In winter 2025, a last-minute decision led to an epic adventure at sea for Linda Widdop and a handful of Philly birding friends. The “Flock to Marion,” organized by BirdLife South Africa, was a pelagic tour sailing from South Africa down to the Prince Edward Islands for 8 days to raise funds for the Mouse-Free Marion Project. Linda learned of the trip in early January, and in less than 3 weeks had reserved passage, bought plane tickets, and set sail from South Africa!
The Flock to Marion was a trip like no other, as Linda describes with good humor and great photos. An entire cruise ship was filled with 1,900 birders from more than 100 different countries, all lining the rails to see some of the world’s rarest and most spectacular seabirds. The ship ran due south from Durban through the southern Indian Ocean to the brink of the Southern Ocean, providing amazing views of albatross, petrels, prions, penguins and more! The voyage served as a fundraising and awareness campaign raising over $500,000 for the Mouse-Free Marion Project, a critically important conservation initiative to restore the island’s ecosystem and preserve and protect its globally significant biodiversity by eradicating invasive mice.
Linda Widdop has been birding enthusiastically for over 25 years. She is the field trip chairperson and past president of Delaware Valley Ornithology Club (DVOC) and is a founding representative of DVOC for Bird Safe Philly, a joint venture with Liberty Bird Alliance, Valley Forge Audubon, Mid-Atlantic Audubon and Academy of Natural Sciences with a goal of reducing bird/building collisions in Philadelphia. Linda is an avid traveler, tacking on bird extensions whenever possible to her many travels for work.
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Snowy Albatross juvenile, photo by Debbie Beer.