24th November 2007, SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:15 returned at 15:05.
Sea conditions: calm at first then SSE 1.0 to 2.0 m.
Swell: NE 2.0 to 3.0m offshore.
Weather: heavy rain squalls early remaining cloudy in the afternoon.
Temperature range: 19.6 to 21.1°C.
Barometric pressure: 1004 HPa rising.
Wind: SSE 10 to 15 knots.
Sea surface temperature: 20.3 to 22.5°C.
Primary chumming locations: 34° 27'S : 151° 16'E and 34° 26'S : 151° 18'E.
Summary:
A high-pressure system was located over New
Zealand with a trough over the western Tasman
Sea. A high-pressure system was moving southeast
out of the Great Australian Bight towards
Tasmania. A cold front moved through our area
just as we were boarding. This was going to be a
good day to test out our wet weather gear!
Despite the heavy rain there was a good variety
of seabirds offshore and a pair of Sooty
Oystercatchers flew southward continuing their
daily business. Short-tailed Shearwaters were
the dominant species and a LONG-TAILED JAEGER was
a pleasant surprise close inshore.
We hoped that the rain would soon clear but it
did not. An adult female WANDERING ALABTROSS
followed us from the 65-fathom line but there was
little else to brighten us up. Sea conditions
were very uncomfortable in every direction that
we tried and it was a welcome break when we
stopped to drift and berley at the edge of the
continental shelf. The birds ignored us totally
until the fish oil began to trail out. Firstly,
Grey-faced Petrels appeared, then a Flesh-footed
Shearwater and right our stern a WESTLAND PETREL.
All aboard were reaching for their cameras when a
cookalaria petrel also came onto the slick.
Luckily it remained close to our vessel for long
enough for excellent images to be obtained,
confirming its identity as a COOK'S PETREL.
After the excitement had abated we continued
eastward to the 200-fathom line and attempted a
repeat performance. Flocks of Short-tailed
Shearwaters were moving southward but, as often
happens, we could not attract more rarities.
However, the attendant feeding flock included
several Gibson's, at least one ANTIPODEAN and a
WANDERING ALBATROSS. Immature SHY, White-capped,
Black-browed and Campbell Albatross provided a
great opportunity for close comparison.
Highlights:
After a bird depauperate trip out to the edge of
the continental shelf in miserable weather
conditions we cleared the rain and, almost at
once, the fish oil slick worked its magic by
producing WESTLAND and COOK'S PETREL in short
order.
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)
075 Grey-faced Petrel Pterodroma macroptera gouldi 20 (13)
918 COOK'S PETREL P. cookii 1
916 WESTLAND PETREL Procellaria westlandica 1
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia 1
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni 1
069 Wedge-tailed Shearwater P. pacificus 45 (25)
070 Sooty Shearwater P. griseus 3 (2)
071 Short-tailed Shearwater P. tenuirostris 400+ (150+)
072 Flesh-footed Shearwater P. carneipes 3 (1)
086 WANDERING ALBATROSS Diomedea exulans 1
846 ANTIPODEAN ALBATROSS D. antipodensis 1
847 Gibson's Albatross D. gibsoni 5 (5)
088 Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys 3 (2)
859 Campbell Albatross T. impavida 2 (2)
091 SHY ALBATROSS T. cauta 1 first year
861 White-capped Albatross T. steadi 2 (1)
063 Wilson's Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus 1
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 5 (2)
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 2 (2)
128 Arctic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus 2 (2)
933 LONG-TAILED JAEGER S. longicauda 1
945 Pomarine Jaeger S. pomarinus 6 (5)
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 6 (4)
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 3 (3)
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 2 (2)
In the harbour:
096 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 14 (14)
17 species of procellariiformes in a total of 25
species of seabird identified outside the
breakwater.
Other birds
131 Sooty Oystercatcher Haematopus fuliginosus 2 (2)
Mammals
None
Reptiles
None
Fish
Short Sunfish Mola ramsayi 1
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)
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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