Hi All,
The BirdLife Australia pelagic got out off Eaglehawk Neck, SE Tasmania
last weekend. The trip was an outstanding success (see below). The next
scheduled trips are for July 27th and 28th and September 14th and 15th
2013. All trips are at present fully booked but contact me if you wish
to be on the waitlist for any.
Cheers,
Rohan Clarke
BIRDLIFE PELAGIC TRIP OFF EAGLEHAWK NECK, TASMANIA
Sunday 17th Feb 2013
OBSERVERS: Paul Dodd, Ruth Woodrow, John Tongue, Shirley Tongue, Peter
Tongue, Kimberley Tongue, Peter Menkhorst, Els Wakefield, Johny Loy,
Jeanie Churchward, Ian Churchward & Rohan Clarke (organiser and report
compiler).
WEATHER: Clear cloudless sky throughout the day. Warm thanks to a
northerly airstream that had persisted for 24+ hrs. Initially a 10-15
knot northerly wind, increasing to 25 knots by midday and gusting to 30
as we started heading in. Fortunately, as conditions worsened we were
well placed to return with a following sea. Unfortunately with the
strong northerly wind the boat was always held at the southern end of
any berley trail meaning we were mostly looking directly into the sun
through the middle of the day - combined with the bumps of a 1-2 m sea
it was tough for photography.
SEA: A fairly lively sea with small swell. The boat seemed to handle
this well and when underway the trip wasn’t too rough. There was some
intermittent spray and a few did get damp highlighting the value of wet
weather gear on these trips. A small 0.5 m swell building to 1 m beyond
the shelf. Moderate chop (to 2 m) meant we did rock and roll at times
when stationary. No one seasick.
ACTIVITY: Departed Pirates Bay Wharf at 0715. Headed directly to the
shelf break on a more northerly route than usual owing to the forecast
of strong northerly winds (we wanted to get beyond the shelf well to the
north so that we'd have a following sea on the return leg as conditions
deteriorated). For this reason we skipped the Hippolytes entirely (and
the low numbers of gannets, gulls, terns and cormorants recorded for the
day reflects this). Relatively quite inshore, good numbers of birds on
over the 50 to 70 fathom zone, especially Short-tailed Shearwaters.
Crossed the shelf break (100 fathoms) at 0900 before making our first
stop at 42º54.78’S 148º19.70’E over 245 fathoms of water. Here we
berleyed with chicken skin, fish frames and tuna oil. A second stop was
made at 42º54.22’S 148º21.19’E over 400 fathoms of water and then a
final stop was made back just inside the shelf break at 42º52.95’S
148º18.28’E over 75 fathoms. Headed back in at 1320 to dock at about 1515.
MAMMALS and other critters:
Australian Fur Seals. 1 inshore in the AM and 1 pelagic at the second
berley point.
Also an Ocean Sunfish at the second berley point
BIRDS: 25 species beyond the point at Pirates Bay is a good count for a
Tasmanian pelagic. Highlights were the exceptional numbers of small
petrels, notably Cook’s, Gould’s and Mottled Petrels. In the northerly
wind the birds were streaming in from the north and west and proceeding
in a southerly and easterly direction away from the boat. Except for the
Albatross few birds seemed to come in against the wind.
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel: 13 (4) 2 offshore in PM, remainder pelagic.
Grey-backed Storm-Petrel: 5 (2). All pelagic.
White-faced Storm-Petrel: 40 (20). 5 offshore in PM, remainder pelagic.
Wandering Albatross: 4 on plumage. All pelagic. All appeared to be
gibsoni. 1 older immature remainder adult-like.
Black-browed Albatross: 2 presumed nominate race, 1 an older immature
and the other a juvenile. Both pelagic.
Shy Albatross: 30 (6). All cauta. 2 inshore, 10 offshore, remainder
pelagic. 1 juv offshore, 2 imm pelagic, remainder adult.
Yellow-nosed Albatross: 1 adult pelagic.
Buller’s Albatross: 60 (15). 8 pelagic, 14 inshore, 11 offshore in AM
but up to 25 offshore in the PM. The dominant albatross species in
offshore waters. All adult
Short-tailed Shearwater: ~50,000 (10,000). 600 offshore in the AM but
then a broad and often continuous band in pelagic waters, this band
shifted into offshore waters around midday so that we passed back
through it on the return leg. Quite a spectacle!
Sooty Shearwater: 4 (2). 1 inshore, 2 offshore and 1 pelagic -
undoubtedly more were overlooked amongst the masses of Short-tailed
Shearwaters.
Fluttering Shearwater: 16 (6). 3 inshore in the AM, 12 offshore in the
AM and another in the PM.
Huttons Shearwater: 1 (backed by a record photo) offshore in the PM.
White-chinned Petrel: 55 (20). 3 offshore in AM, 5 offshore in PM,
remainder pelagic.
Great-winged Petrel: 10(4). All NZ gouldi. Most pelagic but 1 in
offshore waters in the PM.
White-headed Petrel: 5 (2). Most pelagic at berley points but the fifth
individual was in offshore waters in the PM. One individual had a
curiously uniform grey head suggestive of Soft-plumaged Petrel when
viewed from below.
COOK’S PETREL: 3 different individuals (all photographed) as flybys at
the first berley point and as we moved to the second point. Although it
passed through fairly quickly the first bird provided excellent views as
it was picked up at distance then proceeded to fly right into the back
of the boat before continuing on. The other two birds were less
accommodating. These are the third summer records we've had off
Eaglehawk Neck since 2010.
GOULD’S PETREL: 30 (4). A steady stream of flybys at each of the three
berley stops and an additional individual in offshore waters in the PM.
A few made 2-5 passes through the berley trail. A few photos here:
http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages/goulds_petrel
Soft-plumaged Petrel: 1 very distant as we stopped at the first berley
point. Normally a species that is placed in capital letters, the bird
was so distant that, at best, views were 'rubbish'.
MOTTLED PETREL: 18 (2). Mostly pelagic at berley points but two in
offshore waters in the PM. As is typical of this species only a couple
made multiple passes through the berley trail with most just 'whipping
by'. A few photos here: http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages/mottled_petrel
Little Penguin: 1 inshore in the AM.
Australasian Gannet: 8 (3). 6 inshore in the AM, 2 inshore in the PM.
Black-faced Cormorant: 3 (2). 1 inshore in the AM, 2 inshore in the PM.
Crested Tern: 5 (3). 3 inshore in the AM, 2 inshore in the PM.
Kelp Gull: 9 inshore in the AM.
Silver Gull: 13 inshore in the AM.
--
Rohan Clarke
www.wildlifeimages.com.au
Latest updates
http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages/root&view=recent
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
|
