This afternoon, Denise Brown, Terry Robinson and myself jumped the border
into NSW and spent one and a half hours seabird watching from Hastings
Point.
The seas were large but it was a beautiful day, warm with virtually no wind.
The birdlife was prolific but most species stayed well off shore.
The three of us have had little experience with these birds and only Terry
has ever been on a pelagic trip so we were struggling with identifications.
For example, there was a very large bird floating on the water way off
shore. It was obviously an Albatross but which species? Even with
telescopes we could not be sure. We THINK it was a Wandering Albatross but
can't claim it. There were at least four species which remain completely
unidentified.
The highlights were:
Australian Gannets in all stages of development
White-fronted Terns
Fairy Prions
Southern Giant Petrel
Tahiti Petrels (?)
Is there any birder with pelagic experience living close enough to Hastings
Point (or the Gold Coast) who would be available this Friday to help us on
another visit?
Terry Pacey
Gold Coast
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