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Bird-watcher Dick Filby will join three voyages that will offer potentially unrivalled bird, cetacean and marine mammal sightings. The sharp-eyed birder Dick Filby – who freely admits his favourite possessions are his Swarovski binoculars and spotting scope - has been a birder since pre-school and, for the last 20 years, he has led birding trips in the Polar regions and other birding hot-spots around the world. He has seen most of the world’s seabird species, including all the penguins and alcids (auks) and, with an impressive UK species list of 500, only a handful of birders have seen more. A familiar name in the UK birding fraternity, Dick Filby founded the premier Rare Bird Alert news service in 1991 and now provides up to 500 or more updates a day on all the scarce and rare bird sightings in the UK. Dick Filby is passionate about all aspects of Antarctica, its birds, wildlife and conservation. His love affair with Antarctica began in 1990 and he has been back to the White Continent almost every season since. “Travelling on the southern ocean filled with albatross, petrels and cetaceans, is one of my all time favourites,” says Filby “as is being onshore at one of Antarctica’s many vast penguin colonies”.

The staggering list of expected bird species on the three Antarctic departures includes chinstrap, Adelie and gentoo penguins; wandering, royal, black-browed, grey-headed and light-mantled sooty albatross; both giant petrels, southern fulmar, cape, snow, soft-plumaged, blue and white-chinned petrels; Antarctic and slender-billed prions; Wilson’s and black-bellied storm petrels; common diving petrel, Antarctic shags and snowy sheathbill; Chilean, brown and South Polar skuas plus Antarctic terns.

During these spectacular wildlife voyages, guests would also expect to encounter cetaceans such as humpback, Antarctic Minke and orca, as well as Peale’s and hourglass dolphins but also possibly blue, fin and southern right whales. Other marine mammals should include Weddell, crabeater, Antarctic fur and leopard seals.

The Marina Svetaeva is a great platform for wildlife watching with plenty of deck space, a ‘quick’ lunch option for those who prefer to be on deck rather than in the dining room and an adventurer’s lounge where staff will serve hot chocolate to the die-hard birders and wildlife spotters. Photographic (still and video) opportunities are superb throughout.