SEABIRD OBSERVATIONS: SUMMARY
For general information see the 'Captains Log' on www.svpelican.com.au
Briefly, we sailed from Mackay on 2 August and once clear of the Great
Barrier Reef struggled on a NE heading through Australia's Coral Sea
(boundaries 12ºN 157ºE) direct for Guadalcanal. We reached the Solomon Sea
on 11 August. We cruised in Solomon waters and among the southern Solomon
Islands before returning into the Coral Sea enroute from Honiara on 27
August arriving in Cairns early on 30 August.
The cruise was designed by cetacean expert Dr Peter Gill to find Blue Whales
at their winter breeding grounds. I went mainly to study the seabirds and
the following is a brief summary of what I saw.
Our vessel was the 18.9m long catamaran sailing vessel Pelican 1. Our
journey and observations were obstructed by bad weather; frequent rain,
strong winds and rough seas generated by the notorious South-East Trade
Winds. This made it an uncomfortable and at times even a dangerous voyage
across a seldom-visited, lonely stretch of ocean. But there were rewards.
The most exciting find was in the Solomon Sea where a shipmate Damien Cook
and I managed to photograph a very distinctive undescribed subspecies of
Audubon's Shearwater. A preliminary report is currently circulating among
interested parties.
Detailed logs, the ships and my own, are also available.
IN CORAL SEA OUTWARDS, MACKAY TO 15*34'S 155*49'E, 2-10 AUGUST (those seen
inside the Reef are in brackets).
Tahiti Petrel 8
HERALD PETREL 9 Mostly dark morphs
Petrel spp? 1
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 13
Hutton's Shearwater 7 Flock > S along outer edge of Reef
AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER 3 Excellent views. BARC submission in prep.
Among several probably good reports, to date there
is only
one accepted record for Australia.
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 1
WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL 1 a rare species in Queensland waters.
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel 7
WHITE-BELLIED STORM-PETREL 3 one had dark flecking along the flank.
LEACH'S STORM-PETREL 1 BARC submission in prep.
White-tailed Tropicbird 3
(Australasian Gannet 2 juvs near Scawfell Is at N. limit of
range.)
Masked Booby 2
Red-footed Booby 5
Brown Booby (28) + 5
Great Frigatebird 1
(Silver Gull 1)
(Crested Tern 9)
Black-naped Tern 2
Sooty Tern 273
(Common Noddy 140)
IN CORAL SEA INWARDS; 12*01'S 153*15'E TO CAIRNS 27-30 AUGUST (none inside
the Reef).
Tahiti Petrel 1
HERALD PETREL 2
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 54
Audubon's Shearwater [2]
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel 22
TRISTRAM'S STORM-PETREL 1 BARC submission in preparation. There is only
one accepted record of this species from Australia.
White-tailed Tropicbird 3
Red-footed Booby 3
Brown Booby 3
Great Frigatebird 1
Pomarine Jaeger 1
Bridled Tern 1
Sooty Tern 340
Common Noddy 20
White Tern 2
IN THE SOLOMON SEA FROM 14*32'S 157*15'E NE TO THE WATERS AROUND THE
SOUTHERN SOLOMON ISLANDS OF (IN THE ORDER OF APPROACH) RENNELL, BELLONA,
GUADALCANAL (SOUTH), RUSSELL, SANTA ISABEL, FLORIDA, AND GUADALCANAL
(HONIARA) AND THEN BACK WSW ENROUTE TO CAIRNS OFF THE LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO,
PNG TO 12*01'S 153*15'E, 11-26 AUGUST. Most of 18 & 22-24 were spent inshore
or ashore.
Tahiti Petrel 6
COLLARED PETREL 1
Herald Petrel 3
Providence Petrel 1
Petrel spp? 1
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 80
*AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER* 12 a distinct undescribed subspecies.
HEINROTH'S SHEARWATER 2
Shearwater spp? 5
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 19
Black-bellied Storm-Petrel 11
WHITE-THROATED STORM-PETREL 1
White-tailed Tropicbird 10
Masked Booby 6
Red-footed Booby 1
Brown Booby 88
Great Frigatebird 4
Lesser Frigatebird 57
Frigatebird spp? 37
Arctic Jaeger 1
Crested Tern 45
ROSEATE TERN 16 in breeding plumage in Wanderer Bay,
Guadalcanal.
Black-naped Tern 26
GREY-BACKED TERN 14
Bridled Tern 22
Sooty Tern 1060
Common Noddy 570
Black Noddy 500
Noddy spp? 120
White Tern 6
Mike Carter
30 Canadian Bay Road
Mt Eliza VIC 3930
Ph: (03) 9787 7136
Email:
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