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Port Fairy, VIC, PENBOCA pelagic trip 25 May 03 report

To: "BIRDING-AUS" <>, "Bill Ramsay" <>, "Ashley Bunce" <>, "Stuart Cooney" <>, "Tania Ireton" <>
Subject: Port Fairy, VIC, PENBOCA pelagic trip 25 May 03 report
From: "Mike Carter" <>
Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 18:28:06 -0000
 
PORT FAIRY (PF), VIC, PENBOCA PELAGIC TRIP REPORT, 25 MAY 2003

OBSERVERS: Tania Ireton (organiser for PENBOCA), David Ap-Thomas, Peter & Betty Baitz, Alex Farias, Audrey Goldberg, Paul Hackett, Brian Johnston, Bill Ramsay, Jacqui Sheppard, Charles Smith & Mike Carter (leader & reporter).

WEATHER: A ridging anticyclone was centred over western Bass Strait. Patchy cloud cover but mostly sunny, therefore bright with excellent visibility. Cool to cold. SW wind of 5 knots inshore at first rising to 12 knots in the afternoon. 

SEA: Slight on a low SW swell. So a relatively comfortable ride with just a little spray. The leader rode on the bow coming in from LJPI. One person very seasick all day and another apparently affected by an overdose of anti-motion sickness tablets.

ACTIVITY: Sailed at 07.25 EST. Headed out on a COG of 204º at 12.5 Kts. Close inshore, there were good numbers of Fluttering Shearwaters then almost no birds until 18 Nm out, at depths between 35 & 40 fathoms, when there was a concentration of Prions, Gannets and Albatrosses (mainly Yellow-nosed). We crossed the shelf break (100 fathoms = 180m) at 10.00 and continued into deeper water eventually out to 390 fathoms.  Between 10.15 and 13.30 we stopped and berleyed with shark liver at four locations within 5 km of 38º49’S 141º54’E. Initially, bird numbers here were also low, the first to assemble were the Storm-Petrels, the larger birds appearing somewhat lethargic. Coming in, heading due north @ 13.5 Kts, we again passed through large congregations of Prions in offshore waters. We cruised off the western and northern shores of Lady Julia Percy Island (LJPI) from 15.15 to 15.40. Docked at 16.40.

MAMMALS: 1,000’s of Australian Fur Seals were at LJPI and perhaps 5 at sea.

BIRDS: 21 species of seabird beyond the river mouth indicated fair diversity and while most were in fairly low numbers, two species, Fairy Prion and Fluttering Shearwater, were abundant. Storm-Petrels were much in evidence beyond the shelf-break (i.e. pelagic). Highlights are in capitals. Unless noted otherwise, those listed below were near or beyond the shelf break.

Little Penguin:  7.  2 on LJPI & 5 from there to PF.

N. Giant Petrel: 3 (3). All to within a few m. ID confidence levels were 100%, 95%

& 55%! The latter initially thought to be a S.

Cape Petrel: 1.

{Great-winged Petrel: Notable by there absence.}

ANTARCTIC PRION: 3 (1). Good views of all showing undertail & head patterns.

SLENDER-BILLED PRION: 2 (2). Excellent views.

FAIRY PRION: c. 1,500, 30 pelagic. Most were offshore in a strip between the

35-40 fathom lines going out and the 50-40 lines coming in. Since these

transects were 15Nm apart there were probably tens of thousands!

Short-tailed Shearwater: 4 (2). 3 offshore, 1 inshore.

Fluttering Shearwater: 300 (200) inshore.

N. ROYAL ALBATROSS: 1.

Black-browed Albatross: nom. race, 60 (15). 30 off. 50 ads, 8 sub-ads, 2 juv.

                                            impavida, 5 (2). 2 adults, 3 sub-ads.

Shy Albatross cauta: 40 (20). 10 offshore. 30 ads, 8 sub-ads, 2 juvs.

Yellow-nosed Albatross: 35 (30). 30 offshore. 30 adults, 5 sub-adults.

Wilson’s Storm-Petrel: 15 (6).

GREY-BACKED STORM-PETREL: 15 (8).

Australasian Gannet: c.200 (50). 100 inshore, 100 offshore.

Black-faced Cormorant: 1 ad. on LJPI.

Great Skua: 1.

Kelp Gull: 5 on LJPI.

Silver Gull: 125. 25 on LJPI & 70 feeding at sea between there & PF.

Crested Tern: 20 (10). 16 inshore, 3 offshore & 1 pelagic.

White-fronted Tern: 4. 2 ads. offshore, 2 juvs pelagic.  

 
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mt Eliza    VIC     3930
Ph:  (03) 9787 7136
Email:  
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