One of the reasons to join this tour is all the unique birds that we come across. First of all, there are endemic species on all islands we visit, and secondly, there are many unusual seabirds, especially in the first half of the trip.

The Spectacled Petrel was one of the birds that combine these two groups. It’s a seabird endemic to the Tristan da Cunha group. And it’s gorgeous! All brown, with a white ‘spectacle’ around its eye. It can be seen in the oceans around Tristan, but it doesn’t disperse far. So for most onboard, including me, it was a new species. And we were delighted to have several around the boat between South Georgia and Tristan.