EAGLEHAWK NECK BOAT TRIP - 19 September 2004
GROUP: Geoff Bromfield, Barry Bucholtz, Jim Cartledge, Stuart
Hull, Gil Langfield, Chris and Rosemary Lester, Ross Mulholland, Stuart
Pell, Frank Pierce, John Reid, John Rogers, Bill Wakefield, Geoff Walker.
VESSEL/SKIPPER: Pauletta / John Males with deckie, Michael Males.
WEATHER: Fine all day, mostly sunny with only light cloud. There
was very little breeze, with a cool SW wind of 5 knots in the morning which
eased to about 3 knots during the day and changed to the NE.
SEA: In the morning, a small swell of about 1.5m with little
chop decreasing to less than 1m swell and no chop in the afternoon.
ACTIVITY: Sailed 07.20. Headed SSE from Pirates Bay past the
Hippolytes to outside the shelf. Little activity on the way out. Berleyed
from 09.00 at the first stop (about 17nm from Pirates Bay) at 43
(superscript: o) 10.1'S 148(superscript: o)10.8'E in 140 fathoms with water
temperature at 11.5(superscript: o) C until 09.20. Continued SE and
stopped at 10.10 in 400 fathoms (11.7(superscript: o) C) at 43(superscript:
o) 16.1'S 148(superscript: o) 13.0'E until 10.50. Headed N to 43
(superscript: o) 15.7'S 148(superscript: o) 13.2'E and stopped at 11.45 in
500 fathoms (12.3(superscript: o)C) about 20nm from Pirates Bay. Left at
12.45 and started back, stopping at 13.30 in 300 fathoms (12.5(superscript:
o) C) at 43(superscript: o) 01.4'S 147(superscript: o) 55.3'E until 13.45.
Returned directly to Pirates Bay, arriving at 15.35.
MAMMALS: Australian Fur-Seals at the Hippolytes and around the
shelf. We saw a whale sound but could not relocate it. It was
unidentified (although we suspect it was a Humpback Whale).
BIRDS: A quiet day on the water in terms of overall bird
numbers, but with some good birds in the small numbers. The weather was
much calmer than predicted after a fierce cold front went through on
Friday. WHITE-HEADED PETREL numbers were unusual with quite high numbers
compared to any previous trip. They kept flying past the boat heading S
pretty much all day. Excellent species were the GREY PETREL at our third
stop and the juvenile GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS at the fourth. The white phase
of the Southern Giant-Petrel was also interesting.
Little Penguin 3 (3)
Southern Giant-Petrel 4 (3). 1 white phase bird
Nothern Giant-Petrel 4 (3)
Giant-Petrel sp 7
Cape Petrel 20 (6)
Great-winged Petrel 26 (7)
WHITE-HEADED PETREL 37(3)
Fairy Prion 30 (6)
Prion sp 120
White-chinned Petrel 2 (1)
GREY PETREL 1
Sooty Shearwater 1
Short-tailed Shearwater 1
Wandering Albatross 6 (2)
Royal Albatross 3 (1). All Southern RA
Black-browed Albatross 2 (1)
Shy Albatross 30 (4). 1 salvins
GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS 1. juvenile
Yellow-nosed Albatross 7 (2)
Grey-backed Storm-Petrel 3 (2)
Australasian Gannet 17 (9)
Black-faced Cormorant 13 (11)
Pacific Gull 5 (4)
Kelp Gull 54 (40). 3 out towards
shelf, 11 at Hippolytes and 40 on ledges.
Silver Gull 13 (9). 4 out towards shelf
and 9 inshore.
Crested Tern 15 (6)
Remaining 2004 Trip: 21 November.
2005 Trips: 20 February, 18 September and 20 November
--------------------------------------------
Birding-Aus is now on the Web at
www.birding-aus.org
--------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message 'unsubscribe
birding-aus' (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|