22nd December, 2001 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:30 returned at approx. 16:45.
Sea conditions: SE to 0.5m at first and to 1.5m NE late in the afternoon.
Swell: SE to 1.5m.
Weather: Mostly sunny but overcast at first and with some cloud persisting
during the morning.
Temperature range: 23 to 27°C.
Barometric pressure: 1008 rising.
Wind: SSE 10kts at first, rising to SE 15 knots by mid morning but easing
to 5 to 10 knots by noon.
Sea surface temperature: 23.8 to 24.8°C.
Primary chumming location: S 34° 33' - E 151° 16'.
Summary:
A wonderful early summer day moderated by cooling SE breezes. It has been
a long time since we had a Wollongong pelagic trip in late December so we
left the harbour trying to guess what the day ahead might bring. It turns
out we had we had several pleasant surprises in store!
The water immediately outside the breakwater was a very warm 23.8°C and
with even warmer water expected wide of the continental shelf our thoughts
turned to tropical species.
As we cruised east, Flesh-footed and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters followed the
boat, being pestered by the occasional Pomarine Jaeger. At the 65 fathom
line, we entered a pool of cooler water as the surface temperature suddenly
dropped 0.7°C. Just as suddenly, there were birds (and fish) everywhere
and the first flock included a LITTLE SHEARWATER. Those who had succumbed
to the soporific effects of sun and sea (motion sickness pills too) were
roused by the flurry of shouts?..Hutton's Shearwater, SOOTY TERN,
LONG-TAILED JAEGER, Sooty Shearwater!! It was difficult to decide what to
point the binoculars at! Up to 15 Pomarine Jaegers were harrying the
shearwaters, including a banded juvenile that evaded our best efforts to
capture it.
At the 100-fathom line we encountered the first Arctic Jaeger of the day
and a White-faced Storm-Petrel, which have proven so elusive this spring.
Large numbers of SOOTY TERN were in view continuously and we scrutinised
them arduously in case there were other species among them. This was
almost surprising since the maximum count was over 150 in view at any one
time. An hour of berleying at the 200 fathom line attracted both Wilson's
and White-faced Storm-Petrel but only 3 Great-winged Petrels. We elected
to cruise into deeper water in search of additional species but as the
surface temperature increased further the number of birds decreased.
At 600 fathoms, the temperature was 24.8°C and few birds were in evidence
so we turned for port. We have had a good record for seeing rarities on
the return leg of the cruise this year and today was no exception. A
STREAKED SHEARWATER was observed in 550 fathoms and a number of
Storm-Petrels were encountered while we were still in deep water. The high
density of birds encountered on the trip out appeared to have dispersed.
Highlights:
Seven species of Shearwater were observed on this trip, including STREAKED
and LITTLE SHEARWATER. The first LONG-TAILED JAEGERS of the summer
provided extended views at close quarters. The number of SOOTY TERNS was
unprecedented being far in excess of anything recorded previously on a
Wollongong Pelagic Trip.
Birds recorded according to the latest Environment Australia Reporting
Schedule:
Species code: Species name: Numbers:
(Note: numbers in parenthesis = highest count at any one time)
005 Little Penguin Eudyptula minor 1
073 Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma macroptera gouldi 5 (1)
853 STREAKED SHEARWATER Calonectris leucomelas 1
067 LITTLE SHEARWATER Puffinus assimilis 1
917 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 2 (1)
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater P. pacificus 135 (100+)
070 Sooty Shearwater P. griseus 3 (1)
071 Short-tailed Shearwater P. tenuirostris 12 (4)
072 Flesh-footed Shearwater P. carneipes 58 (25)
063 Wilson's Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus 3 (2)
065 White-faced Storm -Petrel Pelagodroma marinus 6 (3)
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 1
128 Arctic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus 6 (4)
933 LONG-TAILED JAEGER S. longicauda 4 (2)
945 Pomarine Jaeger S. pomarinus 27 (15)
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 15 (15)
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 42 (30)
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 17 (15)
120 SOOTY TERN S. fuscata 450+ (150+)
In the harbour:
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 1
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 1
19 species of seabird identified outside the breakwater.
Mammals
None observed
For details of some previous trips see
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~sossa/
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. If you would like to join one of these trips please contact us
as below:
To make a booking on the SOSSA Wollongong
Pelagics which depart on the 4th Saturday of each month contact
SOSSA: Phone 02 4271 6004.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~sossa/
Carl Loves Phone: 0427 423 500
Pete Milburn: Mobile 0428 249 506, 02 6255 1313 (AH) or 02 6125 4173 (BH)
To make a booking for Sydney Pelagics,
which depart on the 2nd Saturday of each month contact
Tony Palliser Ph; 02-99001678 (w), 02-94115272 (h)
http://www.zip.com.au/~palliser
To make a booking for Eden Pelagics which are run on the 5th
Sunday of each month it occurs.
Barbara Jones or Ph (02) 6495 7390
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Note: SOSSA = Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association
Dr P.J. Milburn
Biomolecular Resource Facility
Australian National University
GPO Box 334
Canberra
ACT 0200
+61 2 6125 4173 'Phone
+61 2 6125 4326 FAX
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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