peregrine falcon on a cuise ship (1 Viewer)

[tmomany2]

Starting on August 8th we took an Alaskan Cruise on the Norwegian Sun from Vancouver BC to Seward Alaska. We had a peregrine falcon that had hitched a ride. We saw the falcon multiple times over the first four days of the cruise. The first day we weren't too far from land and assumed it was just coincidentally near by. But when we saw it the second day following the ship when we were far out at sea and saw it land somewhere on the boat we realized it had hitched a ride. We saw it as late as the fourth day of the cruise in Juneau. Since it stayed with the boat for several days, even after we stopped in port, it seems like it might have been intentional. Very curious if anyone has heard of this and if this was a regular occurrence for this bird, or a one time mistake.

 

[Alan henry]

Starting on August 8th we took an Alaskan Cruise on the Norwegian Sun from Vancouver BC to Seward Alaska. We had a peregrine falcon that had hitched a ride. We saw the falcon multiple times over the first four days of the cruise. The first day we weren't too far from land and assumed it was just coincidentally near by. But when we saw it the second day following the ship when we were far out at sea and saw it land somewhere on the boat we realized it had hitched a ride. We saw it as late as the fourth day of the cruise in Juneau. Since it stayed with the boat for several days, even after we stopped in port, it seems like it might have been intentional. Very curious if anyone has heard of this and if this was a regular occurrence for this bird, or a one time mistake.

Peregrine Falcons in the Falkland Islands are often seen hunting seabirds many miles from shore. I have seen them 100 miles from shore. While an oil rig was working in the Falkland Islands a few years ago a Peregrine took up residence on the platform and was often seen feeding on Storm Petrels and Prions.

Cheers

Alan

 

[trw]

Reminds me of the Homing Pigeon which landed on the old P and O ship,the Artemis, just off the north east coast of England.
It stayed on board all the way to Svalbard in the Artic Circle-and came back with us, to the UK.
On the return journey it departed-just off the north east coast! Somehow it worked out it was near the north east coast again-remarkable really!
The passengers and crew fed and watered it every day for two weeks.We all became very attached to the stowaway
The Captain told us it belonged to a Newcastle Pigeon owner-after reading the ring they established where it came from.
A Greenland Wheatear once hitched a lift on a cruise to Greenland and Iceland,staying on board for a few days. It eventually left us and made its own way home.

 

[Richard Prior]

Reminds me of the Homing Pigeon which landed on the old P and O ship,the Artemis, just off the north east coast of England.
It stayed on board all the way to Svalbard in the Artic Circle-and came back with us, to the UK.
On the return journey it departed-just off the north east coast! Somehow it worked out it was near the north east coast again-remarkable really!
The passengers and crew fed and watered it every day for two weeks.We all became very attached to the stowaway
The Captain told us it belonged to a Newcastle Pigeon owner-after reading the ring they established where it came from.
A Greenland Wheatear once hitched a lift on a cruise to Greenland and Iceland,staying on board for a few days. It eventually left us and made its own way home.

Unless it bumped into a Peregrine of course:t:

 

[trw]

Unless it bumped into a Peregrine of course:t:

Never thought of that!

 

[Nohatch]

This happens a lot on ships, especially during migration season. My holiday cruise list includes such unusual sightings as Red-backed Shrike on the North Sea, Grasshopper Warbler on the Bay of Biscay, and a (non-migratory!) Coal Tit on the Black Sea - that cruise was great as two Sparrowhawks took up residence on the ship for a couple of days and were hunting exhausted Chiffchaffs etc.

 

[trw]

This happens a lot on ships, especially during migration season. My holiday cruise list includes such unusual sightings as Red-backed Shrike on the North Sea, Grasshopper Warbler on the Bay of Biscay, and a (non-migratory!) Coal Tit on the Black Sea - that cruise was great as two Sparrowhawks took up residence on the ship for a couple of days and were hunting exhausted Chiffchaffs etc.

You are living in the right place to go on cruises!
I'm surprised more birdwatchers don't take this type of holiday.You can lounge around on the prom deck with your scope and bins and watch the birds go by.
Also a chance of finding some decent birds on port days too.
If you enjoy sea watching try a Faroes / Iceland /Greenland cruise-it is second to none.The Canaries cruises are great for seawatching as are any which sail through Biscay or past the Portuguese coast.
The Carribean cruises are not great for seawatching but the land-based birdwatching makes up for it.

 

[Nohatch]

You are living in the right place to go on cruises!
I'm surprised more birdwatchers don't take this type of holiday.You can lounge around on the prom deck with your scope and bins and watch the birds go by.
Also a chance of finding some decent birds on port days too.
If you enjoy sea watching try a Faroes / Iceland /Greenland cruise-it is second to none.The Canaries cruises are great for seawatching as are any which sail through Biscay or past the Portuguese coast.
The Carribean cruises are not great for seawatching but the land-based birdwatching makes up for it.

Haha very true! It's a good all-round solution for us when taking the kids and grannies along
There are always a couple of birders or whale-watchers on the top deck, totally out of place between the sun-lovers of course. In fact, I met the same couple on two separate cruises but forgot to get their names/email - apparently we refer to each other as Baby-Bird-Boy and Cetacean-Man :t:
The sea watching can be a bit mixed as there is no 'focal point' for the birds like a headland or so, and on the bigger ships you're quite high up. But as you say some areas are excellent. Last cruise was to Portugal, Morocco, Canaries and Madeira and it was a doddle to tick off all the endemics. Best moments were a flock of 40-odd Northern Bald Ibis overhead at Souss-Massa NP (highly recommended) and spotting a Zino's Petrel off Madeira (too early in the season for Fea's, so I'm counting it as Zino's....).
I'd still like to do one of the Arctic cruises, but rather on one of the German expedition ships - they're way more basic but get you much closer to the action.
Don't think I'll ever top the 10 day crossing from Antarctica to the Falklands via South Georgia, but that was on a science vessel...
That Vancouver to Alaska trip is high on the list though!

Joost

 

[trw]

If you fancy an Arctic Cruise have a look at the Fred Olsen brochure Nohatch.
I think they did an Iceland/Greenland Faroes trip this year-not sure about next year.
A lot of ships pulled out of Greenland because of the icebergs and dodgy weather but some might still do it-especially fleets with the smaller ships.We were delayed getting into one port - because an iceberg was blocking the harbour entrance!
It is in another league for sea watching with never a dull day.The Whale watching was brilliant too.
Svalbard is wonderful if you can get at least two days there but the trip up the Norwegian coast can be variable.
We are going around Biscay soon.The highlight is the seawatching from the headland at A Coruna and the sail out from there.
Bon voyage!

 

[Nutcracker]

If you fancy an Artic Cruise have a look ...

I don't fancy a cruise on an articulated lorry :king:

 

[njlarsen]

So far, the only cruise I have done was on the Nile, where being on the deck with a scope and bins gave some really good birds. I could be tempted by the Alaska Fjords and the Norway coast ones, but most of the rest ...

Niels

 

[trw]

So far, the only cruise I have done was on the Nile, where being on the deck with a scope and bins gave some really good birds. I could be tempted by the Alaska Fjords and the Norway coast ones, but most of the rest ...

Niels

The Norwegian cruises aren't brilliant for birdwatching unless they go up to Svalbard when it really livens up.The ships usually go past Bear Island which is interesting too.There were some lively birding areas in Norway but it is more a cruise for the scenery.

 

[Nohatch]

The Norwegian cruises aren't brilliant for birdwatching unless they go up to Svalbard when it really livens up.The ships usually go past Bear Island which is interesting too.There were some lively birding areas in Norway but it is more a cruise for the scenery.

Agree, it's a nice/cheesy way to see the fjords, although they tend to focus on towns such as Bergen, Alesund etc. Birding was poor though, especially since the ships tend to spend as little time inside the actual fjords as possible (they float around off the North Sea coast, presumably to open the tax-free shops?).

 

[trw]

Another species I've seen hitching a ride,on a few occasions, is the humble Meadow Pipit.Odd to see them scurrying about on the Pool Deck or standing on the railings.
Not quite cadging a lift but seen following ships regularly are Turnstones.I've seen a few flying alongside very close to the ship.
Also, Sabines Gull, which seem to be attracted to vessels and fly up very close.The only times I've ever seen this species is on cruises.

 

[tmomany2]

Vancouver to Alaska was fantastic. Plenty of birds and sea life. I made a separate post about a huge flock of probably hundreds of birds flying along with the ship around 3o-clock in the morning, while we were out at sea close to Seward hoping someone could help me identify them. They were smaller birds - not gulls - flying all around, not just along the water. they flapped fast and zoomed around like they were chasing bugs. But I didn't see any bugs. It was dark of course, so I couldn't see any colors. They did look to be light underneath when they got close to the ships lights. And the sounds they were making were "squawky" like sea birds, for lack of a better description.