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Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl)

KELP GOOSE (Chloephaga hybrida)

A couple of spots on shore as we made our way through the Beagle Channel.

FLIGHTLESS STEAMER-DUCK (Tachyeres pteneres)

A few of these on various shorelines in the distance as we transited the Beagle Channel.

YELLOW-BILLED PINTAIL (SOUTH GEORGIA) (Anas georgica georgica)

Just a few of these around South Georgia, including from the zodiac between Stromness and Leith, at Grytviken, and at Cooper Bay.

Phasianidae (Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies)

RING-NECKED PHEASANT (Phasianus colchicus)

Ursula had one cross the road during the St. Helena highlights bus tour.

Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves)

ROCK PIGEON (Columba livia) [I]

Common around St. Helena.

ZEBRA DOVE (Geopelia striata)

Common on St. Helena, and quite tame around Castle Gardens in Jamestown, where you had to be careful not to step on one.

Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, and Coots)

GOUGH MOORHEN (Gallinula comeri) [E]

This species naturally inhabits the high plateau of Gough Island, and so there are only a couple of areas where it has been seen with any reliability from zodiacs just off shore. Because of the weather, we couldn't venture to that side of the island in zodiacs, but it likely wouldn't have mattered, as the Moorhen population has plummeted on Gough in the past few years, with only one pair being found during the most recent survey (though the island is a very difficult place to adequately survey). This population drop has taken place, perhaps not coincidentally, since the unsuccessful mouse eradication effort that was undertaken there to protect the seabirds. Luckily, they were introduced to Tristan Island (where there used to be a different species of flightless Moorhen, which is now extinct) in the late 1950s, and some of us were able to hear and/or see them a couple of kilometers outside town during our several hour sojourn on the island.

Chionidae (Sheathbills)

SNOWY SHEATHBILL (Chionis albus)

Reasonable numbers at a couple of spots around South Georgia, especially around the southeastern tip, around Drygalski Fjord and Cooper Bay.

Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers)

BLACKISH OYSTERCATCHER (Haematopus ater)

A couple on a rocky peninsula along the north side of the Beagle Channel.

MAGELLANIC OYSTERCATCHER (Haematopus leucopodus)

Karen spotted one flying around the shoreline on the north side of the Beagle on our first morning out of Ushuaia.

Charadriidae (Plovers and Lapwings)

ST. HELENA PLOVER (Charadrius sanctaehelenae) [E]

The Wirebird! Everyone eventually got views of this last of the extant endemic landbird species on St. Helena, which is common in appropriate habitat, but those appropriate habitats are patchy on the island.

Stercorariidae (Skuas and Jaegers)

CHILEAN SKUA (Stercorarius chilensis)

Several in the Beagle Channel on our first morning cruising out of Ushuaia.

BROWN SKUA (SUBANTARCTIC) (Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi)

The hulking Brown Skuas with huge bills around South Georgia were this subspecies. The King Penguins are especially not fond of these prolific predators.

BROWN SKUA (TRISTAN) (Stercorarius antarcticus hamiltoni)

A bit more petite than the taxon on South Georgia, we saw these quite a few times around Tristan da Cunha, and they were especially common around Gough and Inaccessible Islands.

PARASITIC JAEGER (Stercorarius parasiticus)

We had single immatures on each of the final two days of our approach to St. Helena, with the second one chasing White Terns around over the feeding tern flocks at the Bonaparte Seamount.

LONG-TAILED JAEGER (Stercorarius longicaudus)

We had a couple of these sprinkled through the final three sea days, including one adult on the water (seen by Dave), and a couple of them at Bonaparte Seamount.

Laridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)

BROWN-HOODED GULL (Chroicocephalus maculipennis)

A couple around the port at Ushuaia.

DOLPHIN GULL (Leucophaeus scoresbii)

Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel, including a couple of interesting looking dark-billed, sooty-bodied young birds.

KELP GULL (Larus dominicanus)

Ushuaia, the Beagle Channel, and then common again at a couple of spots at South Georgia, but totally absent at sea and after South Georgia.

BROWN NODDY (Anous stolidus stolidus)

We saw a couple of these off Nightingale Island as we circumnavigated it on our final day in the Tristan group, but then we got heaping helpings of them at the Bonaparte Seamount and along the shores of St. Helena.

BLACK NODDY (MINUTUS GROUP) (Anous minutus atlanticus)

It was a real delight to have these alongside their larger, chocolatey, Brown Noddy cousins, where we got to have repeated practice separating the two. The most fascinating noddy experience though (even more than watching a couple of them attempt to forage with storm-petrels), might have ben seeing their cliff nests adorned with guano stalactites.

WHITE TERN (ATLANTIC) (Gygis alba alba)

Our first of these was of a bird carrying three fish in its bill in pelagic waters more than 80 miles from St. Helena, which seemed pretty odd, given the trip involved to get back to land for feeding young or mating. We then had twenty or more at the Bonaparte Seamount later that day. Then we got to St. Helena, where White Terns are the most conspicuous birds along the coast and especially around Jamestown. We got to watch these bizarre birds flying around and courting from the seaside cliffs to the inland nonnative pines over Napoleon's tomb, and they never really got old. If you're gonna have a super abundant and conspicuous bird, you could do worse than White Tern!

SOOTY TERN (Onychoprion fuscatus)

We saw a handful of these with the mixed species feeding tern flocks at the Bonaparte Seamount on the day we approached St. Helena.

ARCTIC TERN (Sterna paradisaea)

A few possible/likely individuals between South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha, where Antarctic Tern (probably more than one taxon) is a common breeder. Then we started to see more and more as we got towards the tropics, and they figured fairly prominently (over a dozen, with at least a couple at most flocks) in the feeding flocks at the Bonaparte Seamount.

SOUTH AMERICAN TERN (Sterna hirundinacea)

Around the dock in Ushuaia, and then along the Beagle Channel the next day.

ANTARCTIC TERN (Sterna vittata)

We saw lots of these around South Georgia, where they had mostly finished up breeding, with fledged juveniles following around adults in worn or post-breeding plumage. At Gough Island and Tristan, there were again fresh juveniles, but the adults looked a bit different, with apparently different post/non-breeding face patterns than the birds farther south. It was interesting to see the different stages of breeding and molt in this species across many degrees of latitude at the same season.

Phaethontidae (Tropicbirds)

RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD (Phaethon aethereus aethereus)

We saw a couple of these in pelagic waters as we made our way towards St. Helena, but once we got to Jamestown, we really got to see them show up and show out. They were flying around the cliffs above town calling and courting, and the view from the top of Jacob's Ladder put them at or below eye level. Spectacular.

Spheniscidae (Penguins)

KING PENGUIN (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

We were fortunate enough to be able to get into the midst of the colony at Fortuna Bay, where we got to hang out in close quarters with these big, lovable, and highly entertaining flipper birds.

GENTOO PENGUIN (Pygoscelis papua)

We saw Gentoos (the fastest recorded swimmers of all the penguin species) in several places, but the favorite context must have been the ice bergs below their colony in Godthul Bay, where they were being absolute goofballs flying out of the water onto the bergs and then slipping, sliding, and tumbling back down in the water.

CHINSTRAP PENGUIN (Pygoscelis antarcticus)

Some nice views of these snappy looking penguins on our final morning at South Georgia, at Cooper Bay. They were especially prevalent swimming and porpoising around the mothership both before and after our zodiac cruise here.

MAGELLANIC PENGUIN (Spheniscus magellanicus)

Lots of these at a couple of spots along the Beagle Channel on our first morning out of port. This was one that we were only able to see because of our weather-dictated itinerary change that enabled us to transit the Beagle during daylight hours, which was not part of the original plan.

MACARONI PENGUIN (Eudyptes chrysolophus)

One of the big highlights of our magical final morning at South Georgia, where we got to spend time at one of the more accessible colonies of these rockhoppers, at Cooper Bay.

SOUTHERN ROCKHOPPER PENGUIN (Eudyptes chrysocome)

This was our first rockhopper of the trip, and most unexpected, as our only real chance to see it was at sea south of the Falklands. Bruce ably spotted one ahead of the ship as we plied these very waters, and with enough warning that lots of people were able to see it lounging on the surface.

MOSELEY'S ROCKHOPPER PENGUIN (Eudyptes moseleyi)

Dave nicknamed these the Mostly Rockhopper Penguins, and we saw them really well at their stronghold of Gough Island, where we saw rafts of them swimming around our zodiacs as we putted around amid the cacophony of penguins and fur seals beneath their breeding cliffs.

Diomedeidae (Albatrosses)

YELLOW-NOSED ALBATROSS (ATLANTIC) (Thalassarche chlororhynchos chlororhynchos)

We didn't see any of these until we approached Gough Island, but by the time we landed on Tristan a few days later, they were old friends. During that landing, we watched small kettles of these (!!!!) circling around and gliding over the high cliffs, and coursing low along hillsides. It was really neat to spend so much time with these birds in a context that birders don't often think of them in.

GRAY-HEADED ALBATROSS (Thalassarche chrysostoma)

These were liberally sprinkled into the pelagic birdscape on the way to South Georgia, but they quickly dwindled as we headed north towards Gough.

WHITE-CAPPED ALBATROSS (STEADI) (Thalassarche cauta steadi)

On the morning of our third day out from South Georgia, our first clear sky morning since we departed, an adult (likely of the New Zealand steadi subspecies based on some bill color details) appeared off the bow and then circled off the boat for a couple of minutes. Later that day, we had a younger White-capped Albatross make a flyby off the boat as well.

BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS (BLACK-BROWED) (Thalassarche melanophris melanophris)

Perhaps the most widespread of our albatrosses, we had these regularly until we approached Gough Island, at which point they dropped off fairly significantly, and disappeared north of there. They were especially abundant around South Georgia, where they have some breeding presence.

SOOTY ALBATROSS (Phoebetria fusca)

A lifer for all of us! We started seeing these the day after we left South Georgia and headed north, and we had them every day for a week. At one point, this range restricted beauty was one of our most common albatross.

LIGHT-MANTLED ALBATROSS (Phoebetria palpebrata)

Just a few of these at sea as we headed for South Georgia, but we also got the chance to see a plump, fluffy chick on a low rocky wall/cliff at Fortuna Bay, on South Georgia. It was our first albatross baby, and the oversized fuzzball was pretty darn cute.

SOUTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS (Diomedea epomophora)

A few of these New Zealand-breeding behemoths on our first sailing day, then just one or two that we could confirm thereafter.

SNOWY ALBATROSS (Diomedea exulans)

This was the great albatross that we spent the most time with during the first section of the tour, and we tallied over twenty on three of the four fully at-sea days between Tierra del Fuego and South Georgia Island. Watching these stupendous birds effortlessly soar about on the southern ocean winds was one of the great highlights of the trip. As we continued north from South Georgia, and approached Gough, where the next species breeds, but this one does not, we saw a couple of birds that looked like this taxon, though separating the various taxa (now species) of the Wandering Albatross complex is quite the challenge.

TRISTAN ALBATROSS (Diomedea dabbenena)

As mentioned in the account of Snowy Albatross, these can be quite difficult to differentiate from their congeners at sea. However, they do have some distinctive older plumages, as they retain the chocolate look longer into their lives, and even into adulthood, than do the more southern-breeding Snowy Albatross. We got to see Tristan Albatross around their breeding islands, especially near the impressive cliffs of Gough Island.

Oceanitidae (Southern Storm-Petrels)

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL (WILSON'S) (Oceanites oceanicus exasperatus)

We saw some Wilson's Storm-Petrels of the subspecies that we are familiar with from the United States as we moved east in Drake Passage, and then in the vicinity of South Georgia and northward, but apparently, the vast majority of these southern ocean breeders had already moved away from their breeding waters and started the northbound journey, and it's possible that some of the few we saw in March and April are spending this northern summer off of the northeast coast of the US, perhaps being seen by birders on pelagic trips or whale-watching boats.

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL (FUEGIAN) (Oceanites oceanicus chilensis)

We encountered the majority of our Wilson's Storm-Petrels on our first day of sailing, and as we reached the mouth of the Beagle Channel, and in the waters beyond, we noticed that many of these birds were strikingly different looking than the Wilson's that are seen by most Northern Hemisphere birders. Many of these had noticeably white bars in the underwings, more extensive white around the vent and lower belly, and were in all manner of molt, from fresh birds that were likely recently hatched, to birds heavily molting their primaries. It is a good bet that most, or all, of these were the locally breeding, and not highly migratory, Fuegian Storm-Petrels.

GRAY-BACKED STORM-PETREL (Garrodia nereis)

A few of these, though they can be tricky to see well. We finally got some repeated chances and our best looks as we circumnavigated Gough Island.

WHITE-BELLIED STORM-PETREL (WHITE-BELLIED) (Fregetta grallaria leucogaster)

BLACK-BELLIED STORM-PETREL (Fregetta tropica tropica)

The Fregetta of the colder subantarctic waters, we had good views of a few of these exhibiting their distinctive foot-dragging behavior and impressively (and perhaps frustratingly) variable black areas on the white underparts.

BLACK-BELLIED STORM-PETREL (Fregetta tropica melanoleuca)

This is the "Gough Storm-Petrel" that is also known as the "white-bellied" Black-bellied Storm-Petrel, and it was the commonest storm-petrel around Gough, and abundant around the Tristan Islands. This one had a clear white belly and chest with a straight border between the belly and the dark undertail coverts.

Hydrobatidae (Northern Storm-Petrels)

LEACH'S STORM-PETREL (LEACH'S) (Hydrobates leucorhous leucorhous)

We saw a few of these on the last couple of sea days before St. Helena, all in deep water, and mostly before we encountered any of the St. Helena Band-rumpeds.

BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL (Hydrobates castro)

The St. Helena subspecies (Easily remembered as Hydrobates castro helena) of Band-rumped Storm-Petrel seems to a fairly distinctive one, with broader wings, a big, bulky build, and an atypical daylight-active habit at the nesting colony (though the latter trait could just be born out of a lack of predators at St. Helena). We got spectacular looks at these intriguing birds on each of three days of birding the west coast of St. Helena.

Procellariidae (Shearwaters and Petrels)

SOUTHERN GIANT-PETREL (Macronectes giganteus)

The giant-petrel of the pale green bill tip. They were common around and on the way to South Georgia, where they intermingled with Northern Giant-Petrel in mixed feeding flocks. We also saw several of the striking "White Nelly" morphs that only exists in Southern Giant-Petrel, and not Northern.

NORTHERN GIANT-PETREL (Macronectes halli)

The big bulky bruiser with the reddish tip to the bill, we only saw one (a fresh juvenile) after leaving South Georgia Island, since the giant-petrels that breed on Gough Island all have green bill tips.

SOUTHERN FULMAR (Fulmarus glacialoides)

A few scattered throughout the first half of the voyage, seen on four days, and not much more than a dozen individuals.

CAPE PETREL (ANTARCTIC) (Daption capense capense)

Shockingly few of these often abundant "Cape Pigeons" along our route. The species has declined in recent years, but the reasons (long-line fishing? avian flu? changing food web due to climate change?) are not completely clear. We did thoroughly enjoy the sharp-dressed and agile few that we saw during the first third of the trip though.

KERGUELEN PETREL (Aphrodroma brevirostris)

We knew it as the dinner-bell petrel for the first couple of days, when they would seemingly appear as the kitchen started prepping dinner, and the scent would potentially waft out from the stack. Whether this was mere coincidence or something more targeted, their afternoon appearances were always a delight. At some point early on though, we started seeing them at all times of the day. We saw over a hundred during our trip, and we never tired of watching their sky-walking ways as they would dynamically glide around higher in the sky than all the other tubenoses.

GREAT-WINGED PETREL (Pterodroma macroptera)

The old breeding population estimate on the island of Tristan da Cunha was something like 1,500 pairs. A few years ago, on this very same voyage, birders on the ship found many more heading back to the island in the evening, and conjectured that they saw around 10,000. This year, we tried to replicate that effort, and we watched from a distance (as we were taking shelter from the big wind along the south side of the island ) as they poured into the island from the SE for the final hour and a half of light. A rigorous counting effort with a couple of different methods came up with 15,000 individuals. What a spectacle!

SOFT-PLUMAGED PETREL (Pterodroma mollis)

Our most familiar Pterodroma of the trip. These dynamic magicians of the air were at home throughout our voyage, from cold waters off of Cape Horn, all the way up to Tristan. We even saw one of the very scarce dark-morph individuals on one evening.

WHITE-HEADED PETREL (Pterodroma lessonii)

We had a couple of close, but ephemeral, sightings of this striking Pterodroma from the other side of the southern oceans. The stretch where we were most on alert for this species, between South Georgia and Gough islands, was indeed where all of our sightings took place.

ATLANTIC PETREL (Pterodroma incerta)

We started encountering these the day after we left South Georgia behind, and they were with us for a week, all the way through out Tristan da Cunha sojourn. There was some rumor aboard the ship of a cryptic subspecies of these that has a larger bill, but at the moment there is not more than a rumor, though we did photograph as many of these as we could, and did find a couple that may have been beefier than the norm.

BLUE PETREL (Halobaena caerulea)

We had really nice numbers, and views, of Blue Petrels on our two at sea days immediately before arriving at South Georgia. Seeing these dynamic near-prions mixed in with prion flocks was both fun and instructive.

FAIRY PRION (Pachyptila turtur)

We had especially good numbers of this pale, floaty prion with the broad dark tail-band on our final day approaching South Georgia Island.

BROAD-BILLED PRION (Pachyptila vittata)

Over a million of these breed on Gough Island, and hopefully their population is increasing with the attempted suppression of house mouse on the island. We saw plenty of large-billed prions on either side of Gough Island, but separating Broad-billed from the also-broad-billed MacGillivray's is very tricky, and so lots of photos and close observations were called for when it came to these. Molt timing may be one of the major keys to separating the two species here, as their breeding cycles are a few months off from one another.

MACGILLIVRAY'S PRION (Pachyptila macgillivrayi)

A good explanation of our experience with these is in the above species comments. We saw lots of fresh, clean-faced birds flying around close behind the boat, and we took many of these to be recently fledged juvenile MacGillivray's. Again, copious photos were warranted during these observations.

ANTARCTIC PRION (Pachyptila desolata)

Many on our approach to South Georgia, though it was hard to tell when (and even if) we crossed the Antarctic Convergence, which has classically been used as one of the supposed delineators between their range and that of the very similar-looking Slender-billed Prion.

SLENDER-BILLED PRION (Pachyptila belcheri)

We had these over the first couple of days, and even as we got over closer to South Georgia, perhaps because the water temperature stayed relatively warm for the area.

BULWER'S PETREL (Bulweria bulwerii)

This was one of the final additions to our tubenose list. We saw these oddly proportioned, gangly, long-winged petrels once we got into warm water, with the highest number being as we neared St. Helena.

GRAY PETREL (Procellaria cinerea)

These are the outliers of the Procellaria genus, as the only ones that aren't overall chocolate brown to blackish. We saw good numbers between South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha. We got some great views of them in comparison to other tubenoses over the course of a week or so, and even had one come in over our zodiac at Gough Island, heading for its nest somewhere on the rock's steep cliffs and/or forests.

WHITE-CHINNED PETREL (Procellaria aequinoctialis)

The "generic" and most widespread of the Procellaria, spanning basically the entire southern ocean. We had them in reasonable numbers on the first half of the tour, and then they started to be replaced (though not completely) by Spectacled Petrels as we made our way north. Some of these had very extensive white on the chins and faces, leading to logical speculation about interbreeding between this and the next taxon.

SPECTACLED PETREL (Procellaria conspicillata)

What a cool tubenose!! This was one of the most desired of all the seabirds on this tour, due to its limited distribution, and striking face pattern. We ended up seeing a plenty of them around Gough and the Tristan group, and they often followed the ship for long periods of time during our open ocean. Then, as we made our way north towards tropical waters, we began playing the "what's the farthest north we can see a Spectacled Petrel?" game, since they were the last of the cold water species that we saw as we sailed into the doldrums.

CORY'S SHEARWATER (BOREALIS) (Calonectris diomedea borealis)

We saw a handful around Tristan, and then some more between the Bonaparte Seamount and St. Helena.

GREAT SHEARWATER (Ardenna gravis)

Big numbers around Gough, and especially around Tristan. Virtually the entire world population breeds on those four islands, with the highest numbers on Nightingale Island, which we circumnavigated a couple of times.

SOOTY SHEARWATER (Ardenna grisea)

This trip found the vast majority of this globetrotting seabird in the Beagle Channel (hundreds), and we continued to see them in ones and twos for the next three days as we headed east towards South Georgia, after which they became much scarcer.

SUBANTARCTIC SHEARWATER (Puffinus elegans)

Lots of these diminutive shearwaters around Tristan da Cunha, particularly between Inaccessible and the main island.

COMMON DIVING-PETREL (Pelecanoides urinatrix)

Common and widespread, and including very dusky individuals around Gough Island, which surely breed there.

SOUTH GEORGIA DIVING-PETREL (Pelecanoides georgicus)

Diving-petrel identification is a nightmare for birders and guides alike, but we eventually got a few really solid-looking South Georgia Diving-Petrels that we felt we could hang our hat on (photos are a must when identifying this taxon).

Fregatidae (Frigatebirds)

ASCENSION FRIGATEBIRD (Fregata aquila)

Mega crippler!! This was perhaps our most shocking bird of the tour, and one that we thought we did not have a chance of on the tour checklist, since most of us weren't continuing on the boat beyond St. Helena. We were at the Bonaparte Seamount on our very last sea day of the tour, when we saw some distant cetaceans and terns, and just as were starting to turn (tern?) towards them, Hans spotted a frigatebird on the horizon in the direction to which we were turning. A few minutes of manic excitement ensued, and most folks on the ship got to see the bird as we closed the gap between it and us, and before it peeled off and flew away to the northeast. Luckily it got close enough, and was in a distinctive enough plumage that it could be identifiable as an Ascension Frigatebird. Amazing!

Sulidae (Boobies and Gannets)

MASKED BOOBY (Sula dactylatra)

The most common booby in nearshore waters around St. Helena. We saw mostly adults, but with a handful of immatures of various ages sprinkled in along the way.

BROWN BOOBY (ATLANTIC) (Sula leucogaster leucogaster)

Various folks had quick flybys of a couple of these either from the zodiac or from the mothership itself while we were at St. Helena.

RED-FOOTED BOOBY (ATLANTIC) (Sula sula sula)

An adult came over to the ship as we approached St. Helena from the Bonaparte Seamount, and then hung out over the bow of the ship for a few minutes, giving ridiculously good views. It even made three unsuccessful attempts on the lives of flying fishes that were flushed by the boat. This appearance was the kickoff of a mayhem-filled half hour on our final at-sea afternoon.

Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags)

NEOTROPIC CORMORANT (Nannopterum brasilianum)

A single individual as we drove the Beagle on our first morning.

MAGELLANIC CORMORANT (Leucocarbo magellanicus)

We saw an immature flying by the boat as we transited the Beagle Channel.

SOUTH GEORGIA SHAG (Leucocarbo georgianus)

Especially numerous at the properly named Shag Rocks, but we also saw some around South Georgia, especially at the harbor at Grytviken.

IMPERIAL CORMORANT (Leucocarbo atriceps atriceps)

Beagle Channel

IMPERIAL CORMORANT (Leucocarbo atriceps albiventer)

Beagle Channel

Threskiornithidae (Ibises and Spoonbills)

BLACK-FACED IBIS (Theristicus melanopis)

A small group on the northern shore of the Beagle Channel as we coasted east towards the ocean on day one.

Cathartidae (New World Vultures)

ANDEAN CONDOR (Vultur gryphus)

What an awesome bird! We several of these majestic beasts soaring around at a couple of spots as we exited through the Beagle. A bit surreal, and an interesting and fun juxtaposition with the albatrosses, penguins, and Sei Whales that we were seeing at the same time.

TURKEY VULTURE (Cathartes aura)

A few along our Beagle exodus.

Falconidae (Falcons and Caracaras)

CRESTED CARACARA (SOUTHERN) (Caracara plancus plancus)

A few of these were patrolling here and there over the distant shorelines of the Beagle as we cruised out towards the ocean.

CHIMANGO CARACARA (Daptrius chimango)

At the dock at Ushuaia, and also at a couple of spots around the Beagle.

PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco peregrinus)

A juvenile went ripping across the Beagle Channel during our first morning on the ship.

Sturnidae (Starlings)

COMMON MYNA (Acridotheres tristis) [I]

Abundant and conspicuous throughout St. Helena.

Turdidae (Thrushes and Allies)

TRISTAN THRUSH (Turdus eremita eremita) [E*]

This is the taxon of Tristan Thrush that is only on the main island of Tristan da Cunha, and it is only common above 1,400 meters in elevation, making it a really difficult one to see without a vigorous and vertical hike. A couple of us got to hear (and audio record) one singing from the forest on the slopes above the potato patches, but it played hard to get with all the birders on the island that day, with only a few glimpses between dozens of birders over the course of several hours.

TRISTAN THRUSH (Turdus eremita gordoni)

The taxon of Tristan Thrush on Inaccessible Island. We got stellar views of a couple of these as they foraged on rocks right next to our zodiac. We were struck by how distinctive it was, with long, thick legs, huge feet, and the thick, slightly decurved bill, unlike any other Turdus any of us know. What a cool bird and experience!

Ploceidae (Weavers and Allies)

RED FODY (Foudia madagascariensis) [I]

A few seen around Jamestown, and also seen up at Longwood House.

Estrildidae (Waxbills and Allies)

JAVA SPARROW (Padda oryzivora) [I]

Common and fairly conspicuous around Jamestown in St. Helena.

COMMON WAXBILL (Estrilda astrild) [I]

A few here and there on St. Helena.

Passeridae (Old World Sparrows)

HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus) [I]

Ushuaia.

Motacillidae (Wagtails and Pipits)

SOUTH GEORGIA PIPIT (Anthus antarcticus) [E]

Really good up-close and personal looks at this southernmost breeding songbird on the planet. We saw them well on land, from the zodiacs, and even from the ship, as they circled the boat regularly during our cruise through Drygalski Fjord. One of the most visible avian comebacks after the successful rat eradication on South Georgia Island.

Fringillidae (Finches, Euphonias, and Allies)

YELLOW CANARY (Crithagra flaviventris) [I]

The commonest of the smaller introduced passerines on St. Helena, where they are abundant and thrive throughout the non-native habitats of the island.

Thraupidae (Tanagers and Allies)

GOUGH ISLAND FINCH (Rowettia goughensis) [E]

It took a while, but we eventually got some looks at this Gough Island endemic from our zodiac. The wind made it difficult in that they didn't spend much time perching out in the open, instead diving into the tussock grass quickly after flying around over the slopes. We did eventually get looks at a bird or two perched on rocks amidst the tussock though.

INACCESSIBLE ISLAND FINCH (Nesospiza acunhae) [E]

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MAMMALS

ROUGH-TOOTHED DOLPHIN (Steno bredanensis)

A few of these swam by the ship during our very last breakfast on the ship, shortly before we disembarked. A couple of us got back out to the stern in time to see them going away in some sun glare. Not our best mammal sighting of the trip, but a cool species to come into contact with in any capacity.

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursiops truncatus)

A few of these very close to the ship out at the Bonaparte Seamount.

SPINNER DOLPHIN (Stenella longirostris)

Some of these aerialists mixed into a pod of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins a couple of days before we reached St. Helena.

PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHIN (Stenella attenuata)

A couple of big herds of them (probably consisting of multiple pods) as we approached and reached St. Helena, but we didn't see many (or perhaps any) particularly close.

DUSKY DOLPHIN (Lagenorhynchus obscurus)

A coupe of sightings of these in the Beagle Channel.

PEALE'S DOLPHIN (Lagenorhynchus australis)

Also in the Beagle Channel, including a couple of instances of animals charging hard towards the bow with high leaps and bounds.

HOURGLASS DOLPHIN (Lagenorhynchus cruciger)

These sleek and elegantly patterned dolphins graced us with their presence several times, including a couple of different visits where they came alongside and showed off for a couple of minutes!

SHORT-FINNED PILOT WHALE (Globicephala macrorhynchus)

Our best sightings of Pilot Whales came on our final evening off Tristan da Cunha, when a couple of pods joined up into a larger herd of animals. They were performing more dynamically and playfully than these cetaceans often do, with tail slapping, flipper wagging, and a lot of spy hopping. Based on the patterning on the saddle of many of the animals, they were identified as Short-finned Pilot Whale, which seems to be the prevalent species at Tristan.

DWARF SPERM WHALE (Kogia simus)

Kogia! Despite the fact that this genus of cetacean (comprising Pygmy Sperm Whale and Dwarf Sperm Whale) had been on our radar for the past several days, seeing one was still a shock. It would be surprising enough to simply see one of these at all, which would itself have been a victory given how inconspicuous these critters are. Not only did we see one, however, we had one breaching fully out of the water next to the ship as we made our final approach to St. Helena (and with the island already in view!). While on the hunt for them over the past few days, we had taken to calling Kogia "surfboards," since at a distance in placid seas, they may look simply like an upside down surfboard, with just a fin floating on the surface. Our looks at this one were briefer than some looks, since we only saw while it was aerial (three times), but the fact that it came fully out of the water also allowed us to get photos of most of the parts of the animal which are used in the ID process. Once we passed it, we were able to use photos, to quickly (thanks to Marijke!) zero in on the genus, and then get to the species shortly after that. A thrilling experience overall, even if we weren't sure what kind of animal we were looking at while we were seeing it torpedo out of the water.

SEI WHALE (Balaenoptera borealis)

A phenomenal showing by these often hard to see and/or identify, with 50 or so seen as we traversed the eastern half of the Beagle Channel on our first morning.

FIN WHALE (Balaenoptera physalus)

We saw 60 of these behemoths on our final day approaching South Georgia. A few were just as we approached Shag Rocks, including one that surfaced directly under the bow. Then in mid-afternoon we had the blows of 50 (!!!) visible in a 360 degree scan from the boat.

SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE (Eubalaena australis)

One surfaced several times near an iceberg as we pulled into Cooper Bay during our first morning at South Georgia, before fluking and disappearing below the surface.

SOUTH AMERICAN SEA LION (Otaria flavescens)

Lots of them, both in the water and on land, during our transit of the Beagle Channel.

ANTARCTIC FUR SEAL (Arctocephalus gazella)

We got up close and personal with a lot of Antarctic Fur Seal pups at Fortuna Bay and Grytviken on South Georgia. Their curiosity is charming, and their antics range from cute to totally ridiculous.

SUBANTARCTIC FUR SEAL (Arctocephalus tropicalis)

These fur seals breeding on the Tristan group (including Gough) were strikingly different looking than the prior species, with a beautiful bicolored head, with caramel or beige faces and underparts contrasting with darker backs.

WEDDELL SEAL (Leptonychotes weddelli)

We got to see one of these marbly southern seals hauled out on a rock at Drygalski Fjord on our final morning at South Georgia, which is perhaps the farthest north on the planet where they are regularly seen. It's mostly a denizen of Antarctica, so this was a real fun one.

SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL (Mirounga leonina)

We saw these endearing behemoths around South Georgia, including some particularly cute ones (and a couple of less cute big boys).

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Other Creatures of Interest

WHALE SHARK (Rhincodon typus)

Amazing! We knew that there was an outside chance of seeing one of these behemoths in the warm waters around St. Helena, but we couldn't foresee that two of them would take up residence in the vicinity of our boat during the time it was at anchor there. They appeared several times, both during the day and night, and eventually our entire group got good views of these largest of the fishes, either from the deck of the ship, or from zodiacs.

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Totals for the tour: 102 bird taxa and 17 mammal taxa