Want to have the time of your life learning about whales and dolphins?

Now you can by joining us on a special Bay of Biscay
Identification minicruise this summer!

On 15 – 18 August 2007, ORCA have teamed up with experienced wildlife tour operator The Company of Whales onboard P&O’s Pride of Bilbao to bring you our first ever Identification Minicruise. As we cruise the English Channel and Bay of Biscay, we will show you how to identify cetaceans and interpret their surfacing behaviours as we pass through some of the richest waters in Europe for cetacean diversity and abundance at a peak time!

So why not join Dylan Walker, one of Europe’s most experienced marine mammal observers and co-author of two acclaimed field guides, ‘Whales and Dolphins of the European Atlantic’ and ‘Whales and Dolphins of the North American Pacific’, on this exclusive cruise which promises to be both great fun, and highly educational.

Following initial training on how to search for, identify and interpret the behaviour of cetaceans, we will spend three days on our exclusive whale watching platform searching for cetaceans and other marine life. During this time, guests will be asked to use their newly acquired skills to interpret each encounter independently, before our experts give their views and assist with the interpretation process. It is our aim that all participants will feel that they have significantly improved their field techniques during this cruise, in order to get the most out of each encounter. Dylan will also coach the group on the importance of adopting a conservative approach to identification – particularly for those people who may wish to get involved in scientific surveys.

ORCA and The Company of Whales have chosen late August as the ideal time of year to expect a fantastic number and diversity of encounters. Below, we list the sightings summaries for the nearest equivalent dates during the last three years:

14 - 17 August 2006 - Company of Whales aboard Pride of Bilbao
18 Fin Whales, 31 unidentified large rorquals, 1 Sperm Whale, 3 unidentified Mesoplodonts (breaching, but views could not identify the animals to species level although COW guide and beaked-whale expert Phil Coles hinted they could well have been True’s beaked Whales!) 4 Pilot Whales, 38 Bottlenose Dolphins, 285 Common Dolphins, 5 Striped Dolphins, 50 unidentified dolphins and 2 Harbour Porpoise. Seabirds included 1 Sabine's Gull, 1 Manx Shearwater, 2 Arctic Skuas, 8 Great Skuas and 2 Common Terns. In Spain, highlight was a Subalpine Warbler and we also recorded 20+ Griffon Vultures, 4 Booted Eagles, Tree Pipit, Whitethroat, Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Red-Backed Shrikes and Sardinian, Cetti’s and Melodious Warblers. Highlight on the insect front was a Southern Gatekeeper and we also recorded Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

15 - 18 August 2005 - Company of Whales aboard Pride of Bilbao
1 Fin Whale, 4 Minke Whales, 1 large rorqual, 96 Harbour Porpoise, 20 Bottlenose Dolphins, 504 Common Dolphins including a large number of mothers with young calves, 21 Ocean Sunfish, 2 Basking Sharks and 2 probable Tope Sharks. Seabirds included 54 Cory’s Shearwaters, 4 Great Shearwaters, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 3 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 adult Sabine’s Gull, 1 juvenile Mediterranean Gull, 2 Little Egrets and 1 Greenshank. On board ship were a Whitethroat, a Willow Warbler and a Turtle Dove. In Spain highlights included juvenile Woodchat Shrike, adult and juvenile Tawny Pipits, lots of Red-backed Shrikes and 7 Griffon Vultures. 23 species of butterfly were spotted including Cleopatra, Mallow Skipper, Swallowtail and lots of Geranium Bronze. We also recorded 2 Praying Mantis

14 - 17 August 2004 - Company of Whales aboard Pride of Bilbao
47 Fin Whales, 3 Minke Whales, 1 Sperm Whale, 4 Cuvier’s Beaked Whales, 24 Pilot Whales, 103 Bottlenose Dolphins, 263 Common Dolphins, 175 Striped Dolphins, 7 Harbour Porpoise, 32 unidentified large rorqual whales and 80 unidentified dolphins. Other marine species included 12 Ocean Sunfish and 20+ Yellow-fin Tuna. Seabirds included 1 Little Shearwater, 40 Cory’s Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Manx Shearwater, 1 Fulmar, 40 Storm Petrels, 2 Bonxies, 1 Arctic Skua, 10 Common Terns and 2 Sandwich Terns. Migrants visible from the ship included 1 Black-tailed Godwit, a Pied Flycatcher and a Hummingbird Hawk Moth. In Spain we recorded Red-backed Shrikes, Serins, Griffon Vultures, Fan-tailed, Melodius and Sardinian Warblers and several Tree Pipits. Butterflies included Long-tailed and Adonis Blue, Cleopatra and Clouded Yellow.

ORCA would like to thank The Company of Whales for offering this exclusive date, and pledging to donate a significant proportion of the profits to the conservation and research work of the charity.

If you would like further details or to reserve your place on our Bay of Biscay Identification Cruise, please contact:
The Company of Whales quoting ‘ORCA ID Cruise’
by E-mail:
or Telephone: 01950 422483.
For further information on Company of Whales cruises please visit www.companyofwhales.co.uk