Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
Pelagic trip report 26 March 2006
Conditions: Departed 8.15am from Newcastle Harbour. Returned 6.30pm.
Sea Conditions: 1-1.5m swell early in day, easing later in the afternoon.
Weather: Ex-Tropical Cyclone "Wati" was situated between Lord Howe Island and
New
Zealand, nearly directly east of Newcastle. A high over the southwestern
Tasman Sea was extending a ridge along the NSW coast resulting in
East/South-east winds in the days preceding this trip.
Wind: 10-15knots
Maximum distance from shore. 37N/Miles
Those on board: Alan Stuart, Jim Smart, Dave Stewart, Mike Roderick, Greg
Little, Dick Jenkins, Robert Quinan, Inger Vandyke, Phil Hansbro and Richard
Baxter.
Summary: With Cyclone Wati moving slowly south over the last few days, all
on board were optimistic that some interesting birds would be seen on today?s
trip. The day started late after a discussion over whether we would actually
leave port or not. At 7am skies were grey and uninspiring. It was still
raining heavily and the swell was forecast to be rising to 3m. The decision to
go was eventually made and we headed out to sea about 8.15am towards clearing
skies
As we cleared the heads our first seabirds were Wedge-tailed Shearwater
followed by Pomarine Jaeger and Short-tailed Shearwater. Several large flocks
of shearwaters were seen on the way out and we added Hutton?s Shearwater,
Australasian Gannet and Crested Tern to our days sightings.
We crossed the shelf and positioned ourselves on the outer edge of the
Northern Canyons and immediately began to burley. Flesh-footed Shearwater and
Great-winged Petrel were soon added to the days list, as were several
handsomely plumaged Solander?s Petrels. Things remained quiet for the next
hour as we were subjected to rain, then clear skies, then rain again. The
first GOULD?S PETREL of the day appeared from the south and as they usually do,
refused to come any closer than 100m from the boat. As the Gould?s was
disappearing from sight a Intermediate phase KERMADEC PETREL flew directly
towards the stern of the boat giving all on board excellent views as it cruised
close enough for some great photos and then circled for about five minutes
before also departing.
Numbers of Wilson?s Storm Petrel were beginning to grow and we now had 4-5 on
the slick, the end of which was now out of sight. A further Intermediate
phase Kermadec Petrel was sighted and a WHITE-NECKED PETREL flew in from the
north and briefly past the bow before flying off in an easterly direction.
Over the next three hours we were visited by two dark phase kermadecs and had
several sightings of further Gould?s Petrels, all of which refused to come near
the boat. Apart from these the only additional bird to the days list before
3pm were two Wandering Albatross. By 3pm we had been drifting for 5hrs when a
WHITE-BELLIED STORM PETREL was sighted on the slick. As it flew towards the
boat good views were had and black-bellied S.P was quickly eliminated as a
possibility. Several photos were taken and good views were had by all on
board. A lone White-faced Storm Petrel briefly appeared on the slick but
could not be relocated. Not long after this sighting a BLACK PETREL was
sighted. This was followed by two LONG-TAILED JAEGER which cruised by.
At 4.15pm and after drifting for 6hrs we decided to head for home under
clearing skies and calm conditions. The trip home at 30knots didn?t allow for
the birds to follow us in and it wasn?t until 3miles from the harbour that the
call of ?stop the boat? went out as a STREAKED SHEARWATER was sighted amongst a
feeding flock of gannets, jaegers and Wedge-tailed SW?s. The Streaked
Shearwater proved difficult to relocate and we resumed our course for home. As
we entered the harbour three WHITE-FRONTED TERNS flew along side the boat,
finishing off an excellent day at sea.
Wandering Albatross 3
(Wandering ssp ?1)
(Snowy Albatross ? 1)
(Antipodean Albatross ?1)
WHITE-NECKED PETREL 1
Great-winged Petrel - 20
Solander's Petrel - 15
KERMADEC PETREL - 5
GOULD'S PETREL ? 3+
BLACK PETREL - 1
Wedge-tailed Shearwater - 700
Flesh-footed Shearwater - 70
STREAKED SHEARWATER ? 1
Short-tailed Shearwater -1
Hutton?s Shearwater - 3
Wilson's Storm-Petrel - 10
White-faced Storm-Petrel - 1
WHITE-BELLIED STORM-PETREL -1
A. Gannet - 20
Pomarine Jaeger - 6
Long-tailed Jaeger ? 2
White-fronted Tern - 3
Crested Tern - 2
Silver Gull - 100
Cetaceans
1 pod X 15 Bottlenose Dolphin
Regards
Richard Baxter
Newcastle
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