25th August, 2007 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:15 returned at 16:00.
Sea conditions: calm all day.
Swell: E 1.0 to 2.0m offshore.
Weather: late winter sunshine all day but with
some high patchy cloud in the afternoon.
Temperature range: 17.9 to 22.8°C.
Barometric pressure: 1017 HPa rising.
Wind: light and variable, NW to 7 knots later in the afternoon.
Sea surface temperature: 17.9 to 20.8°C.
Primary chumming location: S 34° 30' - E 151° 18'.
Summary:
A large high-pressure ridge over southeastern
Australia brought calm conditions and clear skies
after several days of onshore winds.
There was abundant seabird activity just beyond
the breakwall but it was as if we were not
included in this glorious early morning seascape.
No fewer than 3 Giant-Petrels took a wide berth
around us thereby evading specific
identification. A little further out we were
able to attract the attention of several
Gibson's, 2 WANDERING and 1 ANTIPODEAN ALBATROSS
that were searching for the floating remains of
post-spawning Giant Cuttlefish (Sepia aparma).
It seemed that it was to be another great
albatross day in spite of the fact that the ocean
was glassy calm because we had great views of 7
species in the first 30 minutes at sea! Two
Oceanic Bottle-nosed Dolphins were also foraging
at the outside edge of Wollongong Reef.
Just as soon as we reached the edge of the warm
northerly current about 6 nautical miles out we
encountered a Southern Humpback Whale and a pod
of at least 7 pilot whales. The latter were most
elusive and also evaded specific identification.
The first Wedge-tailed Shearwaters of the
upcoming breeding season appeared over our wake
as we continued the pleasant cruise to the edge
of the continental shelf. Seabirds were
plentiful and included a Little Penguin and an
adult SHY ALBATROSS.
Our arrival at the edge of the continental shelf
was heralded by the prompt appearance of a couple
of Solander's Petrels. A group of Australasian
Gannets alerted us to the presence of
Short-beaked Common Dolphin's (cold water form)
that were being followed by the first Common
Terns of the spring season. We pulled up in over
240 fathoms of water for a productive
drift-and-berley session.
Highlights:
The undoubted highlight was sharing lunch with a
large mixed species flock of albatross on a
perfect spring day.
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 3 (1)
937 NORTHERN GIANT-PETREL M. halli 1
080 Cape Petrel Daption capense australe 1
971 Solander's Petrel Pterodroma solandri 13 (6)
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia 360+ (300+)
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 715+ (700+)
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater P. pacificus 32 (15)
086 WANDERING ALBATROSS Diomedea exulans 5 (3)
846 ANTIPODEAN ALBATROSS D. antipodensis 7 (5)
847 Gibson's Albatross D. gibsoni 35 (30)
088 Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys 13 (3)
859 Campbell Albatross T. impavida 3 (2)
861 SHY ALBATROSS T. cauta 1
861 White-capped Albatross T. steadi 5 (2)
864 Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. carteri 25 (8)
099 Great Cormorant 1 Phalacrocorax carbo 1
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 35 (27)
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 4 (2)
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 3 (3)
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 57 (35)
114 White-fronted Tern Sterna striata 4 (2)
115 Crested Tern S. bergii 27 (15)
953 Common Tern S. hirundo 6 (2)
In the harbour:
096 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 2 (2)
097 Little Black Cormorant P. sulcirostris 1
099 Pied Cormorant P. varius 2 (2)
100 Little Pied Cormorant P. melanoleucos 2 (2)
101 Australian Darter Anhinga melanogaster 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 9 (9)
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 1
A total of 24 species of seabird were identified outside the breakwater.
Other birds observed at sea
None
Mammals
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae 3 (2)
Pilot Whale Globicephala sp. 7+ (7+)
Oceanic Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus 2 (2)
Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis 365+ (350+)
Reptiles
None
Fish
Frigate Mackerel Auxis thazard numerous
Skipjack Tuna Katsuwonis pelamis numerous
Short-tailed Sunfish Mola ramseyi 1
For previous trip reports and selected images from this trip visit
http://www.sossa-international.org/
Future Trips
SOSSA Wollongong Pelagic Trips depart on the 4th
Saturday of each month and are operated at no
profit to the organizers. If you would like to
join one of these trips please contact us as
detailed below:
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)
Note: SOSSA = Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association
--
Dr P.J. Milburn
Technical Specialist
ANU ACRF 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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