Komodo Dragons

‘The first of this year’s Bali to Komodo cruises departed in early September, in lovely sunny conditions, if a little breezy’, writes tour leader Alison Steel. ‘At the hotel in Bali we found a variety of species in the gardens, including Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Spotted Dove, Javan Munia and Plantain Squirrel. Once aboard the boat we soon began to see seabirds, such as terns, petrels and skua, while on Komodo Island we had views of several impressive Komodo Dragons, as well as Flame-breasted Sunbird, Flores Spangled Drongo, Collared Kingfisher and Orange-footed Scrubfowl, among others. During the cruise, scanning from the front deck allowed us to pick up seven different cetacean species – Spinner, Pantropical Spotted, Indo-pacific Bottlenose, Risso’s and Rough-toothed Dolphin, plus Melon-headed and Pygmy Sperm Whales, with some wonderful, prolonged encounters. Under the waves also yielded some spectacular sights, from tiny, brightly coloured Nudibranchs and flat worms hiding within huge coral gardens of varying types and sizes, teeming with thousands of reef fish, to large Green and Hawksbill Turtles, resting and swimming in relatively shallow waters. To round off the days we enjoyed some fabulous sunsets, a stunning full moon and the spectacle of thousands of Sunda Flying Foxes departing for their nightly feeding foray. This is a superb tour that would appeal to anyone who enjoys tropical marine-life!’

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'Warm dry weather dominated the week on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, providing excellent wildlife viewing opportunities’, writes tour leader Neil McMahon. ‘Mammals really stole the show, as is often the way during the autumn season, with daily views of Pine Martens, regular Otter sightings, seals, deer and distant views of pods of Common Dolphin and Harbour Porpoise. For many, though, the highlight was a rare showing of the Hebridean Orca pod, these days made up of two big bulls affectionately known as 'John Coe' and 'Aquarius'. These massive cetaceans spent up to four days being visible from Ardnamurchan Point and we connected with them on both of our visits there.

After the first few days we began to see eagles, with no less than seven different White-tailed Eagles on one day and a couple of sightings of a lone adult Golden Eagle. A breaching Minke Whale was a spectacular sighting, albeit at long range, and the beauty of this particular part of Scotland was enhanced with the purple blooms of heather and the comparative lack of people. We also fitted in lighthouse and distillery tours and a few night drives looking for the shyer wildlife. Our boat trips were peaceful affairs, cruising around sections of Loch Sunart savouring the exceptionally beautiful landscape and encountering the raw beauty of White-tailed Eagles and other icons of the Western Highlands.'

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'This tour was fortunate to enjoy some settled autumnal weather, with only the occasional shower’, writes tour leader Neil McMahon. ‘Cooler temperatures towards the end of the week and skeins of migrating Pink-footed Geese were the result of a north-westerly airflow. Frenzied feeding in the Hebridean Sea by Gannets and other seabirds focused our attention, and were often the precursor to our sightings of Common Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises. 

At our accommodation, cheeky Pine Martens and belligerent Badgers consumed our offerings and provided plenty of entertainment, Common and Soprano Pipistrelle bats hawked over the rooftops and the Red Deer were often grazing the lawns. Otters were rarely far away and we were fortunate one morning to encounter no less than six such animals before breakfast. Birds generally take a backward step at this time of the year but a small influx of divers saw us record all three of Great Northern, Black-throated and Red-throated and of course diligent scanning yielded plenty of White-tailed Eagles and several Golden Eagles too.’

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