Gill Sinclair's Wildlife Blog

Seeing the sites

2011-11-06T21:00:00.006Z

This morning we did the conventional touristy bit and drove out of the city through the smog and crazy traffic to visit the Terracotta Army (impressive, but I haven't posted any pictures because there are zillions on the web that all look the same). Unfortunately my most enduring memory of the visit to the Army was the dogs skins for sale at several market stalls on the site - some of the stall holders claimed they were wolf skins (which wouldn't have made it any better), but the larger ones were clearly from German shepherd dogs.
We then went back to Xi'an and visited the Wild Goose Pagoda which is a focal point for Buddhists and was very atmospheric but quite crowded. This lovely elephant statue graced one of the many courtyards.
The drizzly rain cleared and we walked around part of the old city wall, then meandered back to the hotel via narrow streets full of small shops. We bought gifts and I did my best to turn a blind eye to a trussed-up sheep being wheelbarrowed of to some no doubt grisly end.
Our trip ended this evening with a dumpling banquet.

Farewell to Foping

2011-11-05T20:00:00.002Z

Today we bid farewell to Sanguanmiao Research Station and walked the 8km back out of the Reserve, taking in the atmosphere of the forest for the last time. We then continued our journey by road back to Xi'an, hot showers and softer beds! Although it's 5th November and the Chinese did invent fireworks, it wasn't their parliament that someone tried to blow up in 1605 so there'll be no celebrations in Xi'an tonight.

A last search for pandas

2011-11-04T16:00:00.003Z

Today was our last opportunity for panda tracking, and thankfully the rain stopped. The paths were still streams as the rainwater continued to drain off the steep mountain sides. We bushwacked through the wet bamboo (tip - go near the back of the group so the people in front get the worst soaking!) to a beautiful wooded valley where there are resident red and white giant flying squirrels. They are pretty much guaranteed to put in an appearance when the guides bang on the bottom of their nest tree - fortunately there are still so few visitors to Foping that the squirrels don't get disturbed too often.I didn't manage to get any photos 'in flight' (which is impressive because at full stretch these animals are more than a metre across), but we climbed a steep slope to get on a level with the squirrels' home. Here is one showing neither its red and white coat nor its 'flying' abilities.In the meantime the trackers had had no luck with pandas, so we had lunch in the valley and headed home. One last Foping picture of some random moss (actually it did have takin hair caught on the underside, but not visible here).

Will we get out of the forest?!

2011-11-03T17:00:00.000Z

By this morning the rain was absolutely torrential. Definitely no tracking today, in fact the river was now so swollen I was starting to wonder how much of the path through the forest was still intact and whether we would be able to get out! By this afternoon we were getting cabin fever stuck at the Research Station, so headed out in ones and twos for a walk in the rain, which eased off a little. The paths had turned into streams, but I did have a brief encounter with a rock squirrel on the way back to base.

The river swells

2011-11-02T16:00:00.001Z

After a night of continuous rain which was getting heavier by the hour, the panda trackers didn't go out today. After waiting all morning to see if the weather improved (it didn't!) we attempted a walk in the afternoon towards the golden takin area. The rain got worse and the river was swollen - where we had walked across the exposed rocks two days earlier these had disappeared and there was now nowhere to negotiate the river safely.

More mist, rain, fungi & leaves

2011-11-01T16:00:00.015Z

The mist and rain persisted today. We did attempt panda tracking, but the rain got heavier and the trackers went home early, soaked from walking through the wet bamboo.

The forest was still picturesque even in the rain, so I went for a longish walk and took some more pictures of leaves, fungi and anything that didn't move and looked vaguely photogenic!

The mists descend

2011-10-31T18:00:00.006Z

There was only light rain at the Research Station this morning, but it was misty higher up the mountains and this apparently means that the trackers don't go out in case they unintentionally get too close to a panda and disturb it. The rain stopped and we waited for the mist to clear but it didn't, so eventually we went for a general walk in the forest. I enjoyed photographing the leaves and fungi - which looked lovely in the clear light after the rain - and a spider's web 'decorated' with dew.

Takin tracking

2011-10-30T18:00:00.002Z

This morning, with our guides feeling rather confident about panda sightings, we headed off in another direction in search of golden takins. We saw lots of signs, but no animals. Early clouds burned off and it was warm and sunny - with hindsight, perfect weather for panda-tracking:-/

Panda tracking day 2 - pandas but no photos:-(

2011-10-29T20:00:00.008+01:00

Today it was another crisp sunny morning, and I decided to head out on my own before breakfast. I didn't spot any mammals but the autumnal scenery looked fantastic in the early sunlight.

At breakfast we got fresh home-made flatbreads which were scrummy. At mealtimes we are always joined by a variety of dogs including our favourite who we have named 'Stumpy'. She was evidently at the back of the queue when they were giving out legs, and there were only half-size ones left. We walked 5km into the forest and then got word from the trackers that they had found a mother panda and her youngster. We climbed up an impossibly steep mountainside (or I would have said it was if there wasn't a panda somewhere at the top of it), with the aim of getting ahead of where the trackers anticipated the pandas would emerge. It was extremely warm climbing, and the local guide offered to carry my camera-containing rucksack. Our group had got strung out negotiating the steep slope when the mother panda (who evidently was not familiar with the trackers' tactics for delighting tourists) suddenly appeared not far below me and cut across the path of our group - a clear view for me if only for about 10 seconds, but the local guide had disappeared with my camera - no photos even if I had been quick enough! We all regrouped and waited quietly, and eventually the cub (about 12 months old) came bumbling along looking for its mother. It was slightly obscured by the vegetation but close enough to see how cute it was.

Panda tracking day 1

2011-10-28T20:00:00.007+01:00

I joined the birders for an early morning walk in the hope of spotting some mammals but no luck. Here we are in the 'restaurant' having our first breakfast at the Research Centre. (Note the little dog in the bottom left-hand corner - more of her soon.)Breakfast was interesting - a grey rice 'porridge' which appeared to be just rice boiled in far too much water, and rice dumplings/dough balls which were freshly-baked but possibly slightly undercooked and didn't taste of much. As the week progresses I shall learn that (a) a dollop of jam makes them more edible and (b) they appear to continue cooking for some time, so a dough ball or two stashed in one's rucksack becomes positively edible at lunchtime especially after an energetic walk!
The skies were blue today and the temperatures climbed as we walked - it was hot for late October. We went about 5km through the forest in several stages, waiting in between for news over the radio from the trackers, but they had nothing to report so we settled down by the beautiful river to eat our lunch.

After lunch, we got word that the trackers were on to a panda so we bushwacked up steep hills and through tall, thick bamboo, but the panda evaded us. All we saw was some panda poo, which is enormous! (Fellow guest Alf's hand included for scale - he wasn't touching it, honest.)

Foping NR and Sanguanmiao research station

2011-10-27T20:15:00.021+01:00

After lunch, we continued to Foping Nature Reserve. No vehicles are permitted inside, so our bags were loaded onto some hard-working little ponies and we started the 8km walk to the Sanguanmiao Research Station which was to be our base in the Reserve. Most of the path was concreted but parts of it and some bridges had washed away earlier this year in the worst floods in around 50 years, so we had to divert onto unmade paths. The forest was beautiful in its autumn colours - a mixed woodland still rich in many of the plant species that failed to survive the last ice age in Britain and never managed to recolonise as they had done in Foping.
We arrived at the Research Station as it was getting dark, but this is our 'hotel', photographed later in the week (when the mists had descended). Hmmm - not quite so 4-star:-)Inside is better, with an LPG heater to warm the room and a big flask of boiling water each day for washing, although the mattresses appear to have been stored at a pressure of several atmospheres and are quite 'firm'. I shall resort to sleeping on top of one duvet and under another - the joys of having a spare bed!

Weird monkeys

2011-10-27T20:00:00.012+01:00

Today we set out from Xi'an for Foping Nature Reserve. It was good to escape the smog that unfortunately characterised much of Xi'an and its environs, and after passing through an area of farmland we started to cut through the mountains and the road ran alongside a beautiful turquoise river.

We stopped en route to Foping to visit a group of golden snub-nosed monkeys in another part of the Qinling Mountains. The group is regularly fed by the local people and has become habituated to humans so we got some good photos. This species is endangered and found only in China, so it was quite a bizarre privilege to get so close to them. As well as looking weird, they have a strange call a bit like a plaintive human baby.

Arrival in China

2011-10-26T22:00:00.009+01:00

Today I landed in Xi'an city (from Manchester via Amsterdam and Beijing) at the start of an 'expedition' to look for giant pandas in the Qinling Mountains. I say expedition because it wouldn't be most people's idea of a holiday! (See later posts).

I was transferred from the airport to a 4-star hotel at which I had 1 night to stock up on as much luxury and comfort as possible to last me over the next 9 days. En route from the airport, I was surprised at the sheer amount of construction taking place - mostly roads and high-rise buildings to accommodate the huge numbers of people moving into China's cities from the rural areas.

The rest of the group arrived at the hotel from Heathrow via Beijing a little later, and we were taken to the Muslim quarter of Xi'an's old town for our evening meal. Not the best place for a veggie to forage!, but we enjoyed the atmosphere of the market stalls and shops, and saw the Drum Tower - part of the old city wall.

What a great team:-)

2007-09-01T10:00:00.001+01:00

Well, here's the inevitable group photo on the last day, when the sunshine and blue skies returned to wave us off.
Back row (left-to-right): Melissa, James, Pat, Elisa, Sophia, Bella, Chris.
Hovering half-way!: Mina.
Kneeling: Julia, Ann, Andrew, Christina (with Lycos), Diane.

Also another picture of Lycos - group mascot and expert porcupine-finder (although said porcupine waddled off before I could get a photo of it). Many thanks to all the group for being such great company for two weeks, and special thanks to my room mate Sophia for joining me on most of my early morning walks and sleeping through (or at least politely ignoring) my early rises the rest of the time:-)

The other rainy day

2007-08-31T16:00:00.000+01:00

Today the heavens opened again, but for only the second time - we'd been incredibly lucky with the weather. We visited Thomas Raddall Provincial Park, and although we saw lots of mammal tracks and signs the animals themselves were elusive. The animal in this photo is not a grey wolf - unfortunately they're now extinct in Nova Scotia. The clue is that grey wolves don't retrieve sticks from the ocean:-) No, this is Lycos, Christina and Chris's husky/German shepherd cross (although his name is Greek for wolf).
Soaked again today, we returned to Cherry Hill early to start our packing:-(

Nova Scotia's megafauna

2007-08-30T18:00:00.000+01:00

I'm talking about the vole there - not Sophia:-) Bet she hates this picture, but someone had to be photographed posing with our 'quarry' and it wasn't going to be me:-) This is a red-backed vole (trust me - I know it's too small to see!). This was the species most likely to be caught in our live traps. Today's work concluded our team's activities at Cook's Lake.

A show-off in the woods

2007-08-29T18:00:00.000+01:00

We came across this spruce grouse when we were checking our small mammal traps in the woods today. He was so busy displaying (to no-one in particular) that I managed to get quite close for a photograph.

Monster moth in the making

2007-08-28T19:00:00.000+01:00

Whilst we were doing a vegetation survey at Cook's Lake today, we spotted this huge caterpillar. If it doesn't get eaten, it will eventually turn into the largest moth species in North America - the cecropia - with a wingspan of five or six inches. Thank you to Diane for the loan of her little finger to illustrate scale:-)

The beaver's neighbour

2007-08-28T08:00:00.000+01:00

Sophia joined me for my morning walk today, and we had an unexpected sighting at the local beaver lake - a muskrat. Although it looks like a very small beaver, the muskrat is actually more closely related to voles. In this photo you can just about make out its 'cylindrical', tapered tail - very different from the beaver's flattened 'paddle'.

Cherry Hill's 'city centre'

2007-08-27T18:00:00.000+01:00

My pre-breakfast walk this morning was uneventful, but the village church looked rather picturesque in the morning sunshine so here's a photo! After breakfast, we returned to Cook's Lake to set our small mammal traps in a new area, and continued with the other survey work.

At Kejimkujik National Park

2007-08-26T19:00:00.000+01:00

Today we visited 'Keji' as it is locally known, to look for mammal signs and perhaps the animals themselves. Keji is quite a busy park (especially on a Sunday), so the only mammals we saw on our walks were North American red squirrels. They are even smaller than Eurasian red squirrels and just as quick. I finally managed to get a photo of one near the main picnic site, where the animals have obviously become more habituated to humans (and their lunch leftovers no doubt:-)).

We saw evidence of beavers too - classic gnawed tree trunks.

The seals save the day

2007-08-25T21:00:00.001+01:00

I somehow managed to persuade most of the rest of the group to join me on a whale-watching trip (and therefore felt a bit guilty later on when a few of them were a little seasick - sorry guys!). Our only whale sighting was a fin whale, which was good to see but impossible to photograph, and the captain did throw the boat around a bit in his attempts to get ahead of this fast whale as it moved around.

On the way back to the quayside, the captain took us to see some seals hauled out on the rocks - mostly harbour or common seals, but I spotted a couple of grey seals in the water too. I suspect these animals are the 'guaranteed wildlife sightings' on this trip - in case the whale and dolphin sightings are poor - and it was great to see them so close. By the time we got back to port everyone was feeling OK again and we headed to a local pub for food.

Blue skies in Lunenburg

2007-08-25T21:00:00.000+01:00

Today the blue skies returned, as you can see from this photo of a rather funky weather vane in Lunenburg where we spent our free day. This coastal town is a World Heritage Site, but I was more interested in the fact that it offers whale-watching trips.

The heavens open

2007-08-24T17:00:00.000+01:00

Well, this was Nova Scotia, and we had so far experienced unbelievably blue skies and warm temperatures. But today it rained with a vengeance and we got well-soaked:-( No photos today - my camera didn't even come out of its nice, dry bag! We collected in our small mammal traps early and headed for home, making plans for our free day on Saturday and hoping for better weather.

Elusive beavers (2)

2007-08-23T21:00:00.000+01:00

After dinner today, we drove to a second beaver lake near Broad Cove Beach. The midges and other biting insects attacked us relentlessly as we patiently waited for a sighting. To escape the attack, I walked across the road to the beach and as the light faded I took this picture on a long exposure, so the waves have turned to mist. One beaver did eventually put in an appearance on the other side of the lake, but it was almost impossible to see in the poor light.

Elusive beavers (1)

2007-08-23T08:00:00.000+01:00

We took another pre-breakfast walk to the beaver lake at Cherry Hill today, but its main resident proved elusive. Even so, the lake is a beautiful location especially in the early morning light.

More small mammal trapping, surveying and path clearing at Cook's Lake today.

Cheeky chipmunk

2007-08-22T19:00:00.000+01:00

We returned to Cook's Lake, and after checking the small mammal traps a small group of us surveyed the habitat and vegetation along the edge of a large field. On the way back, we encountered this eastern chipmunk. Apologies for the 'mistiness' at the bottom of the photo - a badly positioned leaf but, fortunately for me, right out of focus:-)

Dawn encounter with a deer

2007-08-22T08:00:00.000+01:00

I went for another early morning walk, this time on my own (Sophia decided to snooze for a bit longer that day). I walked towards the beach again, and on the way back encountered this white-tailed deer youngster. It will lose its spots as it gets older, but in the meantime they will help to camouflage it in the dappled light of the forests.

We rise before the sun

2007-08-21T19:00:00.000+01:00

Sophia decided she wanted to see the sunrise (6:23am!), so we got up nice and early:-/ and walked down to the beach with Bella. It was definitely worth the early start - the sunrise over the Atlantic was beautiful.

We drove out to Cook's Lake again after breakfast, and set our small mammal traps (the animals are caught alive and released). We checked and reset them in the afternoon, and in between times got involved in other tasks such as clearing new pathways (to make surveying more easy), doing habitat surveys and looking for mammal signs (especially droppings!).

We meet the resident beaver

2007-08-20T17:00:00.000+01:00

There are several small lakes in and around Cherry Hill, and one of them - only about 1/2 a mile from our house - had a resident North American beaver. My room mate Sophia and I decided to go for a walk before breakfast and see if we could spot it. As we discovered over the next two weeks, the beaver appeared fairly reliably at about 7:15am each day, but the views we got on the first morning were not to be surpassed. He/she seemed curious about the two creatures hanging around at the edge of the lake, and swam over for a closer look.

After breakfast, Chris briefed us on the research we would be helping with, and in the afternoon we paid our first visit to the research site at Cook's Lake.

The metropolis of Cherry Hill

2007-08-19T18:00:00.000+01:00

I arrived at Halifax International Airport, Nova Scotia, and met up with our project scientists Christina and Chris, their dog Lycos, and 11 other volunteers. The other folks had travelled from the UK, the States and Japan, although some had been in Nova Scotia for a few days and were a bit more lively than jet-lagged me:-) Chris drove us to the metropolis of Cherry Hill on the southern coast of the province, where we would be based for the next two weeks. Cherry Hill has a church, a hybrid village hall/auxiliary fire station, no mobile phone reception, and not a lot else... apart from the wildlife of course:-)

Sunset finale

2002-06-15T22:00:00.006+01:00

After my last day on duty at the lookout, we returned to base early and went for a farewell meal at a restaurant, where I discovered that South Africa is not the best place to eat pizza! Back at base I caught on camera this lovely sunset over Saldanha Bay.

No farewell from the whales

2002-06-14T18:00:00.002+01:00

A last day out on the boat, and - guess what? - no whales!

How the spring got into springbok

2002-06-13T18:00:00.003+01:00

The land surrounding the lookout is owned by the military but is also a nature reserve where the volunteers can walk whilst off-duty (as long as no target-practice is taking place!). At lunchtime today I went for a walk and encountered a herd of springbok. As this animal took fright, it demonstrated perfectly how the species got its common name!

A dolphin 'welcome home'

2002-06-12T18:00:00.003+01:00

There were no whales to be seen from the boat today but, as we came back towards the harbour, we were suddenly joined by a small group of hyperactive Heaviside's dolphins. They rode in the bow wave of the RIB for a while then disappeared as quickly as they had arrived.

Encounter with an egg thief

2002-06-11T19:00:00.006+01:00

It was a quiet day at the lookout today, but I went for a walk around the base in the evening and encountered this yellow mongoose, searching for ground-nesting birds whose eggs it could steal.

Whales at last! (2)

2002-06-10T18:00:00.014+01:00

We also took photographs of the animals' heads, as the patterns of callosities are as individual as human fingerprints and can be used to build a photo-ID catalogue.

Whales at last! (1)

2002-06-10T18:00:00.011+01:00

Back out on the boat today and - at last - whales! A pair of southern right whales were spotted from shore and we were directed onto them over the radio. We managed to get close enough for one of the research team to fire a biopsy dart to retrieve a sample of skin and blubber for analysis.

A prickly encounter

2002-06-09T18:00:00.003+01:00

The duty rotas stayed the same regardless of any bad weather interruptions, so today I was back at the lookout. As we drove back to base, we encountered a South African or Cape porcupine. This species is primarily nocturnal and quite elusive, and the individual we saw was obviously not pleased to encounter our vehicle. Before I could take a photograph, it trotted head first into a thorny shrub, leaving us with nothing but a quite well-disguised view of its rear end.

Fog bound

2002-06-08T14:00:00.002+01:00

Today the fog really rolled in, and we couldn't make any observations from shore or take the boat out to sea. Instead we went souvenir shopping!

A scaly companion

2002-06-07T18:00:00.012+01:00

Today I was back on lookout duty, and this time my companion was a rock lizard. Like the hyraxes, they also need to bask in the sunshine to get warm after the chilly winter nights.

Hmm... where are those whales?

2002-06-06T18:00:00.004+01:00

Today I was on boat duty again, but it was another quiet day at sea with no sign of any whales. Patience is definitely a virtue on this project.

Basking in the sunshine

2002-06-05T18:00:00.006+01:00

The temperature inside the concrete lookout stubbornly refused to rise above 'cold' no matter what the outside temperature. So the off-duty time at the lookout gave us the chance to warm up in the sunshine. The resident rock hyraxes were also basking in the sun - their thermoregulation is quite poor, so they need to absorb some heat before they become active. This animal looked much more at home clinging to a ledge on the cliff than the ones I'd seen on Table Mountain.

On the boat

2002-06-04T18:00:00.001+01:00

Today was my first day on boat duties. It was a quiet day as no whales were spotted from the shore. However, we were joined first by some cute African penguins and then by some hyperactive Cape fur seals (which were too quick to photograph!).

At the lookout

2002-06-03T18:00:00.010+01:00

Today was my first day as part of the lookout team. Our base was a World War II concrete lookout shelter on a clifftop 70 metres (230 feet) above the sea. The clifftop was part of a hill called Baviannsberg, which means baboon mount (although there are no baboons there now). Our job was to spot whales from the clifftop, track them, and radio their position to the boat team. Scanning the sea for whales is quite strenuous on the eyes, so the lookout team was further split in two with each group spending two hours on watch followed by two hours off. The views from the lookout were great.

Rendez-vous with the team

2002-06-02T20:00:00.004+01:00

This morning I 'rendez-voused' with the other volunteers and one of the research team. We drove a couple of hours north to the research site at Saldanha Bay. Our base for the next two weeks was to be some old military accommodation on top of a 112 metre (360 feet) hill called Malgaskop (gannet hill). In the afternoon, we were introduced to the work of the project, and in the evening we went down to the harbour to 'meet' our boat - a 6 metre (20 feet) RIB called Balaena. The research team and Earthwatch volunteers would be split into two groups which would alternate between on-shore lookout and at-sea boat duties.

A familiar face

2002-06-01T18:00:00.008+01:00

This afternoon I went for a walk in the Botanical Gardens near my hotel, and encountered an eastern grey squirrel - introduced to South Africa as well as Britain, and just as bold as the ones back home.

Arrival in Cape Town

2002-06-01T14:00:00.012+01:00

I arrived in Cape Town early today on an overnight flight from England. After checking into my hotel, I headed (of course) for Table Mountain. June is mid-winter in South Africa and the weather was foggy, so the views from the plateau were impressive but not picturesque. The mountain is home to Cape rock hyraxes which are habituated to the human visitors. They balance their fat bodies on the edge of the waste bins in the hope that someone will throw away some food. Hyraxes look like rodents but are actually most closely related to elephants and manatees.

I photograph Ólafsvík at 1:30am & try the tölt

2001-07-05T20:00:00.005+01:00

Iceland isn't quite the land of the midnight sun right now - the sun in theory sets just before midnight and disappears for about 4 hours. In practice it is barely below the horizon so it doesn't really get dark. Last night/this morning I went for a walk up to the waterfall above Ólafsvík and took a photo of the town at around 1:30am - the picture's a little bit blurred but amazing for the time of night.
This morning we went on another boat trip from Stykkishólmur but more for birds - no whales - then headed back to Reykjavik. My flight home isn't until tomorrow morning so I arranged to go horse-riding this afternoon. Some but not all Icelandic horses have a fifth gait, the tölt, so I specifically asked for such a mount. I'm not sure whether I did experience the tölt or not - it just felt as though my horse was trotting very fast and like I might fall off at any moment!

Update: I photographed a 'new' whale!

2001-07-04T20:00:00.001+01:00

Today we saw more humpbacks and I got a good 'fluke' photograph. Our guide suggested that we should send any clear photos to the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue to identify the whale, so will do that when I get home.
Update: one of 'my' whales was previously unknown to the Catalogue! I kind of hoped it might get named after me (although names can't be gender-specific anyway, unless the presence of a calf strongly indicates that an adult is a female), but the name given to it wasn't very exciting - HWC#4522!

Stormy skies & rough seas - but whales too!

2001-07-03T22:00:00.005+01:00

This morning the weather didn't look too promising but we set off for our first whale-watch. The sea was quite rough and some people were seasick, but we did see whales. There were a couple of blues but they didn't seem too keen on the boat and soon dived, only to reappear some way off.
We also saw quite a few humpbacks - these are quite blubbery, buoyant whales and need to raise their tail flukes into the air when they dive, which whale-watchers love! Each humpback has a pattern on the underside of its tail as distinctive as our fingerprints, and these are used to catalogue the whales for photo-identification.

Land of ice, hot water & hopefully whales

2001-07-02T20:00:00.001+01:00

In search of more cetaceans not too far from home, here I am on a short break to Iceland to look for the largest animal ever to have inhabited the planet - the blue whale.
On arrival at Keflavík airport today, we headed straight for the famous Blue Lagoon. It looks somewhat bleak and volcanic, and the air temperatures are cold even in July, but the water is extremely hot! Then off to our hotel at Ólafsvík on the Snæfellsnes Peninsular.

Been out of touch - now out of fuel

2000-09-11T22:00:00.000+01:00

Our homeward flight arrived at Gatwick in the small hours so I checked into a hotel for a few hours sleep before driving home this morning. Traffic seemed bad. Turned out a fuel blockade started whilst I was in Gibraltar, but I was blissfully unaware. Just had enough fuel to get back to Yorkshire. Welcome home!

More grumpy monkeys

2000-09-10T19:00:00.024+01:00

Today we had lots of free time before the flight home, so I took the cable car back up to the Nature Reserve.

More grumpy monkeys, including a pair grooming one another right in the middle of the path.

The early mist cleared so I got great views of the highest point of the Rock and down to the port. Must come back to Gibraltar some time with a better camera (and more skill) and snap those whizzy dolphins!

Dolphins but no photos

2000-09-10T13:00:00.000+01:00

Well, we've been out dolphin-watching three times on a great little catamaran (including an extra trip we paid for because the others were so brilliant), and we've seen common, striped and bottlenosed dolphins, but I have no photos! The dolphins are so whizzy compared to the big, slow right whales I saw last year in Canada that my little camera's delayed shutter action just can't cope (and my still-embryonic wildlife photography skills might have something to do with it too!).
Oh well, here's a photo of the beach next to our hotel instead:-)

We meet the residents

2000-09-07T21:20:00.029+01:00

This afternoon we went on a general sight-seeing tour, which included a visit to the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, and met the habituated (in fact downright cheeky bordering on dangerous!) Barbary macaques (often called Barbary apes). I don't think this one was offering itself as a souvenir.

Some of the mothers perched precariously on walls with the city way below them.

Had we wanted to use the telescope (below) to take a closer look at the view, tough luck - it was already occupied.

A visit to The Rock

2000-09-07T21:00:00.006+01:00

Dolphins and sunshine sounds like a good combination, so I'm on a short break to Gibraltar. The runway at Gibraltar is quite short (only about 6,000 feet) but the pilot managed the emergency stop OK and someone remembered to hold up the traffic on the road that crosses the runway, so here we are.
I loved this sign on the way in - it points the way to Spain as though it's just the local hospital or supermarket!

The bug has bitten

1999-09-01T19:00:00.004+01:00

Today we were supposed to just head back to Blacks Harbour on the ferry, but we got a bonus whale-watching trip back on the first lobster boat, to make up for not going out on the first day – brilliant! Even more right whales – I feel like they’re old friends now.
The whale-watching bug has bitten. When I get home I’ll be looking through the holiday brochures, getting a better camera and learning how to use it – whales are tricky creatures to photograph!

Back on a little boat

1999-08-31T19:00:00.005+01:00

Another trip out on a little lobster boat, and more right whales. I can’t believe how many we’ve seen, especially as I’ve learned this week that this is the most endangered species of large whale with only 300 to 400 left on the whole planet!
One more picture of a northern right whale's tail, in slightly choppier seas today.

Paradise is - sitting in a schooner bow, watching whales

1999-08-30T21:00:00.025+01:00

A real whale-fest today. In the morning we went out in a different lobster boat which, like the one yesterday, was actually smaller than the 50 to 60 foot right whales we encountered. Then in the afternoon a real treat – we went out on a beautiful schooner. I got myself a place squeezed right in the bow of the ship, so great views, and we saw not only more northern right whales but also fin whales.

More photos of tail flukes – if you love whales you never get tired of seeing that big tail roll out of the water, flip up and then slide back beneath the waves, but only the species with the thickest blubber need to do this (to overcome their buoyancy). Fin whales have (relatively) less blubber and so don’t show their tail flukes when they dive.
The day ended with calm waters and a beautiful sunset.

My first ever encounters with whales!!

1999-08-29T19:00:00.013+01:00

This morning dawned foggy and with only 3 days of whale-watching left, the tension mounted a little as we started to wonder whether we would ever get to out to sea.
However they have a saying here (and I’m sure in many other coastal parts of the world too) “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute”. The fog did eventually lift and we set out on our first whale-watch on board a temporarily-converted lobster-fishing boat (for part of the year when the right whales are around, the lobster fishery has to close down to protect these endangered animals from entanglement, so the more enterprising boat owners scrub up their boats, fit seats and a canopy and take out whale-watchers).
The sea was rough and some people were seasick, but we saw whales! My first sighting was a northern right whale breaching in the distance, but soon we got closer encounters.Photos of these strange whales can make them look like barnacle-encrusted rocks (their heads are indeed ‘decorated’ with barnacles), but when they dive and lift their tail flukes into the air, they’re more photogenic.

Fog keeps us on the island

1999-08-28T16:00:00.001+01:00

Today was supposed to be our first day of whale-watching, but the island is shrouded in thick fog. I’d been quite prepared to go out and not see whales, but hadn’t really thought about not being able to go out at all. The fog didn’t budge all day, so we went for walks on the island but the only wild mammal we spotted was a North American red squirrel.

My first cetaceans - some of the smallest

1999-08-27T19:00:00.006+01:00

A day spent mostly travelling to Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy. En route we stopped at a good lookout point on the coast and scanned for whales. I was convinced I saw a ‘blow’ but it was a figment of my overenthusiastic imagination.
On the ferry journey from Blacks Harbour to the island we keep our eyes peeled and I see my first 'cetaceans' (whales, dolphins or porpoises) – some diminutive harbour porpoises.

How I accidentally started whale-watching

1999-08-26T22:00:00.004+01:00

So here’s where it all starts.
A few months ago I decided to book a foreign holiday for the first time in 15 years. I chose a trip to the Rockies with a bit of horse-riding thrown in. Then a couple of months before departure the holiday company contacted me to say that the trip was cancelled – there was not enough demand. I could have a full refund or transfer my deposit to another holiday. So I looked through the brochure and for some reason chose a quite different trip - to the Bay of Fundy in eastern Canada, including four days of whale-watching.
I’ve never seen a whale before; I’ve never been on a small boat; but here goes.