TASMANIA - EAGLEHAWK NECK BOAT TRIPS
Early in 1997, John Barkla and I decided to see what variety and
seasonality differences might exist between Portland (where we have done
most of our sea-birding) and Tasmania. This would also help extend our
knowledge of sea-birds and our list of seabirds seen.
Obviously, boat trips out of Eaglehawk Neck have a lot of attractions,
particularly as the Continental Shelf is relatively close to shore (unlike
Portland) and the possibility of vagrants from New Zealand and the
Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic areas was higher. There did not seem to be an
existing organised set of trips, so we started organising our own trips.
During 1997, we ran three trips out of Eaglehawk Neck and the sightings are
listed In the attached Word 6 file. The boat trips were undertaken as part
of ?long weekend? trips to Tasmania, which were planned to see the
Tasmanian endemics as well. We think they have been very worthwhile, even
though it is a bit early to be drawing conclusions on trends. However, the
species composition seems quite different from Portland (as you might
expect). The sighting of the Snares Penguin in September could justify
quite a few trips to Tasmania in its own right.
So far, the people who have been with us have enjoyed the experience
(although that would be tempered if you were prone to seasickness, which I
don?t seem to be). We are planning to continue the trips into 1998 (and
beyond).
Trips for 1998 are March 21-23 (boat trip on 23rd), May 16-18 (boat trip on
18th), September 19-21 (boat trip on 20th) and November 14-16 (boat trip on
15th).
If anybody is interested in any aspects of the trips or might want to join
us, feel free to contact John (03 9419 5961 AH, e-mail
or me (03 9370 7418 AH or by return e-mail).
Chris Lester
Melbourne, Victoria
(See attached file: TASMAN~2.DOC)
TASMAN~2.DOC
Description: Rich Text Format
|
