SYDNEY PELAGIC TRIP REPORT
March 11, 2006
Observers
Tony Palliser, Dion Hobcroft,
Steve Anyon-Smith, Roger McGovern, Phil Maher, Dave Mitford, Stuart Pickering,
Tobias Nolan, Adrian O?Neill, Nigel Miller, Paul Johnston, Peter Marsh, David
Stowe, Brian Johnson, David Webb.
Conditions
Mostly sunny and warm, with an
odd rain shower
Water temperature 24.5 to
26.0degC
Departed at 0700 and returned at
1545
1.0m sea on a 1.0m swell,
moderating later in the morning
Fresh south-east winds in the
morning backing to the north-east and easing later.
Trip Summary
What started out as a fairly
run-of-the-mill trip took on a whole new significance when we discovered an
intermediate morph South Polar Skua sitting on the water on the run back
to the heads approximately 8NM offshore. It was a life bird for most people on
board (including this observer for whom it was 699 on the Australian list) and,
to my knowledge, the first confirmed sighting from the Sydney boat. Photographs
of the bird can be seen at http://users.bigpond.net.au/palliser/pelagic/march2006/index.htm.
The bird was very
confiding and allowed the Halicat to approach to within a few metres before
lifting off. Barely had this excitement died down when a strange shearwater was
sighted flying away from the boat. Some had reasonable views and others only
long distance rear views and there was much debate as to identification, as the
bird did not fit either Streaked or Buller?s in terms of plumage. Fortunately,
David Stowe had taken a good shot of the bird when it first appeared and it was
clearly a light morph Wedge-tailed Shearwater, again a first for many on
the boat.
Prior to all this
excitement, we had departed the heads on a fine summer?s day (even though the
calendar says that it is autumn) and saw little of note on the first part of the
journey to the shelf break. A distant Sooty Shearwater, a few Wedge-tailed
Shearwaters, Australasian Gannets and Pomarine Jaegers were the only life forms
on an empty sea. However, at a large current line some 12NM offshore, we
encountered a pod of six or so False Killer Whales, several Long-tailed
Jaegers and a close fly-by from a Shy Albatross.
We spent about
three hours at the shelf break in the vicinity of Brown?s Mountain and
berleyed-up at three locations. The species numbers were quite low with most
birds around the boat being good numbers of Flesh-footed Shearwaters and
surprisingly small numbers of Great-winged Petrels. Single fly-bys of Hutton?s
Shearwaters on three occasions raised the pulse briefly (as any dark and white
bird does) and a first year Wandering Albatross in immaculate chocolate and
white plumage fed close to the boat for a long period. In between berley stops,
we came across a group of about 10 Risso?s Dolphins which approached
quite close to the boat and gave everybody excellent views.
With the mega birds
seen on the way back, it was a terrific day for both cetacean and bird
observers.
Bird List
(Note that numbers in
parenthesises represent the maximum numbers seen at any one time)
Great-winged Petrel
6 (1)
Wedge-tailed Shearwater 40 (5)
Light morph Wedge-tailed
Shearwater 1
Flesh-footed Shearwater 130 (60)
Short-tailed Shearwater
5 (1)
Sooty Shearwater
1
Hutton?s Shearwater
3 (1)
Wandering Albatross
1
Shy
Albatross
1 (cauta)
Australasian Gannet
6 (2)
South Polar Skua
1
Pomarine Jaeger
8 (3)
Long-tailed Jaeger
5 (3)
Silver Gull
60 (20)
Crested Tern
4 (2)
Cetaceans
False Killer Whale
6
Risso?s Dolphin
10
Next Sydney pelagic trip will be
on Saturday 8 April 2006 departing Cremorne Point at 0645 and from Rose Bay at
0700. Call Hal on 0411 311 236 to make a reservation.
Cheers
Roger McGovern
