Mersey Cruises
Dates for 2011
18-Aug-11
3-Sept-11
15-Sept-11

Cheers

Don't Mersey Ferries do an MSC special?

MSC Cruises

I think we need a few more years of climate change before we can have a true Manchester Pelagic

I would be interested in such a trip.

I organised a pelagic a couple of years ago from Portpatrick near Stranraer in September.My mate managed to obtain a load of used chip oil(I would have prefered to have cleaned it up and run my car on it)We went out 3 or 4 miles(I think you'll find most small charter boats have a limit on the distance they are allowed from land)We cruised around for a while getting the odd Manxie,Fulmar etc,but when I tipped the full drum of chip oil(to which we added several bottles of Cod Liver Oil) we were almost immediately surrounded by British Storm Petrels,which hung around for several minutes until the the oil dispersed.We didn't get any Leach's,unfortunately it was a bad year for them in the Irish Sea.There are additives which can drag birds in from miles around,but Cod Liver Oil works really well,and can be bought from any chemist cheaply.
Ian and I have looked at the possibility of a day return crossing to Ireland from Liverpool or Holyhead in Sept when in theory the Irish Sea could have good numbers of Petrels and Skuas.Unfortunately we could only find ferries that were either too fast(like the newish catamarans)or went/returned in the dark.If anyone can find a ferry that goes both ways in daylight,on the old style boats then maybe we could organise a trip this September.
As Tony said if anyone gets down to South Africa then the pelagics from Simonstown are a must.I did a couple of trips when I was over there a few years ago,you could almost stroke the Albatrosses you get that close to them.we could even see the difference in bill colour of Southern and Northern Giant Petrels with the naked eye we were that close.In fact on the second trip it was a good job we were so close as it was impossible to use your bins as you needed both hands to hang on to the boat it was so rough.

I went to the World Cup last summer in Cape Town. A little fishing boat caught my eye out to sea and an Antarctic/Brown Skua was following it - so yes, the birds follow the boats.

5 years earlier- also in South Africa I did a 'proper' pelagic out of Simons Town which goes out into the Southern Ocean looking for the factory fishing boats. We were lucky enough to find one, and there were 3 Albatross sp. and Giant-Petrels etc. around it. Also Wilsons Petrel and Sooty Shearwater close up, so if you ever get down that way, it's a must !

sounds a bit too much like jaws to me-make sure you hire a big boatthem little fishing boats are not really suitable for being miles out at sea scoping seabirds,in choppy waters,the big one from bridlington was bad enough,there were more people with sea sickness than were watching birds

Have you tried charter fishing boats?

Pete Welch wrote:

---

Dennis atherton wrote:

---

I have an idea there could be a bit of interest here and maybe a Gmbirders trip, i bet we could generate enough interest to get enough of us the actually hire a boat to take us out? irish seas sounds great to me,

---

You can add me to the list!

---

and me!!!!

I went on the first pelagic trip last summer organised for Fylde Bird Club members.

Paul Slade summarised the trip in the last newsletter:

The first trip was arranged for 22nd July leaving at 17.10 for about 5 hours at sea.

We were to be picked up from the beach by Fleetwood Lifeboat Station so met with eager anticipation complete with a bin of gruesome smelling chum kindly fermented by Chris Batty at home in his garage. Quickly aboard bang on time we steamed out of the estuary and headed strongly WSW.

We soon picked up a couple of Manx Shearwaters, Gannets, Guillemots and Common Scoter before we stopped about 8 miles out and deployed the chum.

Very little happened for the first hour before a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls joined us which seemed to have the desired effect as a Fulmar and a few Kittiwakes joined the feeding frenzy giving fantastic views close to the boat.

A Whimbrel flew high calling over the boat shortly before we headed back to shore

The second trip of the summer was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather. Highlights of the third and final trip of the summer on Friday 3rd September were: 4 miles out off Norbreck a flock of over 10,000 Common Scoter, near summer plumaged Red Throated Diver and a Great Skua.

On the Preston Society website there is contact information for River Ribble Boat Tours which might be of interest.

The main thing is to have a skipper who knows the good fishing areas. Once you're in among the fishing boats with luck the fishermen will be doing the chumming for you.

---

Most if not all the skippers have 'known' fishing hotspots. They're usually wrecks or reefs on the bottom but these are of little use to the birds though as they would be feeding on the fish that live in the upper reaches of the water such as mackerel and herring. Mackerel in particular are really plentiful throughout the summer months and into autumn and there are vast shoals of them in the irish sea.

I've been out many times deep sea fishing on charter boats and from my experience the birds do tend to follow the boats around as they know there is a chance of an easy meal. We've even had occasions where the gannets have been diving right next to us when we've got into a shoal of mackerel. A great sight to see at very close range.

The only down side to these trips would be when the weather is a bit on the rough side. The skipper would then probably not want to venture too far out.

As for charter boats, quite a few go out from Anglesey. Amlych, Cemaes, Holyhead or Beaumaris all have charter boats as well as a few of the ports in North Wales such as Rhyl, etc. Its definately worth giving them a call just to sound them out if nothing else.

I doubt very much you'll find or in fact that you need a skipper with birding knowledge. As there are no known 'magical seabird areas' as such in the Irish Sea, it's all going to be fairly hit and miss bird wise, though an idea of fishing areas and seabed topography may be of use. The captain gets you out there and the birders do the rest, including the chumming! Chum (or rubby dubby if you prefer) recipes can be found on the 'net (or atleast used to be) but planning is the key. Weather, date, observers (bearing in mind some birders with experience of pelagics is essential), route and chum contents can all be pre-planned. The birds are another story though.

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 14th of January 2011 09:38:33 PM

May not be a good idea to count on the skipper's knowledge, at least for i.d.
We did the first RSPB 'Skua & Shearwater' cruise. The Captain was cheerfully telling us that 'you don't get Shags on this part of the coast' when one flew past. Almost the whole boat cried 'SHAG!' in unision, at which point he shut up and handed over to the guy from the RSPB.

The main thing is to have a skipper who knows the good fishing areas. Once you're in among the fishing boats with luck the fishermen will be doing the chumming for you.

Maybe a pelagic from Anglesey or one of the North Wales coastal ports - I think there are some bigger charter boats at Beaumaris that already do Bird Island, so may go further out - not sure how you find a skipper with the right birding knowledge though?

The Fylde Bird Club run a pelagic, but I think it is for members only. The boat is called the "Blue Mink", but I cannot find any direct information about it on their web-site. However, there are photographs of the boat (and the most recent trip) in their galleries section, showing a contact number on a hoarding - 01253 354567

Dennis atherton wrote:

---

I have an idea there could be a bit of interest here and maybe a Gmbirders trip, i bet we could generate enough interest to get enough of us the actually hire a boat to take us out? irish seas sounds great to me,

---

Why not speak to a few of the fishing charter boats that operate from various ports around our coast. They usually take upto about 12 people or so. I'm sure they'd accomodate birders as they've been struggling in this economic climate.

Dennis atherton wrote:

---

I have an idea there could be a bit of interest here and maybe a Gmbirders trip, i bet we could generate enough interest to get enough of us the actually hire a boat to take us out? irish seas sounds great to me,

---

You can add me to the list!

I have an idea there could be a bit of interest here and maybe a Gmbirders trip, i bet we could generate enough interest to get enough of us the actually hire a boat to take us out? irish seas sounds great to me,

thanks for the help, cheers Jimmy for the phone number, ill give them a call to see if any are planned, if you hear of any please post on here or send me a pm, many thanks,

the type of trip i would really like is a boat trip that also throws out Chum or other foods to attract the birds in a bit closer, i know it is not a common occurance but ive heard of chum feeding trips out to sea before but never found out where or if anyone is still doing this type of excursion, my stomach also might not take it too well like Richard but wrap a scarf around my face and cover in olbas oil sounds like a good plan, apparrantly the chum is pretty disgusting to smell

Can't class the Mersey ferry trips as pelagics. Closest I've come to one are the longer range ferry trips. Love to do one though, keep looking at the ads for the Scillonians trip each year. Not sure the stomach could take it though

Pelagics refer to anything out on the 'open' sea. I dont think the Mersey ferry trips around the coast really qualify to that but a boat out in the middle of the Irish Sea? I should say so.

richard howells 2 wrote:

---

Thanks Henry for bringing the reports to everyone's notice, in my case the 2008 report and photos brought back some great memories. Hope you don't mind me blowing my own trumpet, for twas I who first latched on to the 5 Spoonbills on the Crosby shore on that trip. Everyone seemed to be watching offshore while I was trying to identify waders on Crosby beach. I waited what seemed an eternity for the experts to call them, but they were well behind us before I contacted said experts. Med Gull, Kittiwake, Peregrine (in Birkenhead) and Sanderling were the other highlights. So I can certainly recommend the Mersey ferry trips.

---

Are mersey ferry trips really palagicI thought a palagic was when you go out into the ocean/sea a great distance.Not 100%sure,has the only boat I have been on is the bridlington one around the bemton cliffs etc.

Thanks Henry for bringing the reports to everyone's notice, in my case the 2008 report and photos brought back some great memories. Hope you don't mind me blowing my own trumpet, for twas I who first latched on to the 5 Spoonbills on the Crosby shore on that trip. Everyone seemed to be watching offshore while I was trying to identify waders on Crosby beach. I waited what seemed an eternity for the experts to call them, but they were well behind us before I contacted said experts. Med Gull, Kittiwake, Peregrine (in Birkenhead) and Sanderling were the other highlights. So I can certainly recommend the Mersey ferry trips.

Hi Dennis

I have the telephone number for the Liverpool Ferries

Its 01513301444 not seen anything advertised yet though

Jimmy

thanks very much Henry, Ill check out those links, Excellent, thank you

Regarding the Liverpool pelagics Dennis, here is a url of a trip report from one of last years trips - http://northwalesbirding.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4456

And a url from the 2008 trip - http://northwalesbirding.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2045

Might be worth checking out this url occasionally to see if it is updated for 2011 - http://www.rspbliverpool.org.uk/ferrypageevent.htm

I don't know if they will be running this year or not yet, but birds seen on these previous pelagic trips have included Med Gull, Arctic Tern, Spoonbill, Osprey, Peregrine and Long-tailed Skua.

I really Fancy going on one of these pelagic day tours, does anyone know if liverpool ferries are still doing them? i Cant seem to find anything about these on the site about birding pelagics from there or anywhere really, morcambe, heysham, the wirral, Hilbre island?


any help would be great or addresses to web sites that are showing details or future bookings, Thanks

Hi Pete,

Just read the blog below. Being a Chester lad originally I used to go over to Hilbre Island most autumns. It's not far away, easy to access with only a short 1 mile walk over the sands and always has goods numbers of skuas, petrels and other pelagics. If you observse the wind direction and strength before your trip you can be really well rewarded. Several times I have had over 200 Leache's in a day from the hide, plus great and arctic skua.

Just a thought, but if you get a boat let me know.

You can still time it right on the Fishguard/Rosslare or Swansea/Cork slow ferries. The former is fun if you like Manxies, sailing as it does past Skomer and Skolkholm. Skinfull of Guiness in Rosslare and a BB overnight - can't go wrong.

hope you have all got sealegs if you are going on a small fishing boat-it gets quite choppy out there.you'l spend more time with your head overboard than birding-been on the one from witby,quite dissapointing!only 1 great skua,and 1 sooty shearwater,youd all be better going to somewere like point lynas on anglesey,and do a seawatch from shore-better than honkin'in a bucket all day.why yer on ya dingy ill be watchin' leaches petrels on the flash

-- Edited by JOHN TYMON at 08:25, 2007-07-11

There were boat owners willing to charter for the Sooty Tern last year so why not.

I think I've a record of some phone numbers somewhere - will try and locate them - I'd be up for an exploratory trip.

Surely there is a possibility we could charter a small fishing vessel? I have plenty of mates that have done so for Mackrel fishing off Anglesey and the whole point is to venture out into the Irish Sea and find out what's 'lurking' out there,we just have to find the captain of a small fishing vessel that's prepared to go out far enough for us to find the expected Fea's and Wilson's, or is that just me? Anyway, anyone with any ideas...

Very little happens despite the fact that I think a well timed pelagic out of Liverpool or Anglesey would be very popular - anyone know someone with a decent boat?!

Steve,
Unfortunately the Liverbird cruises only go half a mile offshore and usually only turn up the odd Skua.The Brid pelagics are ok but was hoping to do something in the Irish Sea when the Leachs are moving through.

Pete
If you can't find a suitable ferry have you considered the Liverbird Cruises or even better the Bridlington Skua Cruises on the east coast both use chum to attract the birds aswell.

I,m having problems with the ferries,most of the ferries are now the super fast ones,not much use for birding when you're travelling at a great rate of knots(nautical miles,not waders that is).The only slow ferries are no good as they leave at times that are no use for seawatching(like 2am!!).I've tried Liverpool and Heysham to Isle of Man and Holyhead to Dublin and Dun Lauhorie(if thats how you spell it)but can't find any suitable ones.If anyone has got any ideas or wants to check any other ferry routes,go for it. Pete Berry