24th May 2008, SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, WOLLONGONG, NSW, AUSTRALIA.
Report prepared by: P.J. Milburn.
Departed: 07:15 returned at 15:30.
Sea conditions: S 1.0 to 1.5m and then SSE to 1.0 m by late morning.
Swell: ESE to 1.0m.
Weather: Clear and sunny all day.
Temperature range: 11.1 to 19.0°C.
Barometric pressure: 1022 HPa rising.
Wind: south westerly 10 to 12 knots at first and then SSE 8 to 10 knots later.
Sea surface temperature: 19.1 to 20.5°C.
Primary chumming locations: 34° 39' S : 151° 13' E.
Summary:
A large anticyclonic system was located to the
south of Tasmania that extended a ridge of high
pressure along the New South Wales coast. The
stable conditions produced the perfect morning
for a late autumn pelagic excursion; cool and
clear with gentle southerly breezes. Conditions
were simply perfect as we left Wollongong
Harbour.
Black-browed, Campbell, Indic Yellow-nosed and
SHY ALBATROSS were foraging close to shore and
several Fluttering Shearwaters passed astern as
we headed east. An unseasonably late POMARINE
JAEGER was a surprise as we cleared the inshore
reefs. A stunning adult BULLER'S ALBATROSS
joined the following pack shortly afterwards and
then within a minute another equally stunning
individual appeared.
It felt as though we had already enjoyed a great
day at sea well before anyone tucked into the
first of their sandwiches and then Brown Skuas
appeared from all directions. Almost immediately
afterwards Fairy Prions were all around us and,
even before they appeared, I'm certain that
somebody had already mentioned the fact that
Brown Skuas are irresistibly attracted by flocks
of prions.
Our cruise eastward continued in the much the
same vein; at one point there were 3 adult and
one first year BULLER'S ALBATROSS following our
vessel. SHY ALBATROSS were uncommonly abundant
and at least two White-capped Albatross were also
present. We set up a drift-and-berley session
beyond the 200-fathom line despite the fact that
we had not encountered any pterodroma petrels by
this time. Instead we were treated to great
views of Sooty Shearwater. Eventually a solitary
Solander's Petrel did appear but only for the
briefest of views. By way of compensation
several diomedea albatross appeared and after an
hour or so we had attracted an impressive mixed
species albatross flock.
With the small but choppy sea behind us, the
journey back to port was even more pleasant than
the outward-bound leg and we added Pied
Cormorant, Kelp Gull and a very late record of
COMMON TERN to the list of species recorded for
the day. At least one additional adult and
another first year BULLER'S ALBATROSS followed us
for much of the return trip and the surprise sea
monster turned out to be an adult male Australian
Fur-Seal.
Highlights:
The preponderance of Fairy Prions, BULLER'S
ALBATROSS and Brown Skuas borne ahead of a steely
cold southerly breezes were a crystal clear
portent of the approaching winter but the late
records of POMARINE JAEGER and COMMON TERN
provided that unique mix of seabirds that gives
late autumn pelagic cruises a special character.
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)
971 Solander's Petrel Pterodroma solandri 1
083 Fairy Prion Pachyptila turtur 214 (61)
068 Fluttering Shearwater Puffinus gavia 8 (5)
913 Hutton's Shearwater P. huttoni (5) 1
070 Sooty Shearwater P. griseus 3 (2)
086 WANDERING ALBATROSS Diomedea exulans 3 (1)
847 Gibson's Albatross D. gibsoni 4 (2)
088 Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys 10 (5)
859 Campbell Albatross T. impavida 8 (4)
931 BULLER'S ALBATROSS T. bulleri 6 (4)
091 SHY ALBATROSS T. cauta 7 (10) 9
861 White-capped Albatross T. steadi 3 (2)
089 Indic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. carteri 95 (33)
104 Australasian Gannet Morus serrator 32 (12)
099 Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius 1
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 1
980 Brown Skua Catharacta lonnbergi 5 (5)
945 POMARINE JAEGER Stercorarius pomarinus 1
981 Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus 11 (7)
125 Silver Gull L. novaehollandiae 100+ (35)
114 White-fronted Tern Sterna striata 2 (1)
115 Crested Tern S. bergii 24 (7)
953 COMMON TERN S. hirundo 1
In the harbour:
106 Australian Pelican Pelicanus conspicillatus 6 (6)
100 Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos 1
115 Crested Tern Sterna bergii 1
13 species of procellariiformes in a total of 23
species of seabird identified outside the
breakwater.
Other birds
None
Mammals
Australian Fur Seal Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus 3 (1)
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)
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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