Generally things have quietened down some what. With noon temperatures hovering around 34 celsius in the shade, being on deck is hard going when there is little to see. We seem to be surveying in an area with little marine life- the occasional flying fish, a brief glimpse of a distant great shearwater and the occasional bonus bird. Yesterday we had a very brief encounter with a nice adult brown booby- the bird kept its' distance and the light was not the best but it brightened up an otherwise dull day!
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| brown booby |
A couple of
dorado have also been seen around the bow of the vessel, ambushing the flying fish whenever the opportunity arises.
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| dorado, also known as dolphin-fish and mahi mahi |
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| arty dorado! |
Today was rather busier, with
sooty terns, a lingering
great shearwater, several
leach's storm petrels, a pod of 16
sperm whales and a distant group of
dolphins. I managed slightly better shots of the leach's storm petrels but admit to finding them very frustrating as they are shy of the ship and difficult to capture as they flit and bound over the waves and swell!
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| Leach's storm petrel |
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| Leach's storm petrel |
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| Leach's storm petrel |
Fast running out of days to get a Wilson's as I should be doing my crew change off this ship next wednesday! (25/07)............
