Eden pelagics - trip reports

[sandra henderson <>]

 

After several days of inclement weather the forecast for the pelagics weekend (6-7 Sept) was surprisingly good.  All participants were at the wharf early for departure on both Saturday and Sunday – thank you! 

 

The Saturday outing proved to be remarkably quiet birdwise, and very chilly to start with.  We encountered several groups of common dolphins along the way, and when the boat got to the shelf an adult and a very young Wandering Albatross appeared – the latter great treat, because quite a few of us had never seen an all-brown juvenile bird.  A mystery bird checked us out, and Leo managed to get a diagnostic ID photo, so we learned early the next morning that the bird had been a Soft-plumaged Petrel – a good sighting and a new bird for many of us, as was a Northern Giant Petrel.  Although Shy Albatross were sighted, none settled near the boat, and the trip back to Eden proved uneventful.

Sunday proved to be a completely different day!  By about the halfway point it was apparent there were many more birds around enjoying the glorious weather. As we approached the shelf we encountered the first of a great many Bottle-nosed Dolphins, which were sighted on and off for long periods.  At least one participant was longing to see a Wandering Albatross, and on schedule one appeared as soon as the boat reached the shelf. It was not alone – at one stage we had no less than 15 Wandering Albatross close by on the water or circling at close quarters. As well as the varying ages and races of wanderers, several other albatross were attracted to the slick, and by the close we had eight albatross on our list.  Apart from various races ('Snowy', Antipodean and Gibson's) of Wandering Albatross, we saw Black-browed, Shy, Campbell and Buller’s Albatrosses.  The Soft-plumaged Petrels showed up – four in all, as well as an adult Brown Skua, Great Winged Petrel, White-feaded Petrel and Northern Giant Petrel. On the run back into Eden, with a whale on the wish list, one of the several sighted obliged by breaching several times very close to the boat, and appeared to wave us goodbye as we made for the harbour.  A spectacular day!  Many thanks are due to boat crew Richard and Bill.

Several of the Saturday group walked the lake boardwalk after the pelagic, and found not only an Azure Kingfisher, but also a Grey Goshawk, a welcome bonus for the day.

 

Sandra Henderson