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Albany Western Australia Pelagic Trip Report Sunday 4th March 2007
Participants (15) :
Phil Maher (organiser NSW), Frank O'Connor (recorder), Darryel Binns (NT),
Alan Collins, Betty Fowler (Belgium), Belinda Forbes, Cecilia Grant, Don
Jennings (Vic), Rhonda Jennings (Vic), Brian Johnstone (Vic), Heyn de Koek
(South Africa), Peter Marsh (NSW), Robin Marsh (NSW), Mark Stanley, Peter
Taylor
Conditions :
Departed Emu Point Boat Harbour at 7.15am. Returned at 4.10pm. The
forecast was fine and partly cloudy with a light SE wind and a 1.5 metre
swell and a 1 metre sea. The winds were light in the morning,
strengthening in the afternoon. The sea conditions were good, choppy at
times with a few significant waves up to three metres mainly near the heads.
Description :
This was a very good trip but slow at times except for large numbers of
Flesh-footed Shearwaters and Yellow-nosed Albatross. The boat was the
Chivers Regal II, a 45ft boat operated by Spinners Charters. The trip was
organised by Phil Maher as part of a tour of the south west.
It was about two and a half hours to the shelf. Things were quiet until we
cleared the outer heads. We saw the first few Flesh-footed Shearwaters
before we cleared the heads. Shortly after we cleared the heads we saw the
first Yellow-nosed Albatross and Australasian Gannets. A Hutton's
Shearwater flew past in the mid distance, and a Little Penguin was seen
very briefly on the surface.
We set up a burley trail when we arrived at the continental shelf. The
numbers of Flesh-footed Shearwaters and Yellow-nosed Albatross grew
quickly. It was a while before an adult and then an immature Black-browed
Albatross arrived. A Sooty Shearwater was seen very briefly. After an
hour we relocated to deeper waters and burleyed again. The first adult Shy
Albatross flew by but didn't join the feeding flock on the water. A
Great-winged Petrel. We relocated again slightly deeper and stayed for
nearly two hours. We had better views of Great-winged Petrels. A
Wandering Albatross was seen but it kept its distance.
We headed back. Several Hutton's Shearwaters were seen, and a
Soft-plumaged Petrel was seen in the mid distance. We stopped as a
Northern Giant-Petrel flew in and landed behind the boat for
photographs. As we were passing through the heads, a Short-tailed
Shearwater was seen, looking smaller than the Flesh-footed Shearwaters.
Time (WDT) /Latitude/Longitude/Depth of most stoppages:
07:30 S34° 59' 57", E117° 56' 56" (Emu Point Channel)
08:10 S35° 06' 13", E118° 01' 46" (near heads)
08:20 S35° 08' 15", E118° 03' 31" 80m (Little Penguin, 1st Hutton's
Shearwater)
09:55 S35° 22' 17", E118° 08' 03" 150m to 400m (1st stop)
11:05 S35° 23' 23", E118° 09' 09" 600m (2nd stop)
11:50 S35° 25' 02", E118° 09' 17" 800m (3rd stop)
14:10 S35° 15' 55", E118° 06' 06" (Soft-plumaged Petrel, Hutton's Shearwater)
15:00 S35° 09' 36", E118° 03' 23" (Northern Giant-Petrel)
Bird List (Christidis & Boles order) Total Number (Maximum at Same Time) :
Little Penguin 1 (1)
Northern Giant-Petrel 1 (1)
Great-winged Petrel 9 (3)
Soft-plumaged Petrel 2 (1)
Flesh-footed Shearwater 1,000+ (300)
Sooty Shearwater 1 (1)
Short-tailed Shearwater 1 (1)
Hutton's Shearwater 8 (2)
Wandering Albatross (race exulans?) 2 (1)
Black-browed Albatross (race melanophrys) 3 adults / 2 immatures (3)
Shy Albatross (race cauta) 2 adults (1)
Yellow-nosed Albatross (race bassi) 100 (40)
Australasian Gannet 30 (8)
Mammal List :
Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) 50 (20)
Next Trip :
There are no Albany trips planned at this stage, but this could change at
fairly short notice. For details contact Frank O'Connor on 08 9386 5694 or
email
_________________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email :
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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