12th August, 2006 SOSSA RESEARCH TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:10 returned at approx. 16:30.
Sea conditions: calm.
Swell: SE to 1.0 to 2.0m offshore.
Weather: Glorious winter sunshine.
Temperature range: 7.0 to 19.1°C.
Barometric pressure: 1018 HPa increasing slowly.
Wind: WSW 5 to 8 knots at first decreasing to 3
to 5 knots SSW later in the day.
Sea surface temperature: 18.1 to 21.8°C.
Primary chumming location: S 34° 27' - E 151° 19'.
Summary:
An anticyclone was centered over southern New
South Wales resulting in a perfect winter day.
There was very little seabird activity inshore,
as might be expected in the calm conditions, and
even the Silver Gulls were notable by their
absence. The voyage eastward to the edge of the
continental shelf was very quiet by normal
standards. Small numbers of Black-browed and
Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross provided
entertainment in the perfect viewing conditions
and a small group of Short-beaked Common Dolphins
rode the bow wave for minutes on end.
At the 85-fathom line, it was apparent that we
were drawing in birds from the deeper water to
the east. A variety of new species appeared
including what appeared to be a white male
TRISTAN and also Campbell, White-capped and SHY
ALBATROSS.
The first pterodroma petrels were encountered at
the 200-fathom line so we began a
drift-and-berley session but were disappointed by
the overall lack of small petrels. In marked
contrast, albatross numbers increased
continuously. A first year SALVIN'S ALBATROSS
circled us a few times and then joined the
feeding mob. After about an hour, over a hundred
albatross were behind us and half of these were
diomedea albatross.
The trip back to port was full of interest. A
distant blow revealed the presence of a pod of 12
or so Pygmy Killer Whales and we were treated to
excellent views of these. Later on another pod
of Short-beaked Common Dolphins assembled at the
bow. The only Brown Skua of the day followed us
halfway back to port and just outside the harbour
an immature GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS landed in our
wake. Close inspection revealed that the bird
was a third year and we were provided an
excellent opportunity to study it.
Campbell Albatross numbers had returned to those
expected after a protracted decline but the prion
flocks of recent weeks had disappeared.
Continuing the trend for the winter season petrel
numbers remained low.
Highlights:
Very much a day of albatross encounters with
excellent views of no fewer than 11 species
observed in perfect conditions; these included
WANDERING, TRISTAN, ANTIPODEAN, SHY, SALVIN'S and
GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS. The winter trend towards
high species diversity continued with a total of
17 species of procellariiformes being recorded
among the daily the total of 25 seabird species.
It was another good day for cetacean sightings,
with an unusual winter record of Pygmy Killer
Whales.
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
080 Cape Petrel Daption capense australe 2 (2)
075 Great-winged Petrel Pterodroma m. macroptera 1
971 Solander's Petrel P. solandri 4 (2)
083 Fairy Prion Pachyptila turtur 1
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia 230+ (200+)
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 1
086 WANDERING ALBATROSS Diomedea exulans 3 (2)
845 TRISTAN ALBATROSS D. dabbenena 3 (3)
846 ANTIPODEAN ALBATROSS D. antipodensis 5 (5)
847 Gibson's Albatross D. gibsoni 55+ (40+)
088 Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys 23 (15)
859 Campbell Albatross T. impavida 28 (15)
861 SHY ALBATROSS T. cauta 1
861 White-capped Albatross T. steadi 5 (4)
862 SALVIN'S ALBATROSS T. salvini 1 first year
864 Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. carteri 90+ (50+)
090 GREY-HEADED ALBATROSS T. chrysostoma 1
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 21 (15)
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 3 (2)
980 Brown Skua Catharacta lonnbergi 1
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 5 (5)
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 75+ (50+)
114 White-fronted Tern Sterna striata 2 (1)
115 Crested Tern S. bergii 17 (12)
In the harbour:
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 2 (2)
25 species of seabird identified outside the breakwater.
Other birds
None
Mammals
Pygmy Killer Whale Feresa attenuata 12 (12)
Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis 40+ (30+)
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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