sailing to Warrenpoint and return, with an overnight stop at the excellent Whistledown Hotel in Warrenpoint.
The outbound passage was aboard ‘SeaTruck Performance’ skippered by Captain Tuuling and, supported by a highly skilled and effective crew. The weather during the crossing was varied, with the sun increasingly breaking through. Although winds reached force 7, the ship was stable and untroubled by a swelling, breaking sea.
The Isle of Man, to which the ship passed to the south of, provided both spectacular views, and shelter from the northern wind. In terms of seabirds, it was relatively quiet until the latter part of the passage.
It was on both passages, as we crossed over a particularly deep part of the Irish Sea, at over 120 metres, that sea life was most abundant on both the outbound and inbound legs, perhaps an indication that as the seabed shelves it stirs food sources from the deep, food which provides for sea birds and others.
The return crossing aboard ‘SeaTruck Point’, skippered by Captain Kiszewski, proved to be rather more exciting for wildlife. A Pied Wagtail hitched a lift down Carlingford Lough, while and then near the entrance to the lough, as a foretaste of what was to come, a Red-throated Diver in summer plumage was seen flying up the lough. Disappointingly only distant views of seals were gained near the entrance to the lough.
The highlight of the 2-day survey was the positive identification of a Balearic Shearwater some two hours out from Warrenpoint. Both surveyors were able to see the bird in good light and reference to identification notes confirmed this determination. This was a thrilling moment followed half an hour later by very brief but close views of Common Dolphins in front of the ship. These were the only cetaceans seen during the survey.
A small brown passerine flying past south of the Isle of Man provided a moment of light relief from the challenge of identifying and aging immature gulls. Close to land on both sides of the sea a few small groups of terns were observed fishing.
Overall numbers of birds seen were lower than usual for an Irish Sea crossing. Perhaps the good weather during the previous few days had enabled them to move out into the Atlantic and away towards their wintering grounds. Guillemot numbers were low, but it was nice to see that often two birds together were still clearly an adult and juvenile.
We are grateful to CLdN and to both Captains and crews for their help and excellent hospitality. From the moment that we reported to their offices in Heysham and Warrenpoint, we were treated with courtesy, care and efficiency.
Mike Hopkins and Tony Marshall, Research Surveyors for MARINElife (Registered Charity No. 1110884; Registered Company No. 5057367)
Weather
Outward – cloudy, good visibility, wind N-NE 20-35 knots
Return – sunny, reasonable visibility with distant haze and glare for the first few hours, wind NE 15-28 knots.
Summary of sightings
Marine Mammals
Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis 2
Seabirds
Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis 5
Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus 66
Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus 1
Gannet Morus bassanus 63
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 1
Shag Gulosus aristotelis 2
Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla 83
Common Gull Larus canus 2
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus 4
Herring Gull Larus argentatus 7
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus 1
Larus sp. 20
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis 6
Commic Tern Sterna hirundo/ paradisaea 48
Tern sp. 11
Guillemot Uria aalge 142
Puffin Fratercula arctica 2
Birds seen in Carlingford Lough/Warrenpoint
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Shag Gulosus aristotelis
Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
Curlew Numenius arquata
Redshank Tringa totanus
Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
Herring Gull Larus argentatus
Woodpigeon Columba palumbus
Rook Corvus frugilegus
Carrion Crow Corvus corone
Hooded Crow Corvus cornix
Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
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