EAGLEHAWK NECK BOAT TRIP - 23 February 2003
GROUP: Rob Berry, Barry Bucholtz, Bruce Cox, Gail D'Alton,
John Duranti, Don Haddin, Chris Lester, Rosemary
Lester, Jann and Ross Mulholland, Colin Scouler, Bill
Wakefield, Geoff Walker, Bob Way.
VESSEL/SKIPPER: Pauletta / John Males with deckie.
WEATHER: Fine and warm all day with no cloud cover - very
unusual for this boat trip. Light N wind of 5 knots
early gradually freshening all day to 20 - 25 knots
from the N by late afternoon.
SEA: Slight sea of < 0.5 m with minimal swell in morning.
Slightly choppy sea of >1 m in afternoon.
ACTIVITY: Sailed 07.20. Headed SE from Pirates Bay past the
Hippolytes, then SE out past the shelf. Very quiet
except for a moderate number of Short-tailed
Shearwaters. The first stop was at 09.30 at 43
(superscript: o )14'S 148(superscript: o) 11'E in 131
fathoms with water temperature at 18.8(superscript: o)
C. This temperature was very high for these waters.
However, there weren't many birds here. Continued SE
and stopped at 10.15 in 218 fathoms (18.9(superscript:
o)C) at 43(superscript: o) 16'S 148(superscript: o)
13'E. We drifted S for 4 - 5 nm over the next 2 1/4
hours. While the activity was never frantic, it was
constant with regular waves of shearwaters,
albatrosses and petrels coming through. All the
species of Pterodromapetrels turned up here as we
drifted. As has been the case before on the Feb / Mar
trip, Buller's was the most common albatross species.
The third (short) stop was at 1.45 at 43(superscript:
o) 13'S 148(superscript: o) 12'E in 140 fathoms (19.3
(superscript: o)C). All the species of Pterodroma
petrels continued to pass by. Travelled in and docked
at approx 16.10.
MAMMALS: Australian Fur-Seals - at and near the Hippolytes.
BIRDS: Quite good numbers of birds (although fewer
Short-tailed Shearwater than I would expect) with good
diversity. The highlights of the day were the
Pterodroma petrels - MOTTLED, SOFT-PLUMAGED, GOULD'S
and WHITE-HEADED.
Little Penguin 2 (1).
Common Diving-Petrel 2 (1).
Giant-Petrel sp. 1.
Great-winged Petrel 100 (15).
WHITE-HEADED PETREL 3 (1).
SOFT-PLUMAGED PETREL 3 (1).
MOTTLED PETREL 5 (1).
GOULD'S PETREL 10 (1).
White-chinned Petrel 60 (10).
Short-tailed Shearwater 1,000 (200).
Fluttering Shearwater 2 (1).
Hutton's Shearwater 1.
Wandering Albatross 10 (5).
Black browed Albatross 2 (1).
Shy Albatross 50 (7).
Yellow-nosed Albatross 5 (1).
BULLER'S ALBATROSS 100 (15)
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 3 (1).
Grey-backed Storm-Petrel 8 (2).
White-faced Storm-Petrel 40 (10).
Australasian Gannet 300 (7). Mostly inshore and around the Hippolytes
Black-faced Cormorant 900. Inshore and at the Hippolytes.
Kelp Gull 25. Along the shore and at the Hippolytes.
Silver Gull 20. Mostly along the shore and at the Hippolytes.
Crested Tern 50 (20). Most were roosting on the shore.
2003 Trips Remaining: 21 September and 23 November.
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
|
