28th May, 2006 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:10 returned at approx. 15:30.
Sea conditions: choppy SW at first rising to 1.5
to 2.0m SSW by late morning but abating in the
afternoon.
Swell: SE 1.0 to 1.5 m.
Weather: Bright winter sunshine all day.
Temperature range: 12.5 to 19.1°C.
Barometric pressure: 1014 HPa steady.
Wind: WSW 8 to 10 knots at first increasing to SW
10 to 15 by mid-morning and easing later.
Sea surface temperature: 18.5 to 21.2°C.
Primary chumming location: S 34° 38' - E 151° 09'.
Summary:
A slow-moving anticyclone located over central
Australia and a low-pressure system moving east
into the Tasman Sea arrival had generated
southerly winds for most of the preceding week.
The weather forecast was almost a carbon copy of
the Saturday trip and the southwesterly breeze
was chilly but had nothing of the bitterness of
the preceding morning. Bright sunshine and high
expectation were with us following the success of
yesterday's trip.
We had barely cleared the breakwater when 2 adult
CASPIAN TERNS flew southwest directly over the
boat. Although a local resident, this was only
the fourth occasion that this species has been
recorded on a Wollongong Pelagic Trip. Several
White-fronted Terns were present inshore, a
species not recorded the day before.
Black-browed and Campbell Albatross were foraging
close to shore and a Brown Skua took the
opportunity to harass the Silver Gulls following
the boat. Australasian Gannets and Fluttering
Shearwaters were searching for fish over the
inshore reefs and 2 Southern Humpback Whales were
seen heading north. Four White-capped Albatross
flew in from the south to investigate our vessel
but a Giant Petrel passing north in the distance
showed no interest. We also picked up small
group of Short-tailed Shearwaters that followed
for most of the day.
As we reached deeper water we began to see Fairy
Prions and, as on the previous day, the
occasional nominate race Great-winged Petrel. A
NORTHERN-GIANT PETREL tagged along with us for a
while but departed before we reached the edge of
the continental shelf.
At the 100-fathom line an adult BULLER'S
ALBATROSS flew across our stern so we stooped to
berley and it obligingly joined in with the crowd
right at the back of the boat. In all six
species of albatross were present, including 2
WANDERING ALBATROSS, as we drifted in pleasant
conditions. It was definitely a day for
photography, with hundreds of Fairy Prions around
us. A few Wilson' Storm-Petrels were among the
prions and after an hour or so sharp eyes from
the upper deck spotted a lone GREY-BACKED
STORM-PETREL.
We had to wait for the return leg of our journey
for our only sighting of Gibson's Albatross, a
female and an unusual winter sighting of a pod of
Risso's Dolphin. The final rarity of the day, a
first year PACIFIC GULL, appeared a few miles
from home.
For those of us who had been aboard for both days
this weekend, we had enjoyed great views of 10
different species of Albatross before the
calendar winter!
Highlights:
This interesting trip provided a great variety of
rare seabirds for the Wollongong Pelagic trip
under pleasant conditions. For most on board the
highlights were the BULLER'S ALBATROSS and
GREY-BACKED STORM-PETREL.
Birds recorded according to the latest
Environment Australia Reporting Schedule:
Species code: Species name: Numbers:
(Note: numbers in parenthesis = highest count at any one time)
937 NORTHERN GIANT-PETREL Macronectes halli 1
075 Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma m. macroptera 5 (3)
971 Solander's Petrel P. solandri 3 (2)
083 FAIRY PRION Pachyptila turtur 150+ (100+)
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia 100+ (50+)
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 2 (1)
071 Short-tailed Shearwater P. tenuirostris 3 (2)
086 WANDERING ALBATROSS Diomedea exulans 2 (2)
847 Gibson's Albatross D. gibsoni 1
088 Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys 29 (6)
859 Campbell Albatross T. impavida 12 (9)
931 BULLER'S ALBATROSS T. bulleri 1
861 White-capped Albatross T. steadi 8 (4)
864 Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. carteri 11 (5)
063 Wilson's Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus 3 (3)
064 GREY-BACKED STORM-PETREL Nereis garrodia 1
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 17 (5)
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 1
980 Brown Skua Catharacta lonnbergi 4 (1)
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 1
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 108 (61)
126 PACIFIC GULL L. pacificus 1
112 CASPIAN TERN Sterna caspia 2 (2)
114 White-fronted Tern S. striata 2 (1)
115 Crested Tern S. bergii 4 (2)
In the harbour:
005 Little Penguin Eudyptula minor 1
097 Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris 1
100 Little Pied Cormorant P. melanoleucos 1
101 Australian Darter Anhinga melanogaster 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 3 (3)
193 Striated Heron Ardeola striatus macrorhynchus 1
25 species of seabird identified outside the breakwater.
Other birds
None
Mammals
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae 2 (2)
Risso's Dolphin Grampus griseus 6 (6)
Reptiles
None
Fish
None
For previous trip reports and selected images from this trip visit
http://www.sossa-international.org/
Future Trips
All Pelagic Trips from NSW are operated at no
profit to the organizers, being operated as group
boat charters for the benefit of all who wish to
join us. If you would like to join one of these
trips please contact us as detailed below:
To make a booking on the SOSSA Wollongong Pelagic
Trips that departs on the 4th Saturday of each
month contact:
SOSSA: Phone 02 4271 6004.
Email:
Carl Loves Phone: 0427 423 500
Pete Milburn: Mobile 0428 249 506, 02 6255 1313 (AH) or 02 6125 4173 (BH)
To make a booking for Sydney Pelagic Trip that
departs from Rose Bay public jetty on the 2nd
Saturday of each month contact
Tony Palliser Ph; 02-99001678 (w), 02-94115272 (h)
http://www.zip.com.au/~palliser
To make a booking for Eden Pelagic Trips, which
are run on the 5th Sunday of each month as it
occurs, contact
Barbara Jones or Ph (02) 6495 7390
Note: SOSSA = Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association
--
Dr P.J. Milburn
Technical Specialist
ANU Biomolecular Resource Facility
John Curtin School of Medical Research
Australian National University
GPO Box 334
Canberra ACT 0200
'Phone +61 2 6125 4326
FAX +61 2 6125 4326
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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