Since 2007, teams of dedicated volunteer ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyors have been invited on board Saga cruise ships to provide guests with incredible wildlife experiences through delivering presentations, running deck-watches, and generally being on hand to talk about any wildlife seen on the trips. ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyors collect vital data on the whales and dolphins they see during these trips, whilst also being out on deck to help guests to spot and identify the marine life they are seeing for themselves.
In April, Charlotte, Hannah, Terry and Neil joined guests on board Saga’s Spirit of Discovery for a journey to Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean - an incredible trip with some fantastic cetacean sightings! Team Leader, Charlotte shares the teams experience on board:
The team and I met at Portsmouth International Port ready to board the ship and start our adventure to Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean. Once aboard, we took a team photograph, completed the mandatory drill muster, unpacked and attended a meet and greet with fellow on board entertainers. We opted for an early night after dinner and a team briefing. Our first day at sea was a little challenging at times, rain and blustery winds meant that we could only do a little bit of surveying from the back of the ship. Our first sea day was also the day when Wildlife Officer, Terry, supported by the rest of us, delivered his first presentation in The Playhouse, showcasing the work that ORCA does and the wildlife that guests may be lucky to see during the trip. In the afternoon the sun shone, and we started seeing our first cetaceans: some beautiful common and striped dolphins. Our second sea day brought more blustery winds and rain but no signs of wildlife in the air or in the sea. Our third sea day saw us sailing down the Iberian Peninsula. This area is known to provide good wildlife sightings, and we were not disappointed: baleen whales were spotted, the only ones we saw during the whole trip.
Our first port of call was Gibraltar, where the team decided to head ashore to test the land legs and take in the scenery. We were delighted to spot a pair of Sardinian warblers in the park, but sadly they were too shy to give us a good photo. Before too long it was time to sail away and the team were out on deck, hoping to see some wildlife. We were rewarded with a sighting of five common dolphins.
Following Gibraltar we had two sea days where we began recording numerous loggerhead turtles, as well as common and striped dolphins. A lone Risso’s dolphin was recorded stealthily moving down the portside of the ship, and on our way past the Galite Islands (just off Tunisia), we encountered our first bottlenose dolphins of the trip, recording a pod of 21 animals, including calves!
Our second port of call was Malta where the Captain opened the Helideck for a more scenic sail-in. It was just beautiful as the sun rose and shone off the old town. Terry and I went ashore in search of chameleons and lizards and were delighted to find some.
The next day, another sea day, yielded very little wildlife sightings as there was a strong breeze coming right into the bow of the ship. Then began our five consecutive port days! We began in Piraeus for Athens where we went in search of the Evzones guards on ceremonial parade, the Acropolis and wild tortoises. Back on board, we hosted a solo travelers’ catch up in the Britannia Lounge during our sail away. The port of Kuşadasi in Turkey followed the next day, and our third port day in Çeşme found us only 70 nautical miles from our previous location. The team went for a wander around the castle and found more tortoises. Upon sail away that evening we recorded a brief glimpse of two dolphins.
When approaching our next port, Çanakkale, we recorded a pod of bottlenose dolphins and a pod of striped dolphins. After a fascinating day exploring ashore we headed up to deck 14 for sail away, where we recorded more bottlenose dolphins. Upon finishing our survey and whilst walking to dinner, we had many more dolphin sightings!
The beautiful island of Mykonos was our next port and we recorded a small pod of five striped dolphins when leaving that evening.
The team nicknamed the following sea day ‘bird bonkers bonanza day’ as many guests were thrilled to see yellow wagtails, various different pipit species, swallows, swifts, the stunning bee-eater and so much more flying around and above the ship.
Our next port of call was Syracuse, and after a day ashore we had a fantastic evening deck watch with two Cuvier’s beaked whales recorded resting on the surface. A large number of guests joined us on deck and were treated to an insight into the lives of these incredible deep diving creatures. We also recorded pods of bottlenose and striped dolphins.
The next two days were sea days, and we continued to record turtles, striped and common dolphins. Neil, supported by Hannah, also delivered the first of our two wildlife quizzes, helping guests learn a bit more about the wonderful world of whales and dolphins, whilst having fun at the same time.
Malaga was our final stop and talk about saving the best until last! During our sail into port we recorded over 30 common dolphins and the team, along with many guests dining in the Grill at breakfast time, were treated to a huge pod of over 80 striped dolphins feeding behind the harbour wall. It is difficult not to get too excited with the prospect that on sail away from port you will have a similar experience, but the team were quietly confident that we would see more cetaceans and wow! We recorded over 90 common dolphins, 18 striped dolphins, 44 unidentified dolphins as well as a brief glimpse of a beaked whale.
On our first sea day back to Portsmouth the sea conditions made it challenging to spot cetaceans, and the outside decks remained closed until mid-afternoon. However, the sun was shining on the following day, and the team recorded many sightings throughout the day. As far as the eye could see we had common and striped dolphins: over 200 were seen in the morning alone. We started the afternoon with Neil delivering the second of our well-received wildlife quizzes, supported by myself, while Hannah and Terry carried on surveying on deck 14. As the weather began to brighten and warm up, we recorded huge numbers of common dolphins and had two separate sightings of beaked whales which we suspected were northern bottlenose whales and Cuvier’s beaked whales.
On our final sea day we had no wildlife sightings but, supported by the team, I delivered the final round up presentation in The Playhouse, a slide show of the beautiful places we had visited and the animals we had recorded. Afterwards, we had an impromptu gathering discussing, for the final time, all things cetacean.
The team would like to thank Captain Simon Moore, Cruise Director Paul Hancox and Assistant Cruise Director Resty Sacedor and the whole crew, along with the many guests we all spent time with, for a fantastic trip.
The only way we can protect whales and dolphins is by understanding their distribution, and so monitoring is vital for effective conservation - this is where our Marine Mammal Surveyors come in...
Why not train to become a Marine Mammal Surveyor yourself? Book today by visiting www.orca.org.uk/train!