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For anyone with an special interest in seabirds,
the return of pelagic trips off Southport in 2002 have undoubtedly provided some
of the highlights of the avian calendar. With outings in March and April
producing birds the calibre of South Polar Skua, Black-winged and White-necked
Petrels, the trips have been well attended, and yesterday no less than 22 keen
seafarers boarded the gorgeous Skybird with high hopes. They weren't to be
disappointed.
Land-based reports of prions extending from the
Sunshine Coast to Sydney had many observers anticipating a good day for cold
water birds, despite the water temperature of around 20 degrees being
higher than the air temperature for most of the day. In overcast conditions and
scattered showers, glare was kept to a minimum, and seas of less than a metre
meant a reasonably comfortable day for most on board, with only a couple of
unfortunates succumbing to the elements.
With shearwaters in short supply, the first hour
was uneventful, although a breaching humpback whale was seen in the distance. A
very unseasonal Arctic Jaeger also provided early intrigue. During the second
hour, the fun really started as the first cry of "prion!" went up. With even
Fairy Prions being uncommon most years in Queensland, nothing is taken for
granted, especially with recent reports of live
Antarctic Prions and beachwashed Salvin's Prions in Queensland fresh in the
mind.
An argument quickly ensued: those upstairs were
adamant the bird was indeed a standard Fairy Prion; those below equally
intractable in the belief that the bird's obvious white supercilium and reduced
tail band pointed towards the infamously difficult whalebird complex. Even as
prions began to surround the boat in increasing numbers, no one twigged until
much later that this was an obvious case of "two bird theory" in
action!
With Providence Petrels making their appearance
well short of the shelf, and lines of birds working a current slightly to
our north, the stage was set. We were cruising into deep water when our
attention was caught by a large-looking prion gliding past and then landing
behind the boat. We stopped immediately and relocated the bird after a couple of
anxious minutes. I recall someone shouting, "look at the bill!" and a gasp went
up: to everyone's amazement, only five metres from the boat was a BROAD-BILLED
PRION, busily filtering food through what looked like an outsize
spatula.
After a minute or so's stunned staring, I called
for ANYONE with a camera to take as many photos as possible. Kim Ford hurriedly
went into the cabin and hopefully her photos will provide a definitive record of
a bird almost never seen live at sea in Australian waters, with the vast bulk of
records being beachwashed. Not that photos should really be necessary for ID
purposes: with its pronounced dark grey collar, large size, seemingly
enormous head and bowed bill, this bird was distinctive to say the least, even
as it began to drift into the distance.
Then I noticed that most observers were looking in
the opposite direction to myself. I cursed them collectively for not keeping
their eyes on the prize. "But there's another one here," said someone casually,
as if this was entirely to be expected. Wha?! Yet there it was - another
Broad-billed Prion, again only a few metres from the boat and... wait... good
lord, another... and another!
Somehow we'd managed to steer smack in the middle
of a flotilla of Broad-billed Prions, a new bird for everyone on
board.
By this time, Antarctic Prions were appearing in
numbers, and a couple of birds (one of them next to a Broad-billed) looked
suspiciously intermediate between the two - probably Salvin's Prions. A couple
of times what appeared to be Slender-billed Prions were also called. This was
becoming very difficult: sometimes having the opportunity of direct comparison
doesn't necessarily make identification easier. It is entirely possible
that we had five species of prion with us, but as the birds constantly flew
around the boat, resettled on the water, took off again, disappeared behind
waves and generally made life difficult, the best we could confirm was three
species, with at least four Broad-billeds and probably a few more among
them.
The day was far from over. The first of three
dark morph Kermadec Petrels was a brief distraction - the third time this bird
has been seen off Southport this year - and a BLACK-BELLIED STORM-PETREL made a
late appearance. But the most astonishing new sighting was a dark morph HERALD
PETREL, in view for at least two minutes and making two close approaches to the
boat. With the birds from Raine Island thought to be all light or intermediate
morph, this bird is more likely to have come from the central Pacific. This bird
and the Broad-billed Prions will naturally require BARC submissions and one can
understand some committee members being sceptical that they occurred on the same
day!
I would advise anyone looking to join us in August
to book early. Species list:
Great-winged Petrel - 2
Providence Petrel - 36
KERMADEC PETREL - 3 (all dark morphs)
HERALD PETREL - 1 (dark morph)
BROAD-BILLED PRION - 4+
ANTARCTIC PRION - 13+
Fairy Prion - 7+, probably hundreds
present
Hutton's Shearwater - 3
Fluttering/Hutton's - 2
Wilson's Storm Petrel - 1
BLACK-BELLIED STORM-PETREL - 1
Australasian Gannet - 8
Arctic Jaeger - 1 (unseasonal)
Silver Gull - 12
Crested Tern - 25
Common Noddy - 1
Cheers all, AS
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