22nd July, 2006 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:15 returned at approx. 16:45.
Sea conditions: calm.
Swell: SE to 2.5 to 3.0m offshore.
Weather: Cloudy at first with protracted showers during the day.
Temperature range: 11.3 to 18.1°C.
Barometric pressure: 1027 HPa increasing slowly.
Wind: SE 5 to 8 knots at first decreasing to 3 to 5 knots later in the day.
Sea surface temperature: 18.9 to 20.3°C.
Primary chumming location: S 34° 29' - E 151° 20'.
Summary:
The annual winter spawning of the Giant
Cuttlefish (Sepia aparma) on the inshore reefs
was clearly well underway as evidenced by the
numerous floating remains of the females. A
slow-moving anticyclone had crept over the NSW
coastline and the hefty southerlies of the
preceding week had all but disappeared. A
low-pressure system had been developing in the
northern Tasman Sea but was unlikely to have any
immediate influence on local conditions.
Overnight rain persisted intermittently but,
while the light was fairly poor, visibility was
remarkably good.
The anticipated aggregation of Diomedea albatross
and Giant-Petrels that customarily exploit the
spawning-cuttlefish resource were not apparent
and Black-browed and Campbell Albatross were
enjoying the lack of competition from their
dominant rivals. Small groups of Fluttering
Shearwaters were searching for fish over the
inshore reefs, and then, slightly further
offshore, we encountered a first year SHY
ALABTROSS, one of the few White-fronted Terns
sighted on this day and, also, a single Brown
Skua.
Fairy Prions became evident in the hundreds as we
reached a tongue of cooler water at 40 fathoms
depth and at least one ANTARCTIC PRION was among
them. Indic Yellow-nosed, Campbell and
White-capped Albatross joined us as we cruised
eastwards. A SOUTHERN GIANT-PETREL and a Cape
Petrel joined the following cohort well inside
the edge of continental shelf but our growing
anticipation was truly quenched by a heavy
shower.
Fortunately, the rain lasted only half an hour
and when it cleared we were over the continental
slope. As usual the birds had disappeared in the
heavy rain and it took a while to gather more as
we continued east. The first pterodroma petrels
were encountered at the 300-fathom line along
with a BULLER'S ALBATROSS, so we decided to begin
a drift-and-berley session. Despite the calm
conditions we attracted a steady influx of
seabirds, although many of them settled on the
water in mixed species rafts watching us from
afar. When several small terns began circling
us, sharp-eyed observers on the upper deck called
attention to a group comprising one second-year
and 3 adult ARCTIC TERNS. They stayed with us
for a while (alighting on the boat) and were
later joined by 2 White-fronted Terns, which
provided an illuminating comparison. A juvenile
SOUTHERN GIANT-PETREL began feeding right at the
stern and was joined a little later by a second
year NORTHERN GIANT-PETREL. Three Brown Skuas
arrived in succession and began competing for
scraps with the mob at the stern. The BULLER'S
ALBATROSS remained with us for about 30 minutes
and additional albatross arrived in ones and twos
for the whole period that we were drifting.
After about an hour, a second year GREY-HEADED
ALBATROSS came into view but showed little
interest in our vessel, instead alighting among
the raft of Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross. A few
Campbell Albatross were among the Black-browed
Albatross and a SHY was feeding with several
White-capped Albatross astern. A large diomedea
albatross with a short bill was very probably a
TRISTAN ALBATROSS and there was also a female
ANTIPODEAN with the group of Gibson's Albatross.
Solander's Petrel were few in number and a single
nominate Great-winged Petrel made a brief
appearance as we began the trip back to port.
The trip back to port was fairly productive in
bird terms, adding Little Penguin and Hutton's
Shearwater to the tally. A first year PACIFIC
GULL, a locally rare species, was observed
feeding on a cuttlefish cadaver just outside the
harbour and as we watched a another first year
bird joined in the action. We also encountered a
solitary Southern Humpback Whale and a pod of
Short-beaked Common Dolphins on this leg of our
voyage.
Campbell Albatross were scarce and, similarly,
petrel numbers also remained low.
Highlights:
An incredible day for rarities (10 species) and
yet another fantastic trip for albatross
encounters with excellent views of no fewer than
10 species observed while drifting on a glassy
calm ocean; these included TRISTAN, ANTIPODEAN,
BULLER'S, SHY, and GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS. The
winter trend towards high species diversity
continued with a total of 19 species of
procellariiformes being recorded among the daily
the total of 30 seabird species.
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)
005 Little Penguin Eudyptula minor 1
929 SOUTHERN GIANT-PETREL Macronectes giganteus 2 (1)
937 NORTHERN GIANT-PETREL M. halli 1
080 Cape Petrel Daption capense australe 4 (4)
075 Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma m. macroptera 1
971 Solander's Petrel P. solandri 5 (3)
083 Fairy Prion Pachyptila turtur 1000+ (500+)
084 ANTARCTIC PRION P. desolata 1+
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia 120+ (100+)
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 1
845 TRISTAN ALBATROSS Diomedea dabeneena 1
846 ANTIPODEAN ALBATROSS D. antipodensis 1
847 Gibson's Albatross D. gibsoni 8 (5)
088 Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys 50+ (20+)
859 Campbell Albatross T. impavida 5 (2)
931 BULLER'S ALBATROSS T. bulleri 1
861 SHY ALBATROSS T. cauta 2 (1)
861 White-capped Albatross T. steadi 10 (5)
864 Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. carteri 50+ (40+)
090 GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS T. chrysostoma 1
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 8 (3)
100 Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 3 (2)
980 Brown Skua Catharacta lonnbergi 4 (3)
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 3 (3)
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 125+ (75+)
126 PACIFIC GULL L. pacificus 2 (2)
114 White-fronted Tern Sterna striata 3 (2)
115 Crested Tern S. bergii 19 (11)
952 ARCTIC TERN S. paradisaea 4 (4)
In the harbour:
100 Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 3 (3)
30 species of seabird identified outside the breakwater.
Other birds
None
Mammals
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae 1
Oceanic Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus 5 (5)
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 9533
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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