29 AUGUST 1998 SYDNEY, NSW PELAGIC TRIP REPORT
Departed at 7.15 am and returned at 3.15 pm.
0.5M swell, Winds light SE to 5 Knots
Reaching 27 Nautical Miles E of Sydney Heads.
Water Temp 18.0 Deg C inshore
Water Temp 22.8 Deg C offshore (over the shelf)
Primary Chumming Location 34.07' - 151.44' and 34.04' - 151.32'
Those on Board,
Six Japanese Birdwatchers including Hirozo Maki(well known wildlife
photographer) plus Shaun Dooley, Rod Gardner, Tony Palliser, Andrew
Stafford and Bob Way.
A delightful warm day with calm seas and near perfect conditions. Bird
numbers were fairly low, however there were some great birds. Highlights
included large numbers of White-headed Petrel with up to 30 birds seen
beyond the shelf. I believe this would be the largest count ever off
Sydney and certainly the first day that I have seen that includes
White-headed Petrel as the most numerous species of the day. Other
highlights included 4 Antarctic Prion and the real crippler of the day a
Juvenile Grey-headed Albatross. Photographic opportunities were ideal with
most of the birds very co-operative. Hopefully shots will be available of
both the Grey-headed Albatross and Antarctic Prions at a later date.
THE BIRDS
(Note: numbers in brackets = highest count at any one time)
Wandering Albatross (mostly gibsoni? stage 4) 14 (4)
Yellow-nosed Albatross (bassian) c.10
Black-browed Albatross (juv) 10-15 (5)
GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS (juv) (1)
Giant Petrel Sp 1 (very distant)
Providence (Solander's) Petrel 10-12 (c.4)
Great-winged Petrel 10-15 (3)
WHITE-HEADED PETREL 28-30 (7)
Fairy Prion 25-30 (4)
ANTARCTIC PRION 4 (2)
Cape Petrel (3) (2)
Fluttering Shearwater 20+ (15)
Hutton's Shearwater 5+ (2)
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 20+ (12+)
Australasian Gannet 10+
Silver Gull 25+ Most inshore
Crested Tern 10-15
Australasian Pelican 2 in the harbour
Australian Darter 1 in the harbour
Little Pied Cormorant 2 in harbour
Great Cormorant 1 in harbour
White-breasted Sea Eagle 1 in the harbour
17 species of seabird - away from the heads.
MAMMALS
Australian Fur Seal 1
Sydney Pelagics depart on the 2nd Saturday of each month, Wollongong
Pelagics depart on the 4th Sunday of each month and Eden Pelagics the 5th
Sunday of each quarter. If you would like to join one of these trips please
contact either Tony Palliser or Pete Milburn to make a booking.
A reminder that I will be on leave for the month of September to make
a pelagic booking during this period please contact Pete Milburn.
Tony Palliser Ph; 02-99001678 (w), 02-94277563 (h) 0416-095875 (m)
http://www.zip.com.au/~palliser
Pete Milburn Ph; 0416-249501 or Wk 02-62494326
Best Regards
Tony
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