THIS BOUNCED YESTERDAY - Here it is again...
From: "Trevor Quested" <>
Subject: Wollongong (NSW) boat trip last Saturday - observations
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 21:48:26 +1000
Wollongong boat trip last Saturday - observations
I have nearly recovered from last Saturday's Wollongong Pelagic aboard =
the Sandra K. No doubt others will post a formal list but here are my =
thoughts.
Preparation: Tony Palliser spent some time winding me up with the =
gripping list after the previous week's trip. Blue Petrel yarda yarda =
yarda. Later in the week he said there were trips going from Sydney or =
Wollongong and I could choose either. He read me the participants on =
both boats and I chose Wollongong. Smart choice in hindsight.
The night before. For the first time I took a Dramamine tablet as I =
went to bed. Wow. Amazingly dangerous dreams. After breakfast take =
2nd tablet. Horrible feelings. Drive south to Wollongong.
There was just enough light at 10 to 7 to snap a few shots of the Sandra =
K at the quay with dawn behind. Then on board and a few more snap shots =
to use up the 100 ASA film in my Nikon F90X before changing to a 400 =
film. Got a beauty of Alan Morris. Full frame. Nice light on a warm =
smile.
We get underway. Birding friends everywhere to talk to. Lindsay Smith =
and Pete Milburn are calling most of the birds. More than just names, =
details too! Kelp Gulls get aged as they fly by, and so later do all =
the Albatross and they get split into sub-species. I like it.
Then at 7.39am Lindsay Smith shouts FULMAR then the magic three words =
"STOP THE BOAT!" follow. I am gob-smacked. I am on a pelagic for the =
first time in three years and am getting fantastic views of one of the =
only birds Tony Palliser has never seen. I start firing away shots with =
a 200mm lens with the bird coming so close. We all are beside ourselves =
with excitement. It is such a gorgeous bird.
What do we do? I know what to do. I whip out my mobile and ring Tony =
to give him the good news. Feather by feather. Bummer though. Hit the =
message bank. Left a message and still haven't heard a reply. Then =
Captain Carl leaves the cabin with a big net on a long pole and before =
you could blink he whisks the Southern Fulmar on board do you mind? =
Carl says it is important for the Sandra K to show its superiority on =
pelagics. If you want the best birds he said then the Sandra K is the =
go.
Three people start the banding and measuring of the bird. Click go the =
cameras, click, click, click. Lindsay is looking extremely happy. We =
keep heading east. Berleying as we go. At half past eight I helped a =
bit. Then a few hours later.... During a spell I thought I would check =
my camera. First of all I checked my ISO button. Oh No! 100. I had =
taken 24 shots with 400 film set on 100.....Take it out, mark the film =
canister, put a new one it, set it correctly. Sulk quietly. All those =
ruined shots..
Then a Black-browed Albatross is caught and hauled on board. We witness =
a cool trick. The albatross is released on deck to walk about with us =
until our banders have time to deal with it. There is not enough space =
for the albatross to get a run up for take off. So here we are with one =
of the most beautiful birds walking around with us. I like that very =
much. I am not sure that I liked the fluorescent paint sprayed on the =
back of the neck before it was released.
Another chance comes when the Fulmar comes back. It is the same one. =
Clearly visible are the blue texta marks on one side of the neck, put =
there for scientific purposes by our banders. More photos. It is easy to =
shoot lots of film on a pelagic. I like using the 200 mm lens better =
than a 400 mm I have tried previously. The camera feels much more =
balanced and the Autofocus is very fast.
We hear "STOP THE BOAT!" a few more times but the best is for a =
Soft-plumaged Petrel. Lindsay first glimpsed it and said he thought it =
was a Soft-plumaged Petrel. Milburn shouted out Soft-plumaged Petrel =
and it came quite close to the boat giving me 2 good looks. My mal de =
mer was getting a grip on me so I may have my sequences out a bit but I =
think we were out as far as we were going which I heard somebody say 45 =
kilometres.
We drifted for some time, berleying sometimes with shark's liver and =
much tuna oil was poured on the water. It sort of sucked the cute =
little jobs in. First of all the Prions were Fairy, then Antarctic then =
Murray and Lindsay were telling me Slender-billed. Yum yum I thought =
this is great! Then as if on cue a Black-bellied Storm-petrel tip-toed =
over the waves. Another tick! The fourth today. Am I back in Canada at =
Point Pelee?
I threw up a few more times...We turned for home and I wasn't =
complaining. I sort of sat, dozed, chatted a bit, played with my =
camera and we crept back in. About an hour from shore I thought it had =
started raining and looked at Murray and looked up at Alan Morris on the =
top deck to see him smiling. A young man upstairs was spewing all over =
those on the lower deck. All in my hair, big blobs on my coat. Ahh, =
pelagics, new birds, bliss.
Lindsay asked when I was coming again. Dunno I said.
Here is a list of the birds I recorded. No doubt others saw more
Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans
Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris
Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta
Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos
Antarctic Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus
F Southern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides
Providence Petrel Pterodroma solandri
Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma macroptera
F Soft-plumaged Petrel Pterodroma mollis
Antarctic Prion Pachyptila desolata
F Slender-billed Prion Pachyptila belcheri
Fairy Prion Pachyptila turtur
White-faced Storm-Petrel Pelagodroma marina
F Black-bellied Storm-Petrel Fregetta tropica
Australian Gannet Morus serrator
Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius
Silver Gull Larus novaehollandiae
Great Crested-Tern Sterna bergii
18 SPECIES
Trevor Quested
Sydney, Australia
Phone +61 2 9955 6266
Fax + 61 2 9959 4005
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