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Flocking to Marion in 2022


18/06/2022

Read about our flock to Marion 2022 expedition. A once-in-a-lifetime venture into the Southern Ocean was the announcement. It would be Birdlife South Africa’s next Flock at sea, and Marion Island was our destination. Having read about how successful the previous Flocks had been and all the positive comments and excitement, it was an easy decision to get on board. Now, all I needed to do was convince my wife to join me in what was dubbed the event of the year amongst the birding fraternity.

This powerful image tells the story of our memorable journey into the Roaring Forties of the Southern Ocean
Image : Juanita Aitkenhead
On duty and on-call for many of the special Sea Birds that we witnessed
Image : Juanita Aitkenhead
Wandering Albatross, the largest flying bird in the world, “Majestic in flight, Aristocrat of Wind and Wave”

A group of the most enthusiastic birders from South Africa and abroad, venturing into the Southern Ocean on a cruise liner in search for these vulnerable seabirds. Read about our experience and enjoy these memorable moments as we learned about the plight that most seabirds face in their struggle for survival.

Situated some 2130km South East of Cape Town, our voyage ventured into the roaring forties to Prince Edward and Marion Island

Bon Voyage!

As the MSC Orchestra sailed out of the Cape Town Harbour, we needed to pinch ourselves to make sure that this wasn’t a dream. After three years of careful planning and many hurdles, Birdlife South Africa’s Flock to Marion was underway. We were heading into the roughest, stormiest ocean in the world. We were going where no cruiseliner had dared venture before, the Southern Ocean and specifically Prince Edward and Marion Island. 

The MSC Orchestra arrives in Cape Town Harbour ahead of the Flock to Marion 2022
Drone Image : Juanita Aitkenhead
We needed to exit the Cape Town Harbour before the South Easter prevented our departure, you can see the wind clouds forming over Table Mountain as the forcasted gale force winds started blowing
A Cabin with a View, this was BLISS and we needed to savour the moment before our departure
Image : Juanita Aitkenhead

Prince Edward Islands

The Prince Edward Islands are situated in the Roaring Forties, approximately 2130 kilometres, southeast of Cape Town. Consisting of two islands, Marion is larger(25km long and 16km wide, and around 290 square kilometres). High cliffs dominate the 72km coastline with a few sheltered bays on the eastern side. 

Prince Edward Island is only 45 square kilometres, with no permanent scientists based on this Island to ensure the natural state is maintained. 

My Bird of the Flock, Light-mantled Albatross, (Phoebetria palpebrata) elegance personified, notice the blue stripe on the lower mandible as against the Sooty Albatross that has the yellow stripe on the lower mandible
Finally, we got to see King Penguins in their natural habitat, how different it was to our encounter with the King Penguin that visited us at Cape Point
Fairy Prion, one of five Prion Species we managed to Photograph on the trip, very contentious when it comes to identifying the various species as everybody has an opinion on what it is or isn’t

These Islands are safeguarded by the Prince Edward Island Marine Protected Area to preserve and care for the Fauna and Flora on and around the Islands. It is an important breeding area for 29 bird species: five albatross, 14 Petrel, and four Penguin species, amongst others.

“The Flock to Marion 2022” was part of the awareness campaign for the Mouse-Free Marion Project and forms part of an ongoing conservation project to eradicate Marion Island of the common house mouse (Mus musculus). 

Mice were introduced to the South African sub-Antarctic Marion Island by sealers in the early 19th century. Over the last two centuries, they have significantly reduced the abundance of Sea Birds. Since 2015 it was estimated that more than 5% of the summer-breading albatross fledglings are killed yearly. It would naturally include mortality rates amongst the other breeding sea birds on the Island. 

These mouse-eradication projects are a worldwide problem on many isolated islands around the world.

With 9000 Birds listed, this man was a legend (Jonathan Rossouw), stories that go on forever and a wealth of knowledge on almost everything we witnessed, it was a privilege to stand at his guiding station and just soak up all the information.
Thanks Jonathan Rossouw for making this trip so memorable
Image : Juanita Aitkenhead
Grey Headed Albatross seen at Marion Island, we didn’t photograph as many of this species compared to other Albatrosses at Marion
As down-to-earth as you get, barefoot or in slops, whatever you do, don’t show him one of your blurry images and ask “Hey Peter what type of Prion is this” trust me you will not go back for more……..
Image : Juanita Aitkenhead

The Aim Of The Project

The Mouse-free Marion project aims to bait the Island using helicopters, scheduled to commence in 2024. It is based on all the lessons learned from a similar restoration program completed in the winter of 2012 on Gough Island.

Excited to be part of the conservation efforts on Marion Island, we began in earnest with the planning and preparation for this epic voyage to the Southern Ocean. 

Northern Giant Petrel (Reddish Bill Tip) as against the Greenish Bill Tip of the Southern Giant Petrel, these Petrels rule the roost when it comes to deciding who feeds first.
  • Sea Birds and Cetaceans
  • Warm Dry Clothing 
  • Camera Gear
  • Birding Guides and Ship Layout
  • Proximity to the Prince Edward Islands and Marion
  • Sponsors

The organisers thankfully understood these requirements, and they started on a massive educational drive. Webinars covering the various bird groups assisted us in understanding the expected Sea-Bird species and how to identify them. In addition, we learned about the multiple Cetaceans we would expect to encounter:

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Sooty Albatross(Phoebetria fusca): This Sooty Albatross has a yellow stripe on the lower mandible. The Light Mantled Albatross has a blue stripe on the lower mandible.
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Eastern Rockhopper Penguin with the yellow tassels above the eye, has a narrow pink line around the bill, much thinner than the Pink Gape of the Macaroni Penguin
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Great-winged Petrel, this was one of the most common birds seen on the way to Prince Edward and Marion Islands

Identification

Bird Guides would be stationed around the vessel at dedicated locations to help identify the birds spotted, and reports would be radioed to all stations. Major sightings were announced over the ship’s intercom system.

Necessary Permits

High on the priority list was the permit for ship to enter the Marine Protected Area around the Prince Edward Islands and Marion. Unfortunately, it was declined, and we were restricted to a 20 km zone from the Islands, thereby removing any prospect of listing any of the Shore Birds. The Main Purpose of this voyage was to expose the wealth of sea birds and Cetaceans in the Southern Ocean to more than 1500 eager Flockers.

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This was the main reason for our #FLOCKTOMARION2022, to create the awareness for the plight of our Sea Birds on Marion who are literally being eaten alive but the House Mice that were accidentally introduced onto the Island by the early Sealers
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Heading home and warm, still and calm waters on our way to Durban, not often I was seen without my binoculars or Canon R5, the birding in these tropical waters was taxing especially after the flurry of activity on Albatross Thursday
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Shy Albatross, always distant and it was difficult to capture a decent image at such long-range, another of the Mollymawks

Communicating The Main Threat That Seabirds Face

It was the perfect setting to highlight the plight of our seabirds on the Prince Edward Islands, who are under threat from the House Mouse (Mus musculus). Ongoing research and a comprehensive feasibility study on the eradication process were presented by Anton Wolfaardt through a series of lectures on various conservation programs on Marion Island. Mouse Free Marion would create awareness and solicit funding to proceed with the project of baiting the entire Island over a calculated period of two weeks, in an attempt to eradicate these mice and save our seabirds.

Our Experiences On board The MSC Orchestra

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What more can one say, watching these birds as they passed the vessel, Straight into the 60 knots of wind and the ship travelling at 20 Knots, using its Dynamic Souring this Wanderer would be seen about 800m behind the Vessel, and within a short period of time it would quickly catch up and fly past the vessel without one flap of it 3,6m wings, remarkable and astonishing to witness.
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Devil Ray, yet another Rare sighting on this Voyage (seen on our return leg to Durban)
Image : Tristan Spurway
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The Blue Petrel breeds on Marion Island and despite it being a sought-after bird for the trip it was seen and photographed by a handful of Flockers.
Image : Mike Buckham

As we steamed out of Cape Town aboard the MSC Orchestra, the water became cooler, and we entered the deeper Plankton-rich waters of the Southern Ocean. We were excited as we started encountering more pelagic birds with an increase in the variety of species. Observing our first Wandering albatross with its astonishing dynamic soaring, enabling the largest flying bird in the world with a wingspan of 3,6M to travel hundreds of kilometres without a single flap of its wings.

Exploring the ship on the inside was extremely entertaining, especially when every passage, lift foyer and stairway looked exactly the same. Like most other first-timers, getting lost on the inside of the ship was a common pastime for at least the first three days. Unlike most cruisers, we also enjoyed exploring the outer rim of the ship’s passages, and very rarely even saw the beautiful pool deck.

We came prepared, as we spent many hours training hard before the cruise, to be fit and strong for the fun awaiting us. Taking the stairs rather than using the lifts also helped, especially when you have three fabulous meals on offer every day and a buffet open 24/7.

Upon Arrival

After three days of dedicated bird watching, we finally arrived at Prince Edward and Marion Island. “Albatross Thursday” and what a spectacle. Thousands of birds and penguins held us in awe as we braved the ferocious wind from the approaching storm. 

The calm before the Storm, Prince Edward Island bottom left, Marion Island was hidden behind the clouds on the right, all we got to see of Marion Island was some high clifftops to the very right of the Island, then the pending storm started to make a showing, very strong winds, high seas and very cold conditions
The beautiful rocky outcrops along Marion Island, that we unfortunately could not get to see.
Image : Otto Smit
Impressive landscape with a King Penguin colony on Marion Island
Image : Otto Smit

Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side, and we were met by a dense cloud-shrouding Marion Island. Low clouds and mist covered Prince Edward Island, luckily this Island was visible.

 With the storm just off Marion, the wind intensified, and we were buffeted by 100 km winds and heavy seas. Captain Pinto of the MSC Orchestra cancelled our plan to sail past the two islands and a further 100km south. They were expecting 10m swells and severe winds. Unfortunately, we had to turn back and head for home ahead of the impending storm.

For many, this was a massive disappointment as we never got to see Marion Island, nor did we get to spend time in the proximity of the Island enjoying the prolific birdlife.

“Albatross Thursday”
will remain etched in our minds forever.

The critically endangered Tristan Albatross that breeds mainly on Gough Island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago.
The Tristan Albatross is different from the Wandering Albatross, with a smaller bill, pure white back, piano key tail and the white markings on the wings with no distinct white leading edge too the wings

Heading Back – An Unexpected Rare Find

With the excitement of Marion fading away as we travelled northward towards Durban, who could have predicted the sighting of a critically endangered Tristan Albatross? We had the good fortune to have been part of a small group of flockers at the stern of the vessel when the Tristan Albatross made a dramatic and spectacular appearance.

We didn’t know it was a Tristan Albatross at the time, but Adam Riley, who guided this Flock, made the call. It wasn’t long before the announcement was made over the ship’s intercom of this rare sighting. 

Celebrating this remarkable moment with Jonathan Rossouw and Peter Harrison after we captured a few images of the critically endanged Tristan Albatross
Image : Juanita Aitkenhead
Albatross Thursday: A short documentary aboard the MSC Orchestra on the day that we arrived at Marion Island.
Video by : Juanita Aitkenhead
Another stunning sunset in the Southern Ocean, looking and longing to go back
Blue whale, the largest living mammal in the world, such a pity we missed this behemoth.
Image : Gregg Scott-Brown

With hardly any standing room after the announcement, we celebrated this majestic bird. We were blessed to have MBE Peter Harrison(the worlds leading Sea-Bird Artist and Autor of the latest “Sea Bird Identification” book) at the stern of the vessel. He showed us his reference images and described the differences between the “grubby Wandering Albatross” and the “Clean Pure White ” Tristan Albatross.

 We shared this memorable moment and celebrated our joy of this incredible find. Commemorating this moment with Peter and Johnathan Rossouw from Apex Expeditions, I have to rank this experience as the highlight of my birding career and a climax of the Flock to Marion Expedition. 

 Nothing could match the vibrance and excitement of the Southern Ocean, and as we headed into the warmer Indian Ocean waters, the birdlife all but vanished. It wasn’t easy to adjust to this slower pace of activity; however, we did see some incredible marine life on the return leg. Whales, dolphins, Flying Squid, and the odd Tropical Shearwater entertained us as we finally arrived in Durban. 

Dr Anton Wolfaardt who heads up the Mouse Free Marion Project
Enjoying the last rays of the beautiful sunset from the bow of the MSC Orchestra
Flock to Marion 2022 Group Photo

A Worthy Cause

Birdlife South Africa can be proud of its achievements – it was a professional package and a successful awareness campaign for the Mouse Free Marion Project. In addition, they managed to raise more than R3 million for the MFM Project. We wish them all the best of success when they start the eradication process on Marion in 2024.

As we all said goodbye and travelled homeward bound, we knew we had witnessed something special on this epic voyage. We eagerly await the next Flock, which will take us to the Mozambique Channel in 2023, searching for Tropical Birds and Boobies. Frankly, we can’t wait and have already started counting the days.

A huge thanks to all the guides that helped us to identify and list these remarkable seabirds, Thank you.
Southern Giant Petrel with a Greenish Bill Tip (Reddish Bill Tip for the Northern Giant Petrel) these Petrels rule the roost when it comes to deciding who feeds first.
Sunrise on the the deck of the MSC Orchestra, such an impressive vessel

Our Sponsors

We would like to thank our sponsors and some individuals who made this voyage so special.

Soft Plumage Petrel, we had one of these birds fly into the vessel and die, its was a pity that the Birdlife SA team decided to discard the bird, we would have loved to have seen this in hand a felt what they meant by “Soft Plumage” also a closer inspection would have helped to appreciate the size and make up of this Petrel species

A notice did go out to the crew and the voyagers to keep their lights off as we approach Marion Island. The night before this happened, the crew were cleaning the decks with their lights on. A very unfortunate situation, but everyone preferred to keep it under wraps. We made mention of this possibility prior to the voyage on our Facebook Group called Friends of Flock to Marion

Flying Squid, we watched this from our balcony and thought that it was flying fish, like a huge white cloud they all took flight. This was a first for many.
Image : Tristan Spurway
A pair of Wandering Albatross, majestic in flight and a sight to behold

Bird Guides on the Flock to Marion 2022 (In no order of preference)

Dreaming of Southern Ocean Sunsets with World-class food, View from the stern on the MSC Orchestra
Image : Juanita Aitkenhead
Mouse Free Marion, Flock to Marion Island, Alex Aitkenhead, Juanita Aitkenhead, Drone photography, canon photography,
Brown (Subantarctic) Skua, scavenger by nature
Dr. Dominic Paul Rollinson, hard at work finding many lifers for Flockers on this voyage, still looking for a binocular upgrade to Shrawovski NL

You can read more about this Voyage in the Birdlife South Africa Magazine (Vol. 10 No.4 May/June 2022) as well as Avontuur Afrika (#issue 18, who also used some of our images to cover this article).

Macaroni Penguins Porpoising next to the vessel, like all the Penguins in this voyage they were very hard to pick up in the water
Black-bellied Storm Petrel Finning on the water, one of the tips we learned on how to tell this species from some of the other Storm Petrels

Photographic equipment used on the Flock to Marion:

Canon R5 with RF 100-500 Canon Lens
Canon 1DX with 16-35 Canon EF lens
Apple I Phone 13 pro
Samsung Note 10
DJI Mavic Air S2

Thanks for sharing their images from the #Flocktomarion2022:
Tristan Spurway
Mike Buckham
Gregg Scott-Brown
Otto whitehead

Final Species list as Published by Birdlife South Africa: (our Species witnessed are ticked)

White-Headed Petrel, we can still hear the excitement in Johnathan Rossouw’s voice as he called the first one we witnessed on the Flock
Yes we did dress up for the Main Function, to be honest, we believe we should have won hands down, come on Mr Mark Anderson
Subantarctic Shearwater, what a tough little speedster to get in the frame and locked on focus

Whale-birds of the Southern Ocean

Prions (pachyptila) Afrikaans: Walvisvoel | Prion is derived from the Greek for ‘saw‘ referring to the serrated margin of the upper mandible created by a series of palatal lamellae. These filter small prey, functioning in a similar way to baleen in whales, giving the Prions the nickname of Whale-birds.

A prion bill showing the lamellae. © Colin Miskelly | Museum of New Zealand

All species breed in summer in burrows, rock crevices or caves. These small, blue-grey petrels with a dark ‘M’ across the upper wing, dark tail tip and mostly white underparts are the most abundant seabird in the Southern Ocean.

Slender-billed Prion: Even in the hand they can be hard to identify with certainty and very difficult to photograph, 3 million pairs breed at sub-antarctic islands in summer
Salvin’s Prion: Even in the hand they can be hard to identify with certainty and very difficult to photograph, 5 million pairs breed at Prince Edward Islands in summer
Broad-billed Prion: Even in the hand they can be hard to identify with certainty and very difficult to photograph, 2-3 million pairs breed at Tristan da Cunha and Gough Islands in summer
Antarctic Prion: Even in the hand they can be hard to identify with certainty and very difficult to photograph, 20 million pairs breed at sub-antarctic islands in summer

In Support of the MOUSE FREE MARION Project, please donate to this critically important cause, hopefully, the project will commence in 2024.


Alex Aitkenhead
2 Comments

Nicoletta
21/06/2022 at 8:25 pm
Reply

What an amazing adventure 🔥 Your vojage will live on in this wonderful record and outstanding photo’s 👏🏻 Where to next ?!


Alex Aitkenhead
22/06/2022 at 8:22 pm
Reply

Flock to the Mozambican Channel in November 2023 for some special tropical birds, we will be counting the days


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