Newcastle NSW Pelagic Trip Report 8 August 2000

[richard baxter <>]

Newcastle NSW Pelagic Trip Report 5 August 2000

Report prepared by Richard Baxter

Conditions:

Departed 7.10 am and returned 4pm.

Location: Swansea, Newcastle

Sea Conditions: A slight 1m swell, a bit choppy later in the day.

Weather: A fine day on departure with a southerly wind increasing throughout the day with light rain from the south later in the afternoon.

Primary Chumming Locations: 1) 17km off Swansea in 40 Fathoms

2) 24km off Swansea in 60 Fathoms

3) 52km off Norah Head in 102 Fathoms.(shelf)

Those on board: Phil Hansbro, Richard Baxter, Phillip Rankin, Craig Anderson, Michael Roderick, Steven Roderick, Graeme O?Conner, Chris Herbert, Liz Herbert, Terry Langworthy, Al Gillies and Damian Baxter.

 

Summary:

The Hunter Bird Observers Club (HBOC) recently held its first pelagic trip on the 5 August 2000. The trip was held to allow Newcastle people the opportunity to observe some pelagic birds because for many the trip to Wollongong or Sydney is a bit far. The aim also was to establish if the winter birds seen off Wollongong or Sydney travel this far up the east coast of New South Wales.

We used the game fishing boat "Offshore" which could get us out into the deep water quickly and allow us an extended stay on the shelf.

Not long after leaving Swansea the first bird we saw was a Fluttering Shearwater(3) and just after that our first Fairy Prion(2) and distant views of a single Black-browed Albatross. We had been at sea about an hour with very few birds about and I was beginning to think that perhaps Newcastle was to far north for the southern ocean pelagics.

Our first chumming location was 17km off Swansea at the edge off the reefs and we were quickly rewarded with brief views of Hutton?s Shearwater(1). After five minutes we had our first Yellow-nosed Albatross at the back of the boat, quickly followed by an adult Wandering Albatross(1), Providence Petrel (3) and a lone Cape Petrel.

From here we moved onto our second chumming location which was 24km off Swansea, on the outer edge of the reefs. Within minutes we had over ten Yellow-nosed Albatross at the back of the boat which bought a flurry of cameras and before long ten became twenty as they kept appearing from nowhere. We also had around the boat at this location several Providence Petrels and 4 Cape Petrels as well as a single juvenile Black-browed Albatross.

The next bird to arrive was a single White-faced Storm Petrel which ran across the top of the water within meters of the boat giving everyone excelled views. This was followed by a very obliging Shy Albatross and our first Antarctic Prion. Just after the Prion?s arrival we had a Northern Giant Petrel land at the back of the boat and immeadiately start squabbling with the Albatross, much to the enjoyment of all on board.

Our final stop was 52km off Norah Head on the shelf over the Norah Head canyons. On the way we saw our first Great-winged Petrel of the day and several more Fairy Prions. The further out we went the more Providence Petrels we saw and the Wandering and Black-browed Albatross replaced the Yellow-nosed as the more common. Whilst drifting we were visited by our first Southern Giant Petrel and had about 20 Cape Petrel near the boat. At this location we also had 3 White-faced Storm Petrel, 1 Antarctic Prion, several Fairy Prion, 4 Black-browed Albatross, 2 juvenile Wandering Albatross, 2 Great-winged Petrel and 1 Northern Giant Petrel. On our return trip we had a further Southern Giant Petrel fly to the boat as well as a Shy Albatross and some more Fluttering Shearwaters as we approached shore.

All on board were happy with the closeness of the sightings and are looking forward to a further October pelagic, which hopefully will be equally exciting.

The above trip was conducted as a HBOC outing and at no profit to the organisers.

HBOC may conduct another trip in October. If you would like to join one of these trips please contact Richard Baxter to make a booking. m("yahoo.com","randrbaxter");">

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