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Hi Birding-aussers, here is the final report for
the year from Southport, Queensland.
Vessel: 53ft monohull, 'Flying Fish
II'.
Crew: 2.
Pax: 14.
Weather Conditions: A High centered
east of New Zealand brought light to moderate E-NE winds onto the south
Queensland coast. Wind 10-15 knots early from the east, rising to 20 knots from
the NE in early afternoon. Cloud cover almost nil with slight haze but
visibility very good. maximum temperature 30C, barometric pressure 1012
hPa.
Sea Conditions: Light seas early, on up to
1+ metre swell with seas rising to 2 metres later on with the wind change.
Southerly current out wide to 3.5 knots.
Left the Seaway at approx. 0730 hrs and encountered
a couple of 'rafts' of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters soon after, interspersed with
one or two Flesh-footed Shearwaters but little else. Largely uneventful
traversing Shelf waters with a female Brown Booby being the avian highlight. The
real highlight was the capture of a small tuna - a useful addition to the 'chum'
bin I thought. A few minutes later, Michael the 'deckie' emerged from the cabin
with a plate of 'chilled' sushimi complete with dipping sauce and enclosed
chopsticks. After an initial taste & nod of approval by me, a few others
tucked in to this culinary delight. Now that's pelagic birding with with
service & style, we really do, do it tough up here from
Southport!!
We arrived at the usual drift point approx. 55
kilometres ESE of Southport at about 1045 hrs and proceeded to drift &
'chum' with little effect. A few shearwaters and terns could be seen milling
around about a kilometre away to the east, so we headed over. On starting to
'chum' 3 Tahiti Petrels joined in soon after so we held this 'drift'
for the duration, eventually finishing up 65 kilometres ESE of Southport. Good
numbers of Tahiti Petrels were around (high count of 12) with 3 Kermadec Petrels
also making an appearance. A Great-winged Petrel towards the end of the
drift was the only other bird of note. Flesh-footed Shearwater numbers were
right down from the previous trip.
A feature of these Southport trips, mainly in the
summer months, is the proximity of the Tahiti Petrels to the vessel as they fly
past at very close range and land on the water to fight for possession of food.
Indeed, the Kermadec Petrels - another species not noted for attraction to boats
- stayed around for the duration of the drift, on and off, also landing to
feed. The Kermadecs were of three different 'morph' stages by the way and
easily separable. The six new visitors on board were most impressed with
the close views of these two much sought after procellariiform including
one John Cox (2 newbies). Sightings of Kermadec Petrel from Southport seem to be
on the increase, with 16 individuals noted in the past two years
alone.
Headed back to the Seaway just after 1300 hrs with
a few more Tahiti Petrels but mostly Wedge-tailed Shearwaters sighted. Arrived
back at the Seaway at 1640 hrs - duration of trip just over 9 hours. Full list
below;
Tahiti Petrel - 36
Great-winged Petrel - 1
Kermadec Petrel - 3
Wedge-tailed Shearwater - 608
Flesh-footed Shearwater - 8
Short-tailed Shearwater - 2
Brown Booby -1
Silver Gull - 3
Crested Tern - 45
Common Tern 15
Oh and before I forget it again, can Bob Way et
al, please tell me why they had to consult with Americanos over
something relatively simple re; ID of Wandering Tattlers? There are
some of us up here who see Wandering Tatts EVERY season November/May and have
lots of photos to help you in this not so difficult matter!!
OK, got that one off my chest and I hope I didn't
miss something since the initial posting that I saw. Finally I would like once
again to thank Birding-Aus and members for your support throughout the year,
it's been much appreciated. Wishing you all a very merry Xmas & a safe and
prosperous New Year. Cheers - Paul W.
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