Wollongong, NSW Pelagic Trip Report, SATURDAY 26th February 2000
Report prepared by P.J. Milburn
Conditions:
Departed at 07:10 am and returned at approx.17:00 pm.
Sea Conditions: Calm initailly with a slight NE swell. Later NE 1 to 1.5 m
on a 2m swell.
Weather: Glorious! Warm and humid; full subshine all day. Air temperature
18 to 27 °C.
Wind: Slight early, rising to 15 NE later
Water temperature: 18.0 to 23.5 degrees C.
Primary chumming location: 34°26' - 151°24', 26 NM east of Wollongong
Summary:
After 4 days of NE winds we were hoping for some nice visitors from the
tropics. At 6 NM out of the harbour we encountered some passerines, Willie
Wagtail 2 & Welcome Swallow 2. After a fairly slow start we encountered a
STREAKED SHEARWATER at the continetal shelf break. Good views were
obtained and with rising spirits we headed east. Great-winged Petrel
numbers were very low and apart from the occasional Long-tailed Jaeger
nothing but the usual species were observed. Sooty Tern numbers had been
very high on recent trips but now this species was conspicuous by its
absence. The water had a greenish tinge and I began to worry that the
birds were not going to be in our area on the day. A Flesh-footed
Shearwater tangled itself in the trolling line and, as we stopped the boat
to untangle it, the birds came in to investigate the stationary fishing
boat. Phil Hansbro shouts BROWN NODDY.... brief views as the FFSW sinks
its ungues into my thumb. I regain control of the biting shearweater as a
very loud shout of TAHITI PETREL goes up. The FFSW sinks its bill into the
exact same spot on my left thumb as I drop some minced shark liver into the
ocean. The Tahiti Petrel came right onto our berley and sat on the water a
number of times..... brilliant views for all. The FFSW was now in a box and
even I manage some photos! Some observers had to be restrained! I was
disappointed that nobody jumped in to celebrate... FFSW was forgiven for
its indiscretion, banded and released to be entangled another day.
Drifting in 500Fm depth of water for over an hour yielded distant views of
a WHITE-NECKED PETREL which refused to come in close to investigate our
berley trail. An additional 4 BROWN NODDY stayed with us for a while as we
drifted. Several shearwaters and Great-winged Petrels were captured,
banded and released by the SOSSA group. Our day was not over! On the
return trip we encountered 2 BROWN NODDY and 4 SOOTY TERN at the edge of
the continetal shelf and amazingly 6 NM out of the harbour we encountered a
mixed group which included 1 STREAKED SHEARWATER, 1 WHITE-NECKED PETREL and
at least 6 Long-tailed Jaeger. This WHITE-NECKED PETREL gave us good
views to enjoy.
Birds recorded:
Species code: Species name: Numbers:
(Note: numbers in parenthesis = highest count at any one time)
005 Little Penguin Eudyptula minor 2 (1)
073 Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma macroptera gouldi 30 (20)
774 White-necked Petrel P. cervicalis 2 (1)
920 Tahiti Petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata 1
853 Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas 2 (1)
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus. gavia 50 (16)
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 15 (1)
069 Wedge-tailed shearwater P. pacificus 500+ (300+)
070 Sooty Shearwater P. griseus 6 (2)
071 Slender-billed Shearwater P. tenuirostris 40 (35)
072 Flesh-footed Shearwater P. carneipes 50 (20)
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 2 (1)
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 2 (2)
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 300+ (300+)
128 Arctic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus 11 (6)
945 Pomarine Jaeger S. pomarinus 17 (8)
933 Long-tailed Jaeger S. longicauda 9 (6)
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 5 (2)
120 Sooty Tern S.fuscata 4 (4)
122 Brown Noddy Anous stolidus 7 (4)
Welcome Swallow 2
Willie Wagtail 2
20 species of seabird identified outside the breakwater.
In the harbour
096 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 2
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 5
Mammals,
None recorded.
Future Trips,
All Pelagic Trips from NSW are operated at no profit to the organisers
being operated as group boat charters for the benefit of all who wish
to join us.
Sydney Pelagics depart on the 2nd Saturday of each month. Wollongong
Pelagics depart on the 4th Saturday of each month. If you would like to
join one of these
trips please contact either Tony Palliser or Pete Milburn to
make a booking.
NOTE: As of January 2000 Wollongong Trips will depart on 4th SATURDAY of
each month.
Tony Palliser Ph; 02-99001678 (w), 02-94115272 (h)
http://www.zip.com.au/~palliser
Pete Milburn: Mobile 0416-249 506, 02-6255 1313 Home or 02-62494326
Work.
Eden Pelagics are run on the 3rd Sunday of each month. Bookings to
<> Barbara Jones or Ph (02) 6495 7390.
Note: SOSSA = Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association
Dr.P.J. Milburn
Biomolecular Resource Facility
The Australian National University
GPO Box 334 Canberra ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA
Phone No. <61> <2> 6249 4326
Fax No. <61> <2> 6249 4326
E-mail Address
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