EAGLEHAWK NECK BOAT TRIP - 23 November 2003
GROUP: Anne Booth, Peter and Hazel Britton, Geoff Bromfield,
Barry Bucholtz, Stuart Hull, Gil Langfield, Chris and Rosemary Lester,
Frank O'Connor, Allan Poynter, Colin Rogers, John
Rogers, Bill Wakefield.
VESSEL/SKIPPER: Pauletta / John Males with Michael Males.
WEATHER: Cloudy, cool early with occasional very light rain in the
afternoon. S wind of 15-20 knots early reducing to 10-12 knots from the
S in the afternoon.
SEA: Choppy sea of 1 m with initial swell of 1 m in the
morning. In the afternoon, only very slight chop with swell of 1 m.
ACTIVITY: Sailed 07.25. Headed E from Pirates Bay a bit past the
shelf. Very quiet on the way out except for moderate numbers of
Short-tailed Shearwaters. Berleyed from 08.50 at the
first stop about 14 nm out from Pirates Bay at 43(superscript: o) 01.7'S
148(superscript: o)14.0'E in 124 fathoms with water temperature at 13.3
(superscript: o) C. Lots of Short-tailed Shearwaters
here. The numbers of other birds steadily built up with many
White-chinned Petrels. Drifted 1.5 nm NE until 10.20 and all the
Pterodroma Petrels turned up here as we drifted. Then continued SE
and stopped at 11.50 in 350 fathoms (13.2(superscript: o) C) at 43
(superscript: o) 03.0'S 148(superscript: o) 14.6'E. Drifted
another 1 and a bit nm N until 13.00. All the Pterodroma Petrels turned
up here too as well as the Black-bellied Storm-Petrel. Travelled in via
the Hippolytes and docked a bit after 15.30.
MAMMALS: Australian Fur-Seals at the Hippolytes.
BIRDS: An excellent day with a large number of birds and
exceptional diversity after a quiet start. The highlights of the day
were the good numbers of Pterodroma petrels - MOTTLED,
GOULD'S, WHITE-HEADED and Great-winged. The BLACK-BELLIED STORM-PETREL
was also a highlight along with the LONG-TAILED
JAEGERS and the Great Skuas. We had good views of all birds except
perhaps the Arctic Jaeger as all approached quite
close to the boat at one time or another. The species observed were
very similar to last November with a few additional ones.
Little Penguin 20 (20).
Southern Giant-Petrel 2 (1).
Northern Giant-Petrel 4 (2).
Cape Petrel 2 (1).
Great-winged Petrel 6 (2).
WHITE-HEADED PETREL 5 (1).
MOTTLED PETREL 4 (1).
GOULD'S PETREL 8 (1).
Fairy Prion 5 (3).
White-chinned Petrel 100 (30).
Sooty Shearwater 3 (1).
Short-tailed Shearwater 10,000 (2,000).
Wandering Albatross 10 (5).
Royal Albatross 2 (1). Both Southern RA.
Black browed Albatross 3 (2). 1 impavida
Shy Albatross 100 (25).
Yellow-nosed Albatross 6 (1).
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 10 (4).
Grey-backed Storm-Petrel 2 (1).
BLACK-BELLIED STORM-PETREL 1.
Australasian Gannet 16. 10 pelagic and 6 at the
Hippolytes
Black-faced Cormorant 400. At the Hippolytes and
inshore.
Great Skua 2 (2).
Arctic Jaeger 1.
LONG-TAILED JAEGER 2 (1).
Pacific Gull 2. In Pirates Bay.
Kelp Gull 42. 20 at the Hippolytes and 22
inshore.
Silver Gull 60. 50 at the Hippolytes and 10
inshore.
Crested Tern 3 (2).
2004 Trips: 22 February, 19 September and 21 November.
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