Hi again,
The report and some photos from the Albany pelagic on Sunday 8th February is
also now online at
http://wabirdingblog.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/albany-pelagic-trip-report-8-february.html.
The text-only version is again included below.
A similar trip in terms of species to the Saturday trip, though conditions were
much rougher.
Cheers,
John
Summary: This was also an interesting trip, with a reasonable variety of
seabirds, though most species were the same as the previous day’s trip. 11
tubenose species were recorded, along with several skua and tern species. The
highlights were more Sooty Terns and Short-tailed Shearwaters, and several
close passes from a Wandering-type Albatross.
Participants: Alan Collins (Organiser), John Graff (Organiser), Plaxy Barratt,
Bill Betts, Nick Brown, Stewart Ford, Jacinta King, Dan Mantle, Wayne Merritt,
Michael Morcombe, Mark Newman, Steve Reynolds, George Swann, Roy Teale
Conditions: Conditions were significantly rougher than experienced on the
Saturday trip, with seas forecast at 1.5-2m with a primary swell SW’ly at 2-3m
and a secondary swell E’ly at 1m. Winds were forecast easterly at 15-20knts,
reaching 25knts inshore. Conditions were largely as forecast which made for a
wet and rough trip!
Report
We departed Emu Point Boat Harbour at approximately 0600. The outbound journey
was quite rough and wet, particularly in the sloppy conditions just outside the
heads. The first Flesh-footed Shearwaters began to appear as we entered King
George Sound. A number of Arctic Jaegers were also active in the sound, with
five individuals seen harassing a Silver Gull at one point. As we approached
the heads, a small group of Common Bottlenose Dolphins were again seen briefly,
in a similar area to the previous day. We cleared the heads and Flesh-footed
Shearwater numbers increased. Not long afterwards, two Short-tailed Shearwaters
were also seen behind the boat, and a few people saw three distant Long-tailed
Jaegers. A single tern was also seen by several people, and considered to be a
Bridled Tern. Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross were seen sporadically for most of
the outbound journey, along with a couple of Shy Albatross and a single
Black-browed Albatross seen by a few people. The first major excitement came as
we approached the shelf break and a dark bird with an obvious white belly was
seen off the starboard side – unfortunately, this turned out to be a leucistic
Flesh-footed Shearwater rather than a crippling rarity! This was followed by a
smaller bird with a pale belly that was initially suspected to be a
Soft-plumaged Petrel. However, at least one observer suspected a shearwater,
and was proven correct when photographs confirmed a Hutton’s Shearwater.
We stopped the boat after reaching the 800m mark. Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
and Flesh-footed Shearwaters immediately gathered around the boat, and
occasional Great-winged Petrels and Short-tailed Shearwaters made passes.
Several Wilson’s and White-faced Storm-Petrels also made appearance in the
slick. Bird activity remained relatively high, but nothing new was seen until
two Sooty Terns made a pass. A couple of Crested Terns were something of a
surprise this deep given the relatively rough conditions. We were drifting west
relatively quickly, but remaining in deep water. However, with nothing new
coming in we decided to try something different and moved into shallower water
where the shelf break was steeper.
We stopped just short of midday in about 400 m of water. Initially, species
were much the same as the previous stop, until the call went out for a
Wandering-type Albatross. Unlike the Saturday bird, this individual made
several close passes of the boat, showing a largely white body, with a moderate
amount of white in the upperwing – this is a challenging plumage to identify
with certainty, with Snowy exulans, Antipodean (Gibson’s) gibsoni and Tristan
dabbenena all showing this plumage. The apparently relatively small and slight
build, and location, suggest gibsoni may be the most likely candidate. Another
Sooty Tern was also seen. We were drifting rapidly west, so we motored back to
the start of the drift and started again. An adult Black-browed Albatross,
showing some serious damage to the bill tip, arrived and remained in the
vicinity for the remainder of the stop. It was later joined by a young
Black-browed-type Albatross, which was suggested as a possible Campbell at the
time. However, subsequent analysis of photos suggests it is more likely to be a
Black-browed Albatross, and it may be best left as a Black-browed sp.
Interestingly, the bird was banded, along with at least one of the Flesh-footed
Shearwaters seen on the trip. Unfortunately, full band details couldn’t be
ascertained in either case.
We set off for home shortly before 1400, with the two Black-browed Albatross
[sp.] following us for an extended period. The return trip was wet and fairly
rough at times, with one particularly large wave sending the large plastic
containers at the back of the boat flying. Bird-wise it was relatively
uneventful until several Hutton’s Shearwaters were seen as we approached the
heads. A single Little Shearwater was also seen briefly as it passed the bow,
and two Bridled Terns were seen relatively close to the coast. We docked at
approximately 1645. Many thanks as always to all the participants, and to Tony
and Fred from Spinners Charters for their assistance.
Species List (Total count [Maximum seen at one time])
Wandering Albatross sp. 1 (1) – probable [antipodensis] gibsoni
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross 25 (8)
Black-browed Albatross 3 (1)
Black-browed Albatross [sp.] 1 (1)
Shy Albatross 8 (2)
Great-winged Petrel 15 (2)
Flesh-footed Shearwater 400 (100)
Short-tailed Shearwater 20 (2)
Hutton's Shearwater 7 (6)
Little Shearwater 1 (1)
Wilsons Storm-Petrel 6 (4)
White-faced Storm-Petrel 15 (4)
Arctic Jaeger 8 (5)
Long-tailed Jaeger 3 (3)
Crested Tern 5 (2)
Sooty Tern 4 (2)
Bridled Tern 3 (2)
Australasian Gannet 3 (1)
Common Bottlenose Dolphin 3 (3)
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