28th September, 2002 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:20 returned at approx. 15:00.
Sea conditions: Calm at first to W 2.0 to 2.5m on our return trip.
Swell: to 0.5m SE.
Weather: Bright sunshine.
Temperature range: 16.0 to 22.0°C.
Barometric pressure: 1015 HPa rising.
Wind: Calm at first, SSW 15kts during the morning, and W 20 to 40kts gusts
in the afternoon.
Sea surface temperature: 16.8 to 18.0°C.
Primary chumming location: 34° 36'S : 151° 14'E.
Summary:
A low-pressure system was centered over the NSW coast and a high-pressure
system in the Great Australian Bight was moving east. The morning broke
clear and calm but a strong westerly change was predicted later in the day.
Without further ado we headed due east for deep water resisting the
temptation to stop and watch cetaceans.
Immediately outside the breakwater we ran into flocks of shearwaters that
included six species. Excellent views of all species were obtained under
ideal conditions.
On our passage out to the continental slope we encountered both species of
Giant-Petrel, several Brown Skua and an assortment of Albatross. At the
continental shelf break a SSW breeze picked up and conditions were simply
perfect for viewing seabirds. At the 200-fathom line we stopped the boat
and berleyed for an hour. Unusually, an adult Kelp Gull fed behind the
boat for a while. This species is normally seen in inshore waters only in
NSW.
Only minutes after we began our return trip, the strong westerly change
came through. This effectively put an end to birdwatching due the to tons
of spray flying from the bows.
Highlights:
No rarities were recorded but a very pleasant early spring day on the ocean.
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)
929 Southern Giant-Petrel Macronectes giganteus 1
937 Northern Giant-Petrel M. halli 1
075 Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma macroptera gouldi 2 (2)
971 Solander's Petrel P. solandri 9 (5)
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia 250+ (250+)
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 500+ (500+)
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater P. pacificus 500+ (150+)
070 Sooty Shearwater P. griseus 1
071 Short-tailed Shearwater P. tenuirostris 11 (7)
072 Flesh-footed Shearwater P. carneipes 2 (2)
847 Gibson's Albatross Diomedea gibsoni 19 (12)
088 Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys 32 (25)
859 Campbell Albatross T. impavida 2 (2)
091 Shy Albatross T. cauta 1 first year
861 White-capped Albatross T. steadi 1
864 Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. carteri 1
100 Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos 1
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 4 (2)
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 1
980 Brown Skua Catharacta lonnbergi 3 (1)
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 2 (1)
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 100+ (65+)
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 36 (14)
In the harbour:
096 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 1
097 Little Black Cormorant P. sulcirostris 6
099 Pied Cormorant P. varius 2
100 Little Pied Cormorant P. melanoleucos 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 6
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 1
23 species of seabird identified outside the breakwater.
Mammals:
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae 2 (2)
Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis 5 (5)
Australian Fur-Seal 2 (2)
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 Pelagic Trips that depart on the
4th Saturday of each month contact:
SOSSA: Phone 02 4271 6004.
Email:
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
<>
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
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
